Ansel Keys did the perfect experiment without a magic wand. He was lucky enough to find volunteers who were willing to starve themselves. Lester Glick would have seen this that spoke to him in his language. For Mennonites, across generations, the reading of Matthew 25 is a literal reading. It is a powerful invitation to step out of your comfort zone and do good.
Lester Glick’s year in the Minnesota Starvation Experiment cost him his hoped-for career and also left him with an eating disorder for the rest of his life. But like many of the other volunteers, he said he would have done it again in a heartbeat. Revisionist History explores the scientific legacy of this experiment, and asks whether it’s time to reimagine our understanding of sacrifice.
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