bad science
sciencepunk | February 20, 2011Did the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser just tell me to be a dick? Last week, ResearchResearch revealed comments made by Sir John Beddington at the Annual Conference of Scientists Working in the Civil Service on 3 February 2011:
"We are grossly intolerant, and properly so, of racism. We are grossly intolerant, and properly so, of people who [are] anti-homosexuality...We are not--and I genuinely think we should think about how we do this--grossly intolerant of pseudo-science, the building up of what purports to be science by the cherry-picking of the facts and the failure to use…
tsmith | August 11, 2010Well, that was quick. Yesterday's post highlighting a really terrible paper in BMC's Virology Journal drew a lot of comments here and at Pharyngula, and attention at the journal (where it currently stands as the 5th most-accessed article in the last 30 days). The journal's Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Robert F. Garry, this in the comments section to my post:
As Editor-in-Chief of Virology Journal I wish to apologize for the publication of the article entitled ''Influenza or not influenza: Analysis of a case of high fever that happened 2000 years ago in Biblical time", which clearly does not provide…
sciencepunk | June 1, 2010Last year I visited Ben Goldacre in his secret offshore nerdbase to talk about science. While there we set up the famous Barbie Detox experiment as described in his book Bad Science. In this short video Ben talks about why the bogus idea of detox is harmful not just for our bodies, but our understanding of health. Says Ben: "The answer, from the future king of England, to your health problems is a fucking magic potion. It's like something out of a fairy tale!"
sciencepunk | April 17, 2010Journalist Michael Specter makes a erudite and impassioned plea for reason and critical thinking in this video from TED. It's a fantastic speech, and huge tracts could have sprung from my own lips (and probably have done on one occassion or another). He even paraphrases a favourite bon mot of mine: "science is a process not a pronoun". Check it out:
Hat tip: Brian
sciencepunk | January 4, 2010
Sense About Science have published their annual roundup of the worst science howlers emanating from the pages of Hello! magazine, and it's a bumper crop. From horse placenta to homeopathy, celebrities love their bogus science. Among the more LOL-worthy comments featured:
Having dodged poison daggers and golden guns, Roger Moore reveals an even more nefarious tool for assassinating the world's elite: namely that foie gras causes Alzheimer's.
Beatle-baiter and professional wingnut Heather Mills insists meat hides inside your body for 40 years while it "gives you the illness you die of. And…
sciencepunk | November 11, 2009
The NY Post reported yesterday that a brain-training type programme had been taken up by dozens of schools in New York, despite its connections to the Dahn Yoga cult.
A controversial teaching program linked to an alleged cult leader managed to slip into 44 New York City public schools because it didn't cost enough to trigger detailed background checks, school officials said yesterday.Fees for the Brain Power program, developed by Seung Huen Lee, founder of Dahn Yoga -- said to help kids improve their focus -- were well under the $25,000 cutoff, said Education Department spokesman David…
sciencepunk | October 11, 2009
This strange episode of dodgy science and publishing is worth reprinting in its entirety from Ars Technica:
Scientific publishing weirdness: This paper didn't strike me as weird so much as completely bonkers, given its opening sentence: "I reject the Darwinian assumption that larvae and their adults evolved from a single common ancestor." It forwarded the proposal that the difference between larval and adult forms of insects--between caterpillars and butterflies, to give one example--arose because insects are the product of a hybridization event between a caterpillar-like organism and…
sciencepunk | September 1, 2009See below:
Dear skeptical bloggers, podcasters, and keen supporters of skepticism,Inspired by the annual The Open Laboratory, the Skeptical Blog Anthology is a printed anthology of blog posts voted the very best of 2009, managed by the Young Australian Skeptics in conjunction with the Critical Teaching Education Group (CTEG).Entries for the Skeptical Blog Anthology can be submitted to the Young Australian Skeptics Website at http://www.youngausskeptics.com/anthology/The anthology is an attempt to bring a greater awareness of the skeptical content on blog sites and showcase some of the range…
sciencepunk | August 27, 2009It's sublime to see how "emotionalising" by Greenpeace turns into fodder for their antithesis, Not Evil Just Wrong. When you abandon science for scare tactics, nobody wins.
sciencepunk | August 11, 2009
Potions & Possibilities, makers of high-end toiletries and aromatherapy products, are claiming their products to be effective in the control of deadly swine flu.
A
document
circulated on the internet lists "Top 10 tips for natural infection control". Originally circulated in May, it was reissued again in July. The document contains elements of sensible advice scalped from the the Department of Health ("Catch it, Bin it, Kill it") blended with outrageous nonsense of a more profitable kind. For instance, here is founder Julie Foster's recipe for a "sanitiser room spray":
...as above…
sciencepunk | June 4, 2009
On June 6, a group of deluded and dangerous people will meet to discuss how their brand of magic can heal the sick in developing countries. The Homeopathy for Developing Countries Conference in
Amersfoort, Netherlands will bring together quacks and misguided "healers" to immerse themselves in solipsistic self-congratulation whilst promoting a mysticism that could spell death for hundreds of the world's poorest people, if not more. They say:
Some homeopaths have even decided to permanently live in Africa or another region where medical help is scarce. These people do wonderful work because…
sciencepunk | May 1, 2009Thanks to Ian for this classic advert, seemingly dating to around the flu pandemic 1918. Just like the classic "Guinness is good for you" ads, Bovril tried to get in on the action by claiming their beef stock drink has prophylactic powers:
It seems to be a whole campaign, appearing everywhere, from pubs to plates, to magazines.
