Review of Bad Science by Ben Goldacre

Collection of my explorations and reviews of parts of Bad Science by Ben Goldacre. The posts are ordered by topic, not in chronological order: there may be additional reviews in the future.

Standard preamble for most of the posts.

Niggles about Ben Goldacre’s ‘unattractive sneering’ about humanities graduates

Ben Goldacre’s Bad Science: Humanities Graduates as Pantomime Adversaries
Summary: In Bad Science, Ben Goldacre claims that ‘humanities graduates run the media’ and that they have an agenda the belittle science. His glib superficial treatment of this subject precludes any useful exploration of the evidence for a poor public understanding of science and why this might have happened. There is a short diversion involving the BBC 2-parter, The New Two Cultures, by neuroscientist and arts enthusiast Mark Lythgoe. Neither of these two scientists appear to have a broad understanding of (or interest in) the factors that may have led to these two cultures.

Bad Science, Homeopathy and Provings: Sex, Medicine and Prurience

Homeopathy is a favourite kickabout of sceptical writers and bloggers (eg Science based medicine; some Bad Science blogs although only those with homeopathy in the title or extract are listed so many relevant posts are missing; Skepdude). Ben Goldacre of badscience.net writes about the weird and wonderful practice of homeopathy in Bad Science (see standard preamble). Goldacre discusses the open goal of dilution at some length and supplies a brief overview of provings.

Caught my eye: links for 2008-11-06

Links for 2008-11-06: Kate Moss, if you take a magnifying lens and choose an unflattering angle, apparently her legs look their age; Ulrika Jonsson wonders how to protect her daughter in a society that sexualises children (hm, choose a different career?).

Caught my eye: links for 2008-11-05

Links for 2008-11-05: Kate Beckinsale is startled that some women are obsessed with body image, in her latest photoshoot; beauty creams with nanoparticles may damage your skin.

Caught my eye: links for 2008-11-04

Links for 2008-11-04: memories of the moonwalk and an insight into the excitement of the time; Austerity Issue, an examination of rationing and the Mass Observation project; Dignifying Science: Stories About Women Scientists.

Outbreak of Popular Science Books Without an Index in the UK

Britain may not be able to lay claim to Gutenberg but we have Caxton and other publishing notables. Myles Coverdale assembled what is thought to be the first complete, unabridged printed translation of the Bible into English.^(a) There is the Manchester Bible that splendidly replaced the beeves of Leviticus with bees or would otherwise have afforded a humbling and eye-popping insight into how much we still need to learn about micro-surgery from the ancients.^(b) The Oxford English Dictionary is a work of extraordinary scholarship and transatlantic cooperation. Penguin Books was founded with the aim of ‘converting book-borrowers into book-buyers’ and showcasing good contemporary fiction.

Caught my eye: links for 2008-11-03

Links for 2008-11-03: there is a crying need for a secular hijab to protect the public from women over the age of 30 who look their age; the frontal cortext, self-control and experiments with food; how to be a mulled-wine scented cliche; madagascan vanilla; children’s ability to learn is impaired by problems with emotional and mental health.

Caught my eye: links for 2008-11-02

Links for 2008-11-02: don’t have road signs printed in languages with which the printers are unfamiliar.

Caught my eye: links for 2008-11-01

Links for 2008-11-01: usual inappropriate comparisons of ‘O’ levels in individual science subjects from papers in the 1960s compared with modern-day basic module in GCSE general science and used to ridicule contemporary students; Jackson Browne’s “Don’t confront me with my failures, I had not forgotten them”.

Caught my eye: links for 2008-10-31

Links for 2008-10-31: students who cheat at Cambridge University – Google and Wikipedia are the friends of students who are strapped for time and practitioners of situational ethics; Eleanor Coade and the origins of Coade stone; Duchess of York is mocked for allegedly uneven foundation use; apparently, after a transatlantic flight, Kate Moss looked her age – shock; just how much energy do various appliances use?

Caught my eye: links for 2008-10-30

Links for 2008-10-30: calculator for running costs of electric appliances; Yellow House project to make a 1930s house more energy efficient; online versions of historical cookbooks from USA; the worldliness of the the tomato; banana, pineapple and tinned salmon salad; timeline of the history of food; when is it acceptable to deceive people for TV programmes like Gok Wan’s latest?