Project Truman Show: Welcome!

On the legal blog that I run, Above the Law ("ATL"), I write about people -- law students, lawyers, and judges -- who engage in embarrassing, unethical, or even criminal conduct. ATL is a self-described "legal tabloid," a gossip blog. Writing about this stuff is my job.

Sometimes the people I write about, or their friends or family members, email me to complain. They usually don't claim libel or slander (since truth is an absolute defense in a defamation action, and what I write is true (most of the time, anyway)). Instead, they  claim that I've violated their "privacy."

I try to explain why what I've written about is a legitimate subject of discussion, why they have no reasonable expectation of privacy in the matter in question, etc. I try to be nice about it.

But sometimes I just want to say: "I don't believe in privacy. Privacy is the refuge of scoundrels. People who aren't doing anything wrong don't need privacy." As Judge Richard Posner has noted:

[W]e tend to place somewhat too much weight on privacy. The word "privacy" has strongly positive connotations (like "freedom"), which obscures analysis....

[P]eople try to "put their best foot forward." Often this involves concealing information that would cause potential transacting partners to refuse to transact with them or to demand better terms as a condition of doing so. Such concealment is a species of fraud....

No one wants privacy more than criminals!

Indeed. Privacy is what allows us to eat pints of Ben & Jerry's ice cream in a single sitting, to cheat on our spouses, to pick our noses, to watch porn, to abuse our children. Privacy facilitates all sorts of unsavory, unethical, and even illegal conduct.

Privacy is an antiquated notion in the internet age. Gossip about an event can hit the blogs before the event is over. Photographs and video of scandalous conduct can be uploaded to Facebook or YouTube in minutes (or even seconds). As I once quipped before a group of Yale Law School alumni I was addressing, "Privacy is roadkill on the information superhighway."

As Nietzsche might say, "Privacy is dead." Or, at the very least, "privacy is so twentieth century."

My thesis: If we had less privacy, we would be better people. As Justice Louis Brandeis once observed, sunlight is the best disinfectant. He was talking about public institutions, but it's equally true of private individuals.

If we are constantly being watched, like Truman Burbank of The Truman Show, we will lead better lives. We  will commit fewer crimes. We will eat healthier foods. We will call our mothers more often. We will treat our fellow human beings with more respect. Would law firm partners yell at their associates as much if they knew that their rants would show up on the internet (a la Alec Baldwin's phone message to his daughter)?

I've decided to harness a lack of privacy for my own self-improvement. I have the following goals:

1. To bring my weight down to 145 pounds (and to be in better shape overall).
2. To bring my Above the Law ("ATL") email backlog down to under 500 messages.
3. To bring my personal email backlog down to under 50 messages.

Welcome to what I'm calling Project Truman Show. I'm making myself the star of my own reality TV show, exposing myself for all the world to see. Every day, before I go to bed, I will log in to answer the following questions:

1. What did you eat today?
2. What exercise did you do today?
3. What is your ATL email backlog?
4. What is your personal email backlog?

And on a weekly basis, every Monday morning, I will log in and answer the following question:

1. How much do you weigh?

(I don't want to track my weight on a daily basis because it can fluctuate for all sorts of random reasons. Instead, I'll do it on a weekly basis. I'll weigh myself every Monday morning, before I've eaten anything for the day.)

On Monday I will also take a shirtless picture of myself and upload it to the site. Why? When I ran my "Project Truman Show" idea by a friend, his skeptical response was: "Okay, how long until you start lying?"

I assured him that I wouldn't lie (and swore on the grave of my recently deceased grandmother, my Lola Ever -- may she rest in peace). I also asked him: What would be a way for me to prove I'm telling the truth? He suggested that I post shirtless photos to my blog. So I said fine -- done.

The image on the right is a thumbnail; click to enlarge. (Warning: You might be grossed out by how fat I am.) The photo on the left is was taken in the Philippines, where I was vacationing, in December 2004, back when I was in fighting form. The photo on the right is what I look like today -- three and a half years, and about 25 pounds, later.

My goal is to return to what I once looked like. Please help me along in my journey. Check in on this site regularly, to see if I'm making any progress.

Make rude comments about what a fat pig I am; shame me into slimming down. If you notice progress, post a compliment or some encouragement. If you notice a lack of progress, or slacking off on my part, call me out on it.

I can't do this without your help. The more public scrutiny, the better. Send this link to your friends, so they will watch me too.

Project Truman Show starts tomorrow. Tomorrow is a Tuesday, but since today is a holiday (Memorial Day), I will treat Tuesday as the start of the week. I will post my weight tomorrow morning. I will start publicly tracking my food intake, exercise, and email backlogs tomorrow as well. (Today I'm going to pig out, of course, enjoying my last few hours of freedom.)

This is going to be an interesting journey. Thanks for joining me for the ride!

Comments

[Doug Cornelius]

David -

One of the the things I have noticed in this 2.0 world of blogs, facebook, twitter and a myriad of other ways to communicate about our lives and thoughts, is that it is possible to be very public and very private at the same time. While it is easy to broadcast our professional and personal lives, it is also easy to obscure segments of our lives by broadcasting about other segments. Essentially we can overwhelm our audience with the things we want to share so that they are not aware of the things we are not sharing. (You can see an analogy to mainstream media.)

