Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
London : Harper Perennial, 2009.
Description
While exposing quack doctors and nutritionists, bogus credentialing programs, and biased scientific studies, the author takes the media to task for its willingness to throw facts and proof out the window in its quest to sell more copies. He also teaches you how to evaluate placebo effects, double-blind studies, and sample size, so that you can recognize bad science when you see it.
User reviews
LibraryThing member JudithProctor
A very informative book that helps one sort junk science from good science. Although I was able to pat myself on the head most of the time as having seen past the scams that he talks about, I'm have to admit that I'd fallen for one of them.
The real upside to reading this book is that you realised
In short, the newspapers make up or use carefully selected statistics for the vast majority of science stories that they publish.
The real upside to reading this book is that you realised
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you don't have to worry about a lot of the health issues that the newspapers scream at you. Even as health food 'a' isn't really necessary, so super-new medicine 'b' that will cure your cancer if only the NHS would pay for it, isn't going to be nearly as good as the manufacturers claim.In short, the newspapers make up or use carefully selected statistics for the vast majority of science stories that they publish.
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LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
An extension of his blog, this is a collection of basically rants about how science and statistics are abused by a variety of people. It also looks at faulty science behind some nutritionists and some of their dodgy "credentials". His emphasis is on making people question "facts" and double check
However, people don't have the time for a lot of this, and when you're offered a glimmer of hope people tend to take it. The placebo effect is explored here and he does admit that it works and works well if people load it with belief, so maybe examining everything doesn't always work as well as it might.
It's a book worth reading, if only to read why he is so virulently opposed to some people's "science", I must admit to having read some of the books involved and having some reservations but it wasn't until I actually read this that I truly realised what was bothering me about them.
This is part of the problem, I do have a background in Science but I really didn't have enough energy or time to really exhaustively research some of the "facts" given to me by some of these writers. The fact that there are people like Ben Goldacre out there help me sort the truth from the fiction.
The only unfortunate thing is that, in general, those who should read this won't and those who do already have sceptical minds.
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the evidence.However, people don't have the time for a lot of this, and when you're offered a glimmer of hope people tend to take it. The placebo effect is explored here and he does admit that it works and works well if people load it with belief, so maybe examining everything doesn't always work as well as it might.
It's a book worth reading, if only to read why he is so virulently opposed to some people's "science", I must admit to having read some of the books involved and having some reservations but it wasn't until I actually read this that I truly realised what was bothering me about them.
This is part of the problem, I do have a background in Science but I really didn't have enough energy or time to really exhaustively research some of the "facts" given to me by some of these writers. The fact that there are people like Ben Goldacre out there help me sort the truth from the fiction.
The only unfortunate thing is that, in general, those who should read this won't and those who do already have sceptical minds.
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LibraryThing member labcoatman
Goldacre explains how scientific trials work, their flaws and strengths, how they can be assessed and how they can be misrepresented; the perils of statistics; the immense shortcomings of media science coverage. At every stage he clearly outlines the reasons why each problem is bad for us (well,
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the UK, but I'm extrapolating to everyone).All this he does in language so straightforward that it's hard to think of anyone, no matter how "non-sciencey", having trouble following him. He does it with tongue sometimes in cheek, but also forcefully while remaining polite; no-one is demonised, though many are criticised. He goes out of his way to place the blame largely on the media machine, who amplify the relatively small transgressions of the individuals named in the book.
Bad Science does have a problem with repetition: though the examples are different, I felt at times Goldacre had told me the same thing in slightly different ways four or five times. Perhaps this is no bad thing for his audience, but there were a few times I felt like saying "Yes, Ben, I understand, what's next?" He also makes repeated references to things that come later in the book, especially the media MMR debacle which is covered in the final chapter.
Despite those little things, I recommend everyone who has ever been in an argument about about the safety of immunisation or the effectiveness of alternative medicines - on either side - read this book. You'll be richer for it.
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LibraryThing member mbmackay
Ben Goldacre skewers bad science generally, but especially medically related bad science - homeopathy, eccentric nutritionalism, the autism-MMR vaccination hoax etc etc. But perhaps his greatest target is the lazy popular media that glories in the beat-up and distortion of science in the interest
Read Feb 2014.
