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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
I can't rate this book highly enough. Informative, interesting, scary, and funny. Dare I say the over used phrase that this should be required reading for most students? Yes.
In this book Ben Goldacre addresses the scientific method applied to medicine. I must confess that this is a topic of immense interest to me. Once you are past the condescending tone and the author’s self-promotion / elation, there are very valid points in the discussion of the various chapters. Although deep the approach is repetitive, Goldacre tries to explain through concrete examples how can the scientific knowledge be misapplicated at the medical level.
As someone minimally informed regarding scientific method, there are simply things that confuse me. I, for one, don’t understand the lack of regulations for the marketing of natural products. Thousands of products are advertised and sold without any problem and as it reads in the insert "have no side effects." This is just due to lack of studies, but they are openly recommended by some health professionals, broadcasters and sold freely.
The author draws particular attention to Dr. Gillian McKeith and Professor Patrick Holdford, which recommend the consumption of substances in their television programs. I did not know these cases, but I followed the Dr.Oz case in USA. In my country, Portugal, there are fortune tellers making medical diagnoses on television. This is unacceptable.
With regard to the author's approach on glucosamine and chondroitin, can’t fully agree with the author's position. There is still not enough evidence for a broad recommendation on medical level, but there’s been taking place a large study in an attempt to clarify some contradictory results. The truth is that the book was written before to the Cochrane review showing that there might be some benefit in taking these supplements.
I have to refer the chapter of vaccination. The anti-vaccination movement has increased in recent years and, in the light of current knowledge, the results of refusal to vaccinate children will be catastrophic. We’ll start to have diseases that didn’t appear for several years. Many of which were only referred to at the medical school as a curiosity.
Finally, I would like to make a small comment to the role of the physician and the patient. Medicine has changed over the years. With the invalidation of the biomedical model, the doctor came to share treatment decisions with the patient. This change is not always seen as beneficial both for the patient or the doctor. On the one hand, the doctor was formatted during college to have all the answers to the patient's problems. It is often necessary to explain that you simply don’t know or that according to evidence what you have to offer is not wonderful. On the other hand, the patient himself often has a hard time taking responsibility for his own health. This is easily seen by the notorious difficulty in adhering to lifestyles changes. People establish a notion of health who focus only in taking pills. We live in a time when happiness is dependent on having the right pill. And that's essentially why so much that is described in the book happens.
It was an interesting read, and I think it’s important to everyone. May become a bit boring to some, but the author strives to explain some basic concepts that we should all have.
As someone minimally informed regarding scientific method, there are simply things that confuse me. I, for one, don’t understand the lack of regulations for the marketing of natural products. Thousands of products are advertised and sold without any problem and as it reads in the insert "have no side effects." This is just due to lack of studies, but they are openly recommended by some health professionals, broadcasters and sold freely.
The author draws particular attention to Dr. Gillian McKeith and Professor Patrick Holdford, which recommend the consumption of substances in their television programs. I did not know these cases, but I followed the Dr.Oz case in USA. In my country, Portugal, there are fortune tellers making medical diagnoses on television. This is unacceptable.
With regard to the author's approach on glucosamine and chondroitin, can’t fully agree with the author's position. There is still not enough evidence for a broad recommendation on medical level, but there’s been taking place a large study in an attempt to clarify some contradictory results. The truth is that the book was written before to the Cochrane review showing that there might be some benefit in taking these supplements.
I have to refer the chapter of vaccination. The anti-vaccination movement has increased in recent years and, in the light of current knowledge, the results of refusal to vaccinate children will be catastrophic. We’ll start to have diseases that didn’t appear for several years. Many of which were only referred to at the medical school as a curiosity.
Finally, I would like to make a small comment to the role of the physician and the patient. Medicine has changed over the years. With the invalidation of the biomedical model, the doctor came to share treatment decisions with the patient. This change is not always seen as beneficial both for the patient or the doctor. On the one hand, the doctor was formatted during college to have all the answers to the patient's problems. It is often necessary to explain that you simply don’t know or that according to evidence what you have to offer is not wonderful. On the other hand, the patient himself often has a hard time taking responsibility for his own health. This is easily seen by the notorious difficulty in adhering to lifestyles changes. People establish a notion of health who focus only in taking pills. We live in a time when happiness is dependent on having the right pill. And that's essentially why so much that is described in the book happens.
It was an interesting read, and I think it’s important to everyone. May become a bit boring to some, but the author strives to explain some basic concepts that we should all have.
Wow. This book wasn't easy and I'm not used to non-fiction books, as proved by the month-or-so I took to read this book, but it was worth it.
I had great fun reading it and the only reason I took so long to read it is that it's so dense. However, that is the only negative thing I have to say about it.
On all other aspects, it was a really great book. I loved the narrative voice the author had and it detailed very clearly rather complicated aspects of an industry I know nothing about.
One thing is sure, I definitely feel smarter after reading this book.
I had great fun reading it and the only reason I took so long to read it is that it's so dense. However, that is the only negative thing I have to say about it.
On all other aspects, it was a really great book. I loved the narrative voice the author had and it detailed very clearly rather complicated aspects of an industry I know nothing about.
One thing is sure, I definitely feel smarter after reading this book.
Excellent and funny book about bullshit in science. Everyone gets a deserved bashing here - big pharma and alternative medicine, cosmetics companies and journalists, anti-vaxxers, science deniers and noutritionist "authorities". It also contains a really interesting chapter about the placebo effect. A joy to read.
A really interesting and illuminating read. At times overly ranty but the tone keeps you on board and you learn a lot. Lots of variety and genuinely eye-opening.
I very much enjoyed reading this book. It is easy to read and is a humourous look into the harmful ways that the media reports science. Everyone should read this book as, even though it was published in 2009, it teaches you to be critical of any science shown in the media and is therefore still relevant and, if anything, even more important due to the increasing prominence of social media in society. Though the book does use some scientific language, along with a few graphs, it is very easy to understand.
informative
medium-paced
informative
medium-paced
3.5⭐️
Wasn’t a bad book. Gave me lots to think about but at times I felt my mind slipping and it just went on and on and on.
Wasn’t a bad book. Gave me lots to think about but at times I felt my mind slipping and it just went on and on and on.