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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
funny
informative
medium-paced
I owe a lot to this book. My interest in statistics and its uses can be traced to reading this
Dr. Goldacre uses a variety of specific examples to explain important scientific and statistical concepts such as the different types of drug trials and regression toward the mean. I find the title of the book to be a bit misleading, the book isn't about science being bad but rather how science is commonly misrepresented, misunderstood and abused. The book was originally published in 2008 and unfortunately is still extremely relevant today. During the pandemic, many of the problems associated with how research findings are covered by the media and how science is understood by the general public have led to many issues. Dr. Goldacre has what can sometimes come across as a bit of a snarky or condescending narrative voice in the book. I related a lot to the anger and frustration he expressed throughout the book so his tone worked for me, but I could see some readers being but off by his tone. Overall, a very educational read and worth the time even for someone with a scientific background.
Favorite quotes:
"It's quite natural that when your symptoms are at their very worst, you will do things to try and get better. You might take a homeopathic remedy. You might sacrifice a goat and dangle its entrails around your neck. You might bully your physician into giving you antibiotics. (I've listed these in order of increasing ridiculousness.)" - Page 40
"Because [a study by Afzal et al.] has been published in full, I can read it and pick holes in it, and I am more than happy to do so: because science is about critiquing openly published data and methodologies, rather than press-released chimeras, and in the real world all studies have some flaws, to a greater or lesser extent. Often they are practical ones" - Page 240
Favorite quotes:
"It's quite natural that when your symptoms are at their very worst, you will do things to try and get better. You might take a homeopathic remedy. You might sacrifice a goat and dangle its entrails around your neck. You might bully your physician into giving you antibiotics. (I've listed these in order of increasing ridiculousness.)" - Page 40
"Because [a study by Afzal et al.] has been published in full, I can read it and pick holes in it, and I am more than happy to do so: because science is about critiquing openly published data and methodologies, rather than press-released chimeras, and in the real world all studies have some flaws, to a greater or lesser extent. Often they are practical ones" - Page 240
First let me say a PhD candidate in biochemistry, I am not the target audience for this book. My internal dialogue with the text of the book was like one of those pompous, self congratulatory conversations where both parties agree with each other and accomplish nothing about the matter at hand, but feel smug about themselves afterwards.
Not that I didn't get anything out of it. I hadn't heard of most examples of how the media/pharma/spokespeople failed us (except the MMR example. WHY did you need to spend so long on an issue that has not only been beaten to death, but one that most people reading the book would agree with you on). The examples were interesting, depressing, and I suppose good to know for battling homeopaths at cocktail parties.
As someone who will (one day soon, I hope) be qualified to work in Pharma or at a big biotech cooperation, it made nervous about a career there. Is Pharma truly as evil as he (and most other people, honestly) make it out to be? Certainly my fellow scientists who make up R&D want to do good for people and believe in ethical research, right? It's just the few bad eggs that spoiled it? Am I a naive little graduate student sheltered by academia?
I suppose I'd recommend for scientists who like those sorts of self congratulatory conversations, but mostly I'd recommend for non-science minded individuals who have been swept up by bogus media hype before and want a quick refresher in critical thinking.
Not that I didn't get anything out of it. I hadn't heard of most examples of how the media/pharma/spokespeople failed us (except the MMR example. WHY did you need to spend so long on an issue that has not only been beaten to death, but one that most people reading the book would agree with you on). The examples were interesting, depressing, and I suppose good to know for battling homeopaths at cocktail parties.
As someone who will (one day soon, I hope) be qualified to work in Pharma or at a big biotech cooperation, it made nervous about a career there. Is Pharma truly as evil as he (and most other people, honestly) make it out to be? Certainly my fellow scientists who make up R&D want to do good for people and believe in ethical research, right? It's just the few bad eggs that spoiled it? Am I a naive little graduate student sheltered by academia?
I suppose I'd recommend for scientists who like those sorts of self congratulatory conversations, but mostly I'd recommend for non-science minded individuals who have been swept up by bogus media hype before and want a quick refresher in critical thinking.
Kluge Lektüre über den pseudo-wissenschaftlichen Nonsens der unsere Gesellschaft überflutet. Obwohl von dem Arzt und Psychiater Ben Goldacre (bekannt für seine Kolumne "Bad Science" - so auch der englische Originaltitel des Buches - in der britischen Zeitung "The Guardian") für Laien geschrieben, sind grundlegende naturwissenschaftliche Kenntnisse nicht von Nachteil, um alle Kapitel völlig zu durchblicken.