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of boosting circulation/audience. He has an energetic writing style which is engaging and relaxed, while still successful in getting across complex concepts. At times I found his sentence structure a little convoluted - like he was writing by dictaphone and failed to properly edit, but this is a minor quibble. The issues are sometimes relatively trivial - companies flogging vitamins rather than better diet, but others are supremely tragic - the tens of thousands who died, particularly in South Africa as mental pygmies and science-illiterates pushed the line that retro-viral drugs were poison, and what AIDS sufferers needed was a good dose of garlic! I admire Goldacre's energy in pursuing these nut-cases in spite of the vitriol and law suits - I hope he keeps it up, and maybe more will start to listen.Read Feb 2014.
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LibraryThing member psiloiordinary
A truly beautiful book.
The scariest bit of fun or perhaps the funniest scare you will have for a good long while.
I read a fair amount of science and sceptical material and still this book quietly, in it's own down to earth and matter of fact style, blew me away. You can actually hear the scales
I can't recommend it enough to anyone who ever has or ever might need medical advice.
Awake humanity and reclaim your sanity and show the newspapers and those who benefit from their laziness and ignorance to make fortunes from the innocent and ignorant exactly what you think.
Truly Ben Goldacre is Spartacus. (you know what I mean)
Just go read it then you too can stand up and claim that name for yourself. (you know what I mean)
The scariest bit of fun or perhaps the funniest scare you will have for a good long while.
I read a fair amount of science and sceptical material and still this book quietly, in it's own down to earth and matter of fact style, blew me away. You can actually hear the scales
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from your eyes shatter as they hit the ground.I can't recommend it enough to anyone who ever has or ever might need medical advice.
Awake humanity and reclaim your sanity and show the newspapers and those who benefit from their laziness and ignorance to make fortunes from the innocent and ignorant exactly what you think.
Truly Ben Goldacre is Spartacus. (you know what I mean)
Just go read it then you too can stand up and claim that name for yourself. (you know what I mean)
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LibraryThing member elfreako
We are all doomed.
LibraryThing member soylentgreen23
Surely a 'must-read' if ever there was one, 'Bad Science' looks at all the ways people misinterpret science, and the results of these misunderstandings. From the so-called alternative therapy field all the way to big pharma and the media's MMR hoax, Goldacre explains clearly and concisely just what
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exactly is the problem, and how any one of us could easily come to a better understanding of the world around us. Terrific stuff. Show Less
LibraryThing member mephit
I really enjoyed this book. A useful perspective on what to ask yourself when you see a health or science story in the news, which are almost always framed as scares or break-throughs. Makes you wonder what health & science correspondants actually do when it appears such stories are almost always
Well written and accessible with some funny bits.
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given into the hands of generalist journalists.Well written and accessible with some funny bits.
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LibraryThing member Bowerbirds-Library
A book that is definitely worth reading for all the insights it gives you into the incredible amount of rubbish that is described as 'science' in the media. Goldacre gives a wide variety of examples of stories and personalities from the last few years (the book was published in 2008) in regards to
One slight niggle (and it is slight and rather petty of me) is the frequent references to 'Humanities' graduates and their lack of interest or understanding of science, especially in regards to their position in the media and the trouble this causes in the public understanding of science. While I must sadly agree that in regards to the media it is probably true ( I recently read an embarrassing review of a Horizon Special television programme where the reviewer said that she only became really interested when she misheard 'fairies' instead of 'theories'!), there are many of us from 'The Arts' who do have shelves full of popular science books - and who knows we have even occasionally read them....
However, this is just a slight moan on what is otherwise a very good book with an important point to make that should be read by everyone.
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the 'health' industry etc etc but what is really important is that he provides you with the methodology to apply to anything you might read in today's newspapers, magazines, television - as Sherlock Holmes would say "you know my methods Watson, apply them"One slight niggle (and it is slight and rather petty of me) is the frequent references to 'Humanities' graduates and their lack of interest or understanding of science, especially in regards to their position in the media and the trouble this causes in the public understanding of science. While I must sadly agree that in regards to the media it is probably true ( I recently read an embarrassing review of a Horizon Special television programme where the reviewer said that she only became really interested when she misheard 'fairies' instead of 'theories'!), there are many of us from 'The Arts' who do have shelves full of popular science books - and who knows we have even occasionally read them....
However, this is just a slight moan on what is otherwise a very good book with an important point to make that should be read by everyone.
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LibraryThing member fnielsen
A polemic brisk write on bad science and bad journalism on science, - particularly from a UK perspective. Homeopathy, vaccination scare and nutritionists get full treatment and I get the impression that the state of Britain in terms of science in media is in most terrible shape. Goldacre is keen on
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the placebo effect but - using his own medicine against himself - one may say he fails to report systematic meta-analysis on placebo effect: One of the Peter C. Gøtzsche studies where the conclusion is that there is not that much effect after all. Show Less
LibraryThing member klarusu
I love this book. It's not just that I agree with most of what Ben Goldacre says (I do, but that's beside the point), it's that this is a testament to the importance of informed, evidence based argument when dealing with hot-topic scientific issues that oft-times get distorted by media hyperbole.
