Bad Science

Reading Ben Goldacre's book, Bad Science, was such a contrast from the usual books I read. To start off with, it's non-fiction (say what!) Now don't get me wrong, I like a bit of non-fiction every now and then (being a history buff and science enthusiast, it's nice to sink you're teeth into something 'factual' once in a while) but I am, primarily, a fiction fiend. So when I finally sat down to read this book (it's been on my book shelf for like three years now!) I was pleasantly surprised. It's brilliant!

First things first: Goldacre is hilarious! His book is about science (which you have probably noticed from the title, I'm just stating the obvious) and the terrible stuff people are willing to believe about science when they don't have any reliable evidence to support their claims. In the book, he discusses topics such as the ridiculousness of homeopathy, pointless diet fads, and how good the media is at distorting science facts. He backs up all his points with cold hard evidence, but tells it all in a funny way which appeals to both the science-y and not so science-y ones among us. Even though he is an exceptionally witty writer, Goldacre never shies away from the message of his book: people need to demand to see the evidence behind scientific claims, look at things with a more critical eye, and to stop believing in things just because it's written down somewhere!

As a science major, I've always appreciated the ability to question things and to not take everything at face value. I find it important to research things and to look at several sources in order to get the big picture. And if one source contradicts another, I don't throw it in the bin, I try to find out why it is contradictory and what this adds to my perception of the 'bigger picture'. This all just seems logical to me, so why doesn't everybody else do it? That, I think, is what's so scary about this book: the fact that there are people out there who just believe in everything they read and they don't think for themselves! That may make me sound a little naive. I know that not everyone is like me (I'm a huge nerd and I'm aware of it) but reading some kind of 'science fact' in a crappy newspaper and believing it wholeheartedly just seems beyond ridiculous. And more importantly, how do these crappy newspapers, like the Daily Mail, get away with telling people that things such as aspirin and honey cause cancer! (Take a look at this video from one of my favourite comedians, Russell Howard, to see what else the Daily Mail claims causes cancer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFfWykH05Gw)

One final comment about Bad Science...One of the most shocking things about the book were the chapters on how scientists and pharmaceutical companies 'fiddle' with data (they don't necessarily make numbers up, but they get rid of evidence that does not support their claim and that's almost the same kind of thing) so that they can sell their products. This is so ethically wrong and it makes me furious! These are the people who are testing medicines and supplying them to us, but they don't actually care if these drugs make us better or not as long as they're filling their pockets!

I do realise that this has been my most angry post thus far. This is just a topic that is close to my heart and this book has given me a lot to think about! I hope that this blog post has encouraged you to continue being (or start being) critical about the things you read, science related or otherwise.