Thanks to the Advertising Standards Authority, private companies can no longer make unfounded medical claims for their products. It's not like anyone is profiteering from the current swine flu panic is it?
Oh wait, except chiropractors. And homeopaths. And…
sciencepunk | April 26, 2009
Kathy Sykes, Professor of Sciences and Society at Bristol University has written a provocative article in the latest New Scientist entitled "Science in the media: Put up or shut up"
The star of Rough Science argues that while science communication often leaves a lot to be desired, scientists themselves need to be less rabid in their attacks on the media:
Does ranting do any good? In some cases it does, especially if science is being carelessly mangled or deliberately distorted. But in many cases communicators are passionate about science and are simply trying to communicate it as clearly as…
sciencepunk | April 24, 2009
The alternative medicine industry has been complaining that regulations demanding they prove their products are safe before being granted a licence resemble "a sledgehammer to crack a walnut".
Global Regulatory Services reports from a keynote debate at the Natural & Organic Products Europe Show held in London earlier this month. A panel of speakers from across the herbal remedies industry stated that while they supported the MHRA's Herbal Directive in principle, some felt it was too stringent and expensive in requiring companies to prove their products were safe, effective and…
sciencepunk | April 20, 2009
Tune in to Richard Bacon's talk radio show on BBC 5 Live tonight, where I'll be fighting the skeptic's corner for the evening's debate: Should we all be looking for our inner self?:
Some therapists claim the key to a fulfilling life is finding your 'inner self'.But is it all just nonsense? Is our inner self a powerful healer that can give us peace and confidence in life?Or is it just a load of hocus pocus?We'd love to hear from you: call 0500 909 693, text 85058 or email bacon@bbc.co.uk
I suspect I'll be up against someone from the bizarre InnerSelf website, which seems to be a mix of bland…
sciencepunk | April 11, 2009
Over at the Guardian's Lost In Showbiz, Marina Hyde continues her campaign to steal my heart, this time by lancing those celebrities who confuse their ability to secure a table at the Ivy with the authority to talk sensibly on matters of science. We're looking at you, Madonna:
Behold, the most serious challenge to the Royal Society in that august body's 350-year history - the medical musings of Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and Stella McCartney. These women are not just singers, or actresses, or fashion designers. They are distinguished professors at the University of Celebrity, and are coating…
sciencepunk | April 9, 2009
Journalist, doctor, and debunker Ben Goldacre has released the infamous missing chapter from his best-selling book Bad Science. This did not appear in the original edition because it covered the malfeasance of Matthias Rath, who was suing Goldacre for libel at the time. Rath lost his case and consequentially everyone, including Goldacre, is free to discuss how Rath is killing people in South Africa with his claims of curing HIV/Aids with vitamin pills.
Best of all, Goldacre has released the chapter under a Creative Commons licence:
This is an extract from
BAD SCIENCE by Ben Goldacre…
sciencepunk | March 23, 2009
Last week the Independent newspaper reported on the case of Tim Nicholson, a UK executive claiming religious discrimination after losing his job because of his beliefs on climate change. Nicholson had been head of sustainability at Grainger plc, a residential property investment company, but claims his attempts at implementing environmental and corporate social responsibility policies were blocked by fellow executives.
This case is noteworthy because it reveals several things - that someone could be fired for doing their job too enthusiastically, that Grainger plc possesses an asinine…
sciencepunk | March 14, 2009
I spotted this yesterday, from the February-March 2009 issue of the Organic Lifestyle Magazine. Perhaps it didn't render correctly, or maybe my browser has a wry sense of humour.
Bryan Shillington (Journeyman Herbalist) says:
All of our formulas are available to the public. If we lose business and gain competitors, so be it. We need more herbalists and natural healers in this horrid world of huge pharmaceutical companies and pill pushers in white coats. Be the family herbalist. Be your own doctor. maybe if enough of you make your own herbal preparations, we'll drive them out of…
sciencepunk | March 13, 2009
For the last few weeks, community action site Amplify Your Voice have been chronicling the extraordinary vestiges of the Bush administration's disastrous policies on sexual health and education: Derek Dye, the Abstinence Clown.
Derek Dye is supported by Elizabeth's New Life Center, a Christian-orientated organisation that received a federal grant of $800,000 in 2007. Dye appears to be a little more reticent to wear these religious overtones during his talks, preferring instead to compare pre-marital sex to juggling with machetes.
For a person whose success depends upon popularity, it was…