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Goldacre breaks down the basis of scientific method and review and reconstructs it, chapter by chapter, using pertinent examples of how the modern media and practitioners of alternative medicine warp the facts to suit their own ends. It should be compulsory reading for anyone starting a PhD or embarking on a career in any form of medical science. If there's one take home message, it's that you don't have to agree with Dr Goldacre but you do have to be informed by scientific evidence if you actually disagree. It's well written and a quick read and should be essential reading for anyone who has an interest in their own health and well being and a desire to be empowered to make evidence-based decisions on their own health care. Scientific fact is not just for scientists and this is a work that goes a long way towards making it seem more accessible to us all. It's a sobering thought that any one of us is probably as qualified to comment on hot health topics as the majority of the journalists who report health issues. Liking Ben Goldacre and his writing style (which can be abrasive and blunt) is not a pre-requisite to getting the most out of this book. Sometimes blunt is better. Show Less
LibraryThing member Steve55
In Bad Science, Ben Goldacre shares his one man crusade to debunk the misapplication of science by those who claim scientific knowledge and the media who all too frequently take the wearing of a white lab coat as the assurance that whatever crazy idea is proposed, immutable scientific fact has
Beginning with softer targets and working to a crescendo, chapter by chapter
Goldacre makes a compelling argument that widespread misapplication of scientific thinking, is rife throughout medicine. He debunks numerous health scares and fashionable treatments and aims to help readers better understand where science has been misapplied, or should never have been applied at all.
He exposes the systematic misapplication of pseudo scientific mumbo-jumbo, and the widespread inability of the media or the public at large to see through the myths created by those selling their cures and potions, from the herbalist to the multi-national pharmaceutical corporation.
The early chapters use simple everyday examples, and having established the mechanism by which illusions are perpetrated and maintained, the later chapters reveal these same abuses applied on far grander scales.
For example the detox footbath, in which feet are emerged in an inonising unit which magically changes the ‘energy field of water’, is revealed not to turn the water brown with toxins released from the feet, but simply by the formation of rust. This would be revealed by the simplest imaginable test. Switch on the machine without placing your feet in it, and the water turns just as brown.
Goldacre goes on to reveal a suite of approaches, from cherry picking data, to sifting through trial results before deciding what the trial was meant to prove, to the exploitation of the placebo effect.
The book builds towards more widespread and large scale abuses, including an alarming dissection of the hysteria surrounding the MRSA vaccination program which is a sobering read.
As with ‘Reckoning with Risk’, the focus of the book is on medical science. This is not because it is an area any more susceptible to scientific abuse, but rather because its potential personal impact on each of us, draws our attention more readily. Barely a day goes by without a headline of a wonder cure or an identified cause for disease hitting the front pages. Goldacre has not far to look for a second volume of this work.
There is an irony in this book. As his title suggests, Goldacre is a firm believer in good science. The charlatans he exposes are revealed for their misapplication of science and this obscures the fact that there are other ways of seeing the world than through scientific eyes. There is a great danger that in exposing bad science, we sweep aside everything that fails the ‘good science’ test.
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underwritten it.Beginning with softer targets and working to a crescendo, chapter by chapter
Goldacre makes a compelling argument that widespread misapplication of scientific thinking, is rife throughout medicine. He debunks numerous health scares and fashionable treatments and aims to help readers better understand where science has been misapplied, or should never have been applied at all.
He exposes the systematic misapplication of pseudo scientific mumbo-jumbo, and the widespread inability of the media or the public at large to see through the myths created by those selling their cures and potions, from the herbalist to the multi-national pharmaceutical corporation.
The early chapters use simple everyday examples, and having established the mechanism by which illusions are perpetrated and maintained, the later chapters reveal these same abuses applied on far grander scales.
For example the detox footbath, in which feet are emerged in an inonising unit which magically changes the ‘energy field of water’, is revealed not to turn the water brown with toxins released from the feet, but simply by the formation of rust. This would be revealed by the simplest imaginable test. Switch on the machine without placing your feet in it, and the water turns just as brown.
Goldacre goes on to reveal a suite of approaches, from cherry picking data, to sifting through trial results before deciding what the trial was meant to prove, to the exploitation of the placebo effect.