So while you are sharing new segments of your life, it is far from the Truman Show of everything available all the time. For instance you are not telling us about eating Ben & Jerry's ice cream in a single sitting, cheating on your spouses, picking your nose, watching porn, or abusing your children.

I do not think privacy is antiquated. It is just that we can better distribute information about ourselves that we want to share.

I do agree with your thesis that exposing more information about ourselves makes us better people. I think about it more as being "naked" (as your pictures showed). As David Ticoll said in The Naked Corporation: If you are going to be naked, you better be buff.

[Lisa Solomon]

David-

Wondering if Project Truman Show is in response to the cover article in yesterday's NY Times (Blog-Post Confidential, http://tinyurl.com/59ehya), or if the timing is purely coincidental.

Also, as as someone who's lost just under 25 lbs in the past year myself, my advice is to go low carb.

[Hicks]

David,

You're going to do great. 25 pounds is easy. My suggestions (not that you asked):

1) Develop good sleep habits. When you don't get enough rest, your body systems don't work at peak efficiency, including metabolism. I'm going to call this 20% of what it takes to get you there.

2) Eat well. And, by that, I mean it a diet of mostly low-density foods. These are foods that are low in calories but very satisfying because of their volume. Lots of fruits, vegetables, moderate amounts of whole grains, and small amounts of good lean protein (unless, you're talking vegetable protein, in which case I'd say "moderate" amounts rather than "small"). Keep to a minimum the high-density foods like processed baked goods, anything with high-fructose corn syrup, fatty meats, sugar, and fats. Note: even the good fats are very high in calories, so go easy on the olive oil. Check out a book called Volumetrics, by Barbara Rolls, and you'll learn this easy concept. Here's a tip on this prong: Cook for yourself as much as you can. Restaurants put all kinds of crap in your food (butter, cream, lard, etc.) unbeknownst to you! This is 60% of what it takes to get you there.

3) Push some iron around. You appear to have a pretty athletic sprinter/wrestler build rather than a distance-runner build. So, don't go out there training for marathons. Instead, do moderate cardio and pack some muscle on that frame of yours. The muscle will burn fat around the clock just to maintain itself. I've experienced this part as only 5% of what it takes to get there. I know there are lots of gym rats out there, but unless you're training for performing in some highly competitive sport, you're wasting your time. 30 minutes a day for six days each week will do wonders.

4) Visualize yourself with the body you want, with the fitness level you want and with the habits you want. I'm calling this 15% of the task. It's not a time-intensive or difficult thing to do. But, it pays dividends far in excess of the effort.

I'm encouraged by you. I've wanted to shed 10 pounds myself. When I do the above four things, it's easy. I've just been eating airplane food and getting adjusted to new time zones every week rather than focusing on these principles. I'm going to get in this with you, though I'll wait and post the "after" pics!

Hicks

[E]

Hi, David. Good luck with your new embrace of health. My husband is Fil-Am, and if you Pinoy men have anything in common, it's 1) the ability to bulk up muscle fast and 2) the inability to resist white rice. But try a healthy South Beach type diet (not too strict; just follow the basic concepts and switch to brown rice) and get your exercise (both cardio and weight training) and the fat really will melt off. My husband is getting great results -- just in time because it looks like we are going to have a surprise trip to PI next month. Glad we've gone healthy for the past 2 months.

[clara]

hey david! it looks like you're deliberately pushing out that belly of yours for the benefit of the camera. are you? (if you're not, then i apologize. pretend i never said anything). anywhooo, if you want to lose weight, then hire a personal trainer. i've been working with one for a couple of months now (we meet 3 times a week) and it's awesome. she teaches me to workout efficiently and effectively, and i'm a lot more aware of my eating habits because of her nagging. people say i look more fit, and i definitely feel stronger and healthier. you should try it! good luck with everything. i'm sure you'll have no problem losing the weight.^^

[ted]

I lost 30 pounds on Weight Watchers. You should join, if only because your blogs on going to the meetings would be completely hilarious.

I second the South Beach diet recommendation.

[Robert Ambrogi]

For another guy who posted daily belly shots as he got himself in shape, see my post here: http://www.legaline.com/2008/05/david-lat-fitness-quest.html

[Belle]

Interesting experiment Lat! As someone who lost 25 lbs to return to my "pre-law school" weight, I definitely know your pain.

I started a regular yoga program, doing it 3-4 times a week. I also made a point of eating at home during the week. Nothing very strict, just mindful of the fat, sugar and carbohydrates.

Also, don't be fooled by the number on the scale. Since loosing the initial 25 lbs, my weight remains stable but I have much more muscle. Weigh yourself, but also judge your progress by how your clothes fit and how your body feels.

Best of luck! I'll be sure to swing by and bust your chops over the summer!

[Stephen Gianelli]

"Privacy facilitates all sorts of unsavory, unethical, and even illegal conduct."

And yet without it, our society would be akin to pre 1980's Soviet society, with private conversations monitored, neighbor informing on neighbor, and ordinary people lacking even the most basic freedoms, including--yes--the right to knock back a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream in a single sitting.

[anonymous]

your ideas about privacy ignore some fundamental aspects of human nature and group interaction