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A review by page51
Bad Science by Ben Goldacre
5.0
The title is already provoking. "Bad Science". There is no such thing, just like there is no bad knife, or bad hydrogen. Let's take the knife - I can use it to cut veggies for a nice meal, or be clumsy, drop it and stab myself in a foot, or commit a cold blood murder with robbery.
The stories in this book fall into the clumsy and the cold blood categories. The clumsy is the misinterpretation with good intentions. The cold blood is twisting existing research or creating results out of thin air to suit the purpose. The purpose is almost always the same. Ego driven need for fame and hunger for money.
I started reading grinning to myself. The book begins lightly, exposing diet and healthy lifestyle fads. The detox! (look up the history of the word if you want some fun on the side). Then it gets darker, and soon my grin was gone. When the 'fads' and silly trends cross over into fake cures for AIDS and cancer and people start to die, then it's no longer funny but horrific and outrageous. This book exposes the mechanism of such outrages, the whole chain from the source which can be a genuine research done badly, or something just dressed as 'research' but financed by someone who will profit from the results and therefore the result is set before even such 'research' begins. Then there are people who bring the findings to the masses - the media or as the author calls them 'the churnalists'. Their hunger for the limelight, their scramblings to stay there. Then there are the people who are fed these 'news', the addicts who abandon all their ability to think clearly under the avalanche of confusing information. It is so easy to drown, to give up the fight for the truth.
I am so glad I've found this book. I was always aware of the importance of objective, thorough scientific method. Long time ago when I was still studying (mathematics) I did a semester of statistics with psychology students, out of curiosity. Some of them had such disdain for hard maths as a tool. Others struggled with the concept of variables and abstract thinking. It was such an eye opener for me. So I don't have much problem with debunking fake-ism when I see it. The book gives me motivation - and tools - for informed debate. I usually tend to keep quiet around people of different opinion. It's their problem, I think. I know what I know. This book made me realise that we all need to fight for the truth and we need to be well armed for that. Armed with facts, quotes and valid sources and ability to discern what is what. This book shows us how.
The stories in this book fall into the clumsy and the cold blood categories. The clumsy is the misinterpretation with good intentions. The cold blood is twisting existing research or creating results out of thin air to suit the purpose. The purpose is almost always the same. Ego driven need for fame and hunger for money.
I started reading grinning to myself. The book begins lightly, exposing diet and healthy lifestyle fads. The detox! (look up the history of the word if you want some fun on the side). Then it gets darker, and soon my grin was gone. When the 'fads' and silly trends cross over into fake cures for AIDS and cancer and people start to die, then it's no longer funny but horrific and outrageous. This book exposes the mechanism of such outrages, the whole chain from the source which can be a genuine research done badly, or something just dressed as 'research' but financed by someone who will profit from the results and therefore the result is set before even such 'research' begins. Then there are people who bring the findings to the masses - the media or as the author calls them 'the churnalists'. Their hunger for the limelight, their scramblings to stay there. Then there are the people who are fed these 'news', the addicts who abandon all their ability to think clearly under the avalanche of confusing information. It is so easy to drown, to give up the fight for the truth.
I am so glad I've found this book. I was always aware of the importance of objective, thorough scientific method. Long time ago when I was still studying (mathematics) I did a semester of statistics with psychology students, out of curiosity. Some of them had such disdain for hard maths as a tool. Others struggled with the concept of variables and abstract thinking. It was such an eye opener for me. So I don't have much problem with debunking fake-ism when I see it. The book gives me motivation - and tools - for informed debate. I usually tend to keep quiet around people of different opinion. It's their problem, I think. I know what I know. This book made me realise that we all need to fight for the truth and we need to be well armed for that. Armed with facts, quotes and valid sources and ability to discern what is what. This book shows us how.