The book builds towards more widespread and large scale abuses, including an alarming dissection of the hysteria surrounding the MRSA vaccination program which is a sobering read.
As with ‘Reckoning with Risk’, the focus of the book is on medical science. This is not because it is an area any more susceptible to scientific abuse, but rather because its potential personal impact on each of us, draws our attention more readily. Barely a day goes by without a headline of a wonder cure or an identified cause for disease hitting the front pages. Goldacre has not far to look for a second volume of this work.
There is an irony in this book. As his title suggests, Goldacre is a firm believer in good science. The charlatans he exposes are revealed for their misapplication of science and this obscures the fact that there are other ways of seeing the world than through scientific eyes. There is a great danger that in exposing bad science, we sweep aside everything that fails the ‘good science’ test.
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LibraryThing member gooneruk
I finished Bad Science by Ben Goldacre yesterday, and I have to say that it’s probably the best book I’ve read so far this year. It’s simply brilliant.
Goldacre is a practising doctor in the NHS, but is also a columnist for the Guardian newspaper and his own website, badscience.net, which he
Rather than a collection of past columns, which I was half-expecting, this is an entirely new book and written as one, in that it references backwards and forwards in the text to things that are covered elsewhere.
The subject material is media coverage of science in general, and in particular its coverage of pseudomedical treatments/cures. Goldacre criticises the media for simply not understanding the science behind most of their stories, and for not bothering to read the actual peer-reviewed trial results in academic publications.
Indeed, that is if there are any published results. So many articles seem to be based on press releases from “scientists” who claim to have produced stunning datasets which completely contradict existing scientific theories, but then fail to show how these results came about, even years later.
Goldacre does become a bit one-track in this, repeating the questions over and over again: “where is this data published? Is it in a scientific journal where it can be examined and criticised?” But you can forgive him this, because it is these simple questions that most journalists fail to ask, every time.
Goldacre is an angry writer on this subject. When I read Gomorrah last month, it was by an equally angry author, but I felt that his anger tainted the writing somewhat. The narrative was a bit disjointed, and he just wanted to name and shame people.
In Bad Science, Goldacre is equally eager to name and shame those who commit these crimes against journalism, but it’s in a more measured approach as he deconstructs exactly why they failed to write clearly or accurately. He also tears apart the celebrity “scientists” such as nutritionist Gillian McKeith, showing how their attempts to claim that their actions/theories are scientific are in fact complete tripe.
Whilst Goldacre’s anger comes through in the text, so does his willingness to inform the public of the methods they should be using to examine science in the media. He writes that the sole intention of his book is to give the reader the skills to call bullshit when reading a newspaper, and to give clear reasons why the story in question is at best inaccurate and at worst a total crock of shit.
He does so brilliantly. I feel so much cleverer after reading this book, even if I did consider myself to be an ultra-cynical consumer of the media beforehand. It’s simply incredible how often the media get it wrong when it comes to science stories, or chooses to extrapolate from a single data point to something which is neither claimed nor proved by the data as a whole.
Goldacre reserves his strongest ire for generalist journalists who consider themselves to be cleverer than the scientists, and so re-interpret any data with which they are presented. Admittedly, his caricaturing of them all as humanities graduates is a little heavy-handed and unnecessary, but you can see why he does it.
I can’t recommend this book enough for anyone that has even a passing interest in the media, science, medicine, “miracle cures” and how they interact. This should be prescribed reading for classrooms.
Goldacre is a practising doctor in the NHS, but is also a columnist for the Guardian newspaper and his own website, badscience.net, which he
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uses to pick apart other newspaper articles on the subject of science.Rather than a collection of past columns, which I was half-expecting, this is an entirely new book and written as one, in that it references backwards and forwards in the text to things that are covered elsewhere.
The subject material is media coverage of science in general, and in particular its coverage of pseudomedical treatments/cures. Goldacre criticises the media for simply not understanding the science behind most of their stories, and for not bothering to read the actual peer-reviewed trial results in academic publications.
Indeed, that is if there are any published results. So many articles seem to be based on press releases from “scientists” who claim to have produced stunning datasets which completely contradict existing scientific theories, but then fail to show how these results came about, even years later.
Goldacre does become a bit one-track in this, repeating the questions over and over again: “where is this data published? Is it in a scientific journal where it can be examined and criticised?” But you can forgive him this, because it is these simple questions that most journalists fail to ask, every time.