Das Buch befasst sich zwar vornehmlich mit der Situation im Vereinigten Königreich, das tut dem Lesevergnügen jedoch keinen Abbruch. Pointiert und mit ironischem Witz liefert Goldacre Informationen zu diversen Formen der alternativen Medizin, wie der Homöopathie, und den Einfluss der Medien auf die "öffentliche Meinung" zur Schulmedizin. Und geht dabei ziemlich hart ins Gericht. Was mir persönlich sehr gut gefallen hat; viel zu oft wird bei wichtigen Themen ein Blatt vor den Mund genommen.
Nichts für Anhänger der Homöopathie und ähnlichem.
Obwohl...vielleicht gerade für jene zu empfehlen.
Das Buch sollte jedem, der etwas bei Verstand ist, die Augen öffnen.
Skeptiker werden damit sowieso ihre helle Freude haben. Empfehlenswert!
Das Buch befasst sich zwar vornehmlich mit der Situation im Vereinigten Königreich, das tut dem Lesevergnügen jedoch keinen Abbruch. Pointiert und mit ironischem Witz liefert Goldacre Informationen zu diversen Formen der alternativen Medizin, wie der Homöopathie, und den Einfluss der Medien auf die "öffentliche Meinung" zur Schulmedizin. Und geht dabei ziemlich hart ins Gericht. Was mir persönlich sehr gut gefallen hat; viel zu oft wird bei wichtigen Themen ein Blatt vor den Mund genommen.
Nichts für Anhänger der Homöopathie und ähnlichem.
Obwohl...vielleicht gerade für jene zu empfehlen.
Das Buch sollte jedem, der etwas bei Verstand ist, die Augen öffnen.
Skeptiker werden damit sowieso ihre helle Freude haben. Empfehlenswert!
An enlightening read with dashes of dry humor such as "Bullshit is a public health crisis".
While it preaches to the choir to a certain extent, many incisive and eye-opening facts are presented in a very engaging manner.
The core message of the book is that the vast majority of what is written and read today about "health" and "diets" and other similar subjects concerning our well-being are in actual fact supported by claims that have utterly vacuous science behind them — if any at all. If you're into homeopathy or any New Age-y methodologies for improving your quality of life, you're in for some rude awakenings.
One subject that is thankfully covered in detail is the complexity of the placebo effect. Because many of the readers of Goldacre's critique will quickly fire back the expected "but they DO work for me!" arguments, he has taken the time to explain what the placebo effect actually is — why it "working" may not mean quite what you expect — and how truly fascinating the science behind it is.
He is also quick to point out that the placebo effect, carefully dressed, is also what has allowed the book's villainous charlatans to mislead and exploit the gullible, the tired, the sick, and the stupid for so long.
As far as a pop-lit critique of modern scientific marketing goes, I consider it required reading. As a scholarly effort, it's not without its problems, but those neither diminish its value nor cloud the integrity of its point.
The world would be a better place if all highschool students had "Bad Science" on their mandatory reading lists.
The core message of the book is that the vast majority of what is written and read today about "health" and "diets" and other similar subjects concerning our well-being are in actual fact supported by claims that have utterly vacuous science behind them — if any at all. If you're into homeopathy or any New Age-y methodologies for improving your quality of life, you're in for some rude awakenings.
One subject that is thankfully covered in detail is the complexity of the placebo effect. Because many of the readers of Goldacre's critique will quickly fire back the expected "but they DO work for me!" arguments, he has taken the time to explain what the placebo effect actually is — why it "working" may not mean quite what you expect — and how truly fascinating the science behind it is.
He is also quick to point out that the placebo effect, carefully dressed, is also what has allowed the book's villainous charlatans to mislead and exploit the gullible, the tired, the sick, and the stupid for so long.
As far as a pop-lit critique of modern scientific marketing goes, I consider it required reading. As a scholarly effort, it's not without its problems, but those neither diminish its value nor cloud the integrity of its point.
The world would be a better place if all highschool students had "Bad Science" on their mandatory reading lists.
funny
informative
fast-paced
A great book that is about how science and scientific language is manipulated to be used by pseudo-scientific and bad products services and people to spread misinformation. This is a book about scientific thinking and it should be a set text in every school.
Ben Goldacre is very clear and readable. If you have ever thought "that doesn't sound right... but i cant't work out why" this is the book for you. It will give you the tools to be able to listen to an explaination of a scientific theory or process and analyse it, break it down and work out if you are listening to complete bullshit or the real deal.
Ben Goldacre is very clear and readable. If you have ever thought "that doesn't sound right... but i cant't work out why" this is the book for you. It will give you the tools to be able to listen to an explaination of a scientific theory or process and analyse it, break it down and work out if you are listening to complete bullshit or the real deal.