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Bad Science
Bad Science: Quacks, Hacks, and Big Pharma Flacks | Ben Goldacre
12 posts | 43 read | 22 to read
Have you ever wondered how one day the media can assert that alcohol is bad for us and the next unashamedly run a story touting the benefits of daily alcohol consumption? Or how a drug that is pulled off the market for causing heart attacks ever got approved in the first place? How can average readers, who aren't medical doctors or Ph.D.s in biochemistry, tell what they should be paying attention to and what's, well, just more bullshit? Ben Goldacre has made a point of exposing quack doctors and nutritionists, bogus credentialing programs, and biased scientific studies. He has also taken the media to task for its willingness to throw facts and proof out the window. But he's not here just to tell you what's wrong. Goldacre is here to teach you how to evaluate placebo effects, double-blind studies, and sample sizes, so that you can recognize bad science when you see it. You're about to feel a whole lot better.
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jenniferw88
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Pickpick

Not an entire book on #Angola, but I'm counting it as I learnt the above fact. #ReadingAfrica2022 @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB

Bad Science tells the reader a lot about how you should treat all claims about scientific studies about new drugs treating #sickness with a grain of salt, as results are bound to be skewered towards a positive outcome. #200pnpcovers @CrowCAH @mabell

4🌟

Librarybelle Hooray!! 3y
mabell Interesting! 3y
CrowCAH You can lie with any stat! Lol 3y
54 likes3 comments
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Curtis.Kennedy
Mehso-so

I found sections of this book to be interesting, and the book was informative as a whole. However, I though it could have been shorter. The arguments made in the book seem to come from a point of loathing (warranted), but I just didn‘t share the same passion as the author did.

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Pedrocamacho
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Mehso-so

Lots of good thoughts on the problems of conducting scientifically useful medical research and how the fruits of that research should be communicated to the public. Honestly, I wish that I would read this book when I bought it years ago.

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shutupsmalls
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BeththeBookDragon
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Ha!

29 likes1 stack add
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jenniferheidi
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Pickpick

An entertaining take down of those who use bad science to exploit and mislead. I enjoyed this book even though it was slightly terrifying and slightly smug (humanities grads can understand science too, Ben). Particularly interesting stuff on the placebo effect.

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KateFulfordAuthor
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#inlaws #reviews #others.

Ben Goldacre thinks that it‘s a little bit more complicated than that, and he‘s right. A scientific dissection of the pseudoscience thrown at us by the media and advertisers. And if you don‘t like it you can always go on a detox afterwards to purge yourself of all the toxins it has released into your system.

TieDyeDude Ha! 6y
90 likes5 stack adds1 comment
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iread2much
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Mehso-so

I found the author tended to drone on a bit and was a bit dry. However, I do think this is a good introduction to research and research science. I think, if you can make it through, it‘s a good way to get an understanding of how research works and what constitutes good research. I give it 2 out of 5 stars and would suggest it to anyone who wants to learn more about scientific research and/or anyone who wants to learn how to spot fake news

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BestDogDad
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Mehso-so

I'm a fan of Ben Goldacre. I just did not connect at all with this audiobook. I was very familiar with most of the subject matter, as much it has been covered in depth on the podcast The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe. The book felt like a review and a lot of rehash.

I would still recommend this book for anyone looking to become more proficient in seeing through anti-science claims and recognizing scams and pseudoscience.

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lovelybookshelf

"The plural of antidote is not data."

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GoneFishing

The most important take-home message with diet and health is that anyone who ever expresses anything with certainty is basically wrong, because the evidence for cause and effect in this area is almost always weak and circumstantial...

Seshat Word. 8y
ultrabookgeek I wish more people questioned the sources of what is considered "healthy"!!! 8y
25 likes2 comments