Goldacre is an angry writer on this subject. When I read Gomorrah last month, it was by an equally angry author, but I felt that his anger tainted the writing somewhat. The narrative was a bit disjointed, and he just wanted to name and shame people.
In Bad Science, Goldacre is equally eager to name and shame those who commit these crimes against journalism, but it’s in a more measured approach as he deconstructs exactly why they failed to write clearly or accurately. He also tears apart the celebrity “scientists” such as nutritionist Gillian McKeith, showing how their attempts to claim that their actions/theories are scientific are in fact complete tripe.
Whilst Goldacre’s anger comes through in the text, so does his willingness to inform the public of the methods they should be using to examine science in the media. He writes that the sole intention of his book is to give the reader the skills to call bullshit when reading a newspaper, and to give clear reasons why the story in question is at best inaccurate and at worst a total crock of shit.
He does so brilliantly. I feel so much cleverer after reading this book, even if I did consider myself to be an ultra-cynical consumer of the media beforehand. It’s simply incredible how often the media get it wrong when it comes to science stories, or chooses to extrapolate from a single data point to something which is neither claimed nor proved by the data as a whole.
Goldacre reserves his strongest ire for generalist journalists who consider themselves to be cleverer than the scientists, and so re-interpret any data with which they are presented. Admittedly, his caricaturing of them all as humanities graduates is a little heavy-handed and unnecessary, but you can see why he does it.
I can’t recommend this book enough for anyone that has even a passing interest in the media, science, medicine, “miracle cures” and how they interact. This should be prescribed reading for classrooms.
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LibraryThing member hotchk155
It was no surprise to me to read how "scientific research" is routinely twisted, abused, ignored, cherry-picked or simply made-up by people with something to sell. However, this book gets specific and really shows you what is going on... how the results of this casual abuse of "science" can be far
Some parts of the book will make you seethe with anger... others will make you laugh... others will fascinate you (for example the real and mysterious power of the placebo). It's a book for anyone, and Goldacre tries to stay clear of overwhelming the reader with too much detail, but in some cases (like demonstrating how statistics can be misused) things get quite deep.
For me, this book is to encourage people to OPEN THEIR EYES AND THINK. Don't accept unquestioningly the words of anyone who claims to speak with scientific authority if they are trying to sell you something. Whether thats pills, ranges of food, magic crystals or just newspapers, books and TV shows.
* When you hear another "scientists have discovered..." story in the news you might Google it yourself and find it's just a clever marketing company getting a free ad for some dubious product.
* You might start to see through the vitamin pill salesman and authors of diet books, who somehow manage to get themselves presented in the media as serious medical authorities.
* You might stop thinking there is some David and Goliath battle going on between evil pharmaceutical companies and heroic alternative medicine practitioners and realise they are all as bad as each other (except that pharmaceuticals are regulated)
* When some tabloid newspaper reports some new massive health scare or miracle cure, remember their job is to sell newspapers - and those kind of headlines are simply the ones that work the best.
and so on...
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from harmless. Some parts of the book will make you seethe with anger... others will make you laugh... others will fascinate you (for example the real and mysterious power of the placebo). It's a book for anyone, and Goldacre tries to stay clear of overwhelming the reader with too much detail, but in some cases (like demonstrating how statistics can be misused) things get quite deep.
For me, this book is to encourage people to OPEN THEIR EYES AND THINK. Don't accept unquestioningly the words of anyone who claims to speak with scientific authority if they are trying to sell you something. Whether thats pills, ranges of food, magic crystals or just newspapers, books and TV shows.
* When you hear another "scientists have discovered..." story in the news you might Google it yourself and find it's just a clever marketing company getting a free ad for some dubious product.
* You might start to see through the vitamin pill salesman and authors of diet books, who somehow manage to get themselves presented in the media as serious medical authorities.
* You might stop thinking there is some David and Goliath battle going on between evil pharmaceutical companies and heroic alternative medicine practitioners and realise they are all as bad as each other (except that pharmaceuticals are regulated)
* When some tabloid newspaper reports some new massive health scare or miracle cure, remember their job is to sell newspapers - and those kind of headlines are simply the ones that work the best.
and so on...
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LibraryThing member clevinger
This book, by its own admission "a light and humourous book about science" [p.216], sits nicely on my shelf next to How Mumbo Jumbo Conquered the World and Counterknowledge. It earns a cheerful four stars reminding us "that you should look at the totality of evidence rather than cherry pick, that
There is a decent rant at the vacuousness of the majority of science reporting in the mainstream media perpetrated by "humanities graduates with little understanding of science" [p.224] along the lines of 'guess what those wacky scientists have come up with now'. Indeed, in his final analysis, the author lays the lions share of the blame of public misunderstanding of science at the feet of the media "which has failed science so spectacularly, getting stuff wrong, and dumbing down" [p.338]. Partly this is because of the incompatibility of scientific discovery and the news agenda: "The media remain obsessed with 'new breakthroughs'. ... But if an experimental result is newsworthy, it can often be for the same reasons that mean it is probably wrong: it must be new, and unexpected, it must change what we previously thought; which is to say it must be a single lone piece of information which contradicts a large amount of pre-existing experimental evidence" [p.236]. Sometimes this misreporting has drastic consequences, as in the case of the MMR vaccination scare described as a "the media's MMR hoax" [p.290].
But there are three chapters in particular where Bad Science earns its fifth star for me by opening my eyes and teaching me something new. 'Is Mainstream Medicine Evil?' deals with 'big pharma' and how they can manipulate trial data to get a positive outcome for their drug [p.209]. 'Bad Stats' shows how to present statistical data in a way to sound more dramatic or impressive by using probabilities and percentages instead of natural frequencies, and the error of finding a hypothesis in the results that you were not testing for beforehand. The misunderstanding of statistics by laymen has resulted in some tragic miscarriages of justice. And 'Why Clever People Believe Stupid Things' has some neat examples of cognitive illusions and why we have a natural bias towards positive evidence that reinforces our prior beliefs.
All in all a good entertaining read that has changed the way I read and appraise the reporting of 'science' stories in the mainstream media.
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you cannot overextrapolate from preliminary lab data, that referencing should be accurate and should reflect the content of the paper you are citing" [p.171] whilst having a pop at the scientifically unfounded claims of purveyors of health food supplements and homeopaths and their total lack of medical credentials, and examining the natural wonders of the placebo effect.There is a decent rant at the vacuousness of the majority of science reporting in the mainstream media perpetrated by "humanities graduates with little understanding of science" [p.224] along the lines of 'guess what those wacky scientists have come up with now'. Indeed, in his final analysis, the author lays the lions share of the blame of public misunderstanding of science at the feet of the media "which has failed science so spectacularly, getting stuff wrong, and dumbing down" [p.338]. Partly this is because of the incompatibility of scientific discovery and the news agenda: "The media remain obsessed with 'new breakthroughs'. ... But if an experimental result is newsworthy, it can often be for the same reasons that mean it is probably wrong: it must be new, and unexpected, it must change what we previously thought; which is to say it must be a single lone piece of information which contradicts a large amount of pre-existing experimental evidence" [p.236]. Sometimes this misreporting has drastic consequences, as in the case of the MMR vaccination scare described as a "the media's MMR hoax" [p.290].
But there are three chapters in particular where Bad Science earns its fifth star for me by opening my eyes and teaching me something new. 'Is Mainstream Medicine Evil?' deals with 'big pharma' and how they can manipulate trial data to get a positive outcome for their drug [p.209]. 'Bad Stats' shows how to present statistical data in a way to sound more dramatic or impressive by using probabilities and percentages instead of natural frequencies, and the error of finding a hypothesis in the results that you were not testing for beforehand. The misunderstanding of statistics by laymen has resulted in some tragic miscarriages of justice. And 'Why Clever People Believe Stupid Things' has some neat examples of cognitive illusions and why we have a natural bias towards positive evidence that reinforces our prior beliefs.
All in all a good entertaining read that has changed the way I read and appraise the reporting of 'science' stories in the mainstream media.
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LibraryThing member dtw42
The title is perhaps a little too broad: there's nothing about bad astrophysics here, or bad geology. It's all about the healthcare side of science: medicines, pseudo-medicines, nutritionists, health fads and scares, and the role of the media in dumbing down the communication of scientific
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research. Mostly clear and understandable, often scathing and occasionally hilarious, this is recommended reading for anyone who gives a fig about the difference between fact and flim-flam. Show Less
LibraryThing member Pondlife
I thought I'd like this book because I consider myself a scientific person, and I agree with most of the fundamental points the author makes. But I was disappointed, mainly because of the presentation and style rather than the factual content.
The first half of the book is the worst: the author
I can't imagine this book doing much to convince people who believe in "bad science", and that's a shame because a lot of the points are valid.
I found the second half better. This covers how the media distorts findings, heath scares like MRSA and MMR, and how big pharma manipulates results.
The first half of the book is the worst: the author
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makes snide comments about professions he doesn't like. For example, he says "[nutritionists] lack ... intellectual horsepower". He also indulges in ad hominem attacks against specific individuals who he disagrees with. I think he has a good argument, and is probably right about most of what he says. But he should really let the argument speak for itself rather than bashing the professions and individuals who oppose it.I can't imagine this book doing much to convince people who believe in "bad science", and that's a shame because a lot of the points are valid.
I found the second half better. This covers how the media distorts findings, heath scares like MRSA and MMR, and how big pharma manipulates results.
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LibraryThing member gward101
I hadn't come across Ben Goldacre's Bad Science column in The Guardian before reading this book, which is a shame as it's the sort of thing I usually enjoy, but at least I've now got a pretty clear idea of what I've been missing. This is a crash course in the kind of clear-headed debunking of
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charlatans, scaremongerers and shysters the author so obviously specialises in. I got the impression that the initial aim here was (while making some serious points) to provide a lighthearted look at some of the more preposterous pseudo-science claims and media scares currently in circulation. What it comes out as is a just-under control - if entirely justifiable - near-rant by a man of science left confounded by the idiocies of the modern world. Show Less
LibraryThing member gaskella
This is an important book with two main themes. The first is what really goes on behind medical trials - the placebo effect; how many trials are poorly designed; how their data is reported and manipulated; and then how the media takes it, twists it and sensationalises it. The second is his personal
Goldacre is a proper doctor working in the NHS, and the book has grown out of his weekly column for the Guardian, also called Bad Science. Everything he's written for them and loads more is on his website Bad Science.net.
The author is absolutely scathing about homeopathy, Gillian McKeith and all the so-called nutritionists, however he saves the best 'til last and tackles MRSA and MMR. Apart from all the flawed research, bad testing and manipulation of results, he is also highly contemptuous of all the bad reporting by non-scientists who whipped up the media frenzy which resulted in a huge rise in measles cases, and thousands upon thousands of non-vaccinated children. My daughter was MMR age when this was at its peak, and I remember telling other mums at toddlers that the right thing to do was to get the vaccinations.
The book was thought-provoking and an educational read for me. It's one major failing was although it has notes/references at the back, it has no index, which would make it so much easier to refer back to. As a former devotee of homeopathic belladonna eyedrops for my hayfever, it's still difficult to believe that the easing of symptoms I experienced were the placebo effect in action - however logic tells me it must be so. It was shocking to read about all the incompetence going on in the medical world, and if I'm honest Goldacre comes across as a little bit smug and pleased with himself about the great public service he's doing - but someone does need to do it -so please do carry on Dr Ben!
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crusade against quackery in all its alternative therapy forms.Goldacre is a proper doctor working in the NHS, and the book has grown out of his weekly column for the Guardian, also called Bad Science. Everything he's written for them and loads more is on his website Bad Science.net.
The author is absolutely scathing about homeopathy, Gillian McKeith and all the so-called nutritionists, however he saves the best 'til last and tackles MRSA and MMR. Apart from all the flawed research, bad testing and manipulation of results, he is also highly contemptuous of all the bad reporting by non-scientists who whipped up the media frenzy which resulted in a huge rise in measles cases, and thousands upon thousands of non-vaccinated children. My daughter was MMR age when this was at its peak, and I remember telling other mums at toddlers that the right thing to do was to get the vaccinations.
The book was thought-provoking and an educational read for me. It's one major failing was although it has notes/references at the back, it has no index, which would make it so much easier to refer back to. As a former devotee of homeopathic belladonna eyedrops for my hayfever, it's still difficult to believe that the easing of symptoms I experienced were the placebo effect in action - however logic tells me it must be so. It was shocking to read about all the incompetence going on in the medical world, and if I'm honest Goldacre comes across as a little bit smug and pleased with himself about the great public service he's doing - but someone does need to do it -so please do carry on Dr Ben!
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LibraryThing member wendyrey
Dr Goldacre has a bee in his bonnet, a very justifiable bee, the media continues to misrepresent science and scientists, to make stories out of nothing and create scares out of thin air. He discusses among other things the MMR hoax, so- called nutritionists (he does forget however that there are
He does go on a bit, but then he is justifably angry. He also manages to describe some scientific and mathematical concepts in a very accessible way .
Entertaining and informative.
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perfectly respectable nutritionists working in public health, where they belong), that woman McKeith and other quacks.He does go on a bit, but then he is justifably angry. He also manages to describe some scientific and mathematical concepts in a very accessible way .
Entertaining and informative.
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LibraryThing member Skyehighmileage
Excellent - confirms all my scepticism about much advertising and "advice" offered to us in the media. I'm going to give this to my biochemist dad when I've finished it as he'll be delighted with it!
LibraryThing member TheoSmit
I bought this book because of a review in PPC. If you are a foody and don't know what PPC is, ask me.
I had expected something a bit funnier, but Mr Goldacre is very serious indeed. He worries about our lack of understanding of science and he points out some very grave consequences. Please read the
He is so angry that it may be relevant to note that his views aren't radical at all. This is a very sensible and if I may say so moderate person deeply worried about what is called the `culture gap' in the Netherlands.
The only point where I disgree with him is when he doesn't take the New Age movement seriously as a threat to rationality. This may be because they are not in his remit (or maybe he just thinks that these people are nuts and so beyond hope). I don't know, I didn't ask him. But I in any case find it deeply worrying that people with academic degrees (and I know such people) seem willing to believe anything and everything without a single critical thought.
Thank goodness I also know somebody who grew up as a child of two New Agers and is now studying godsdienstwetenschappen (I don't know how this is called in English. In Dutch it means Science of Religion which sounds odd to my ears) to make sense of that.
I had expected something a bit funnier, but Mr Goldacre is very serious indeed. He worries about our lack of understanding of science and he points out some very grave consequences. Please read the
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book.He is so angry that it may be relevant to note that his views aren't radical at all. This is a very sensible and if I may say so moderate person deeply worried about what is called the `culture gap' in the Netherlands.
The only point where I disgree with him is when he doesn't take the New Age movement seriously as a threat to rationality. This may be because they are not in his remit (or maybe he just thinks that these people are nuts and so beyond hope). I don't know, I didn't ask him. But I in any case find it deeply worrying that people with academic degrees (and I know such people) seem willing to believe anything and everything without a single critical thought.
Thank goodness I also know somebody who grew up as a child of two New Agers and is now studying godsdienstwetenschappen (I don't know how this is called in English. In Dutch it means Science of Religion which sounds odd to my ears) to make sense of that.
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LibraryThing member charlytune
I occasionally read Ben Goldacre's column in the Guardian, so had an inkling of what to expect, and the book is very much in the same vein as that column if you've ever come across it. Ben Goldacre very simply and clearly explains how 'evidence' is manipulated by pharmaceutical companies, vitamin
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pill peddlars, and various quacks and TV 'doctors'. I usually pride myself on my healthy cynicism and my intelligence, but this book made me realise how much I accept claims made in the media, and trust what I read in supposedly respectable newspapers. I found the book is easy to read , apart from a section on statistics which had me drifting off elsewhere - but thats not his fault, it needs expalining as part of the book. Quite simply this book quickly and effectively demolishes many of today's widely held beliefs (such as vitamins prevent cancer), and educates the readrer in how to look at things objectively. After reading this I felt liberated, and want to spread the word by buying everyone I know a copy - especially the hardcore homeopaths & crystal healers among them... Highly recommended for anyone who values rational thought over hysterical ignorance. Show Less
LibraryThing member AriadneAranea
This is simply brilliant and should be compulsory reading in schools - for the teachers as well as the pupils. Goldacre is standing ready to give us all a sharp lesson - tempered by humour and compassion - in critical thinking.
Meanwhile... If you've ever got annoyed at a sloppy newspaper report
Meanwhile... If you've ever got annoyed at a sloppy newspaper report
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that dumbs down or completely miscontrues a recent scientific development or discovery, this book is for you. If you've ever asked yourself why the government pays scientists to do studies into which celebrity has the wiggliest bottom, this book is for you. If you've ever found yourself wondering why the NHS still aren't funding complementary therapies, or the latest miracle drug, this is the book for you. Show Less
LibraryThing member paulmorriss
I love the way Ben just manages to keep his anger in check. I think this is a very important book, not something to say lightly. I think it's important to understand how science is done, and the shortcomings of the way it's reported in the press. As the T-shirt you can get from his website says 'I
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think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that'. I'm impressed how he manages to do all this research and digging, while being a full-time doctor. I'm glad he does manage it. Show Less
Awards
Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize (Shortlist — 2009)
Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction (Shortlist — 2009)
Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize (Shortlist — 2009)
ALA Outstanding Books for the College Bound (Science and Technology)
Globe and Mail Top 100 Book (2010)
Language
Original publication date
2008-09-01
Physical description
20 cm
ISBN
9780007284870