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Bad Science

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Bad Science

By: Ben Goldacre
Narrated by: Rupert Farley
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About this listen

We are constantly bombarded with inaccurate, contradictory and sometimes misleading information - until now.

Ben Goldacre masterfully dismantles the dubious science behind some of the great drug trials, court cases, and missed opportunities of our time. He also shows us the fascinating story of how we know what we know, and gives us the tools to uncover bad science for ourselves.

©2008 Ben Goldacre (P)2010 WF Howes Ltd Biological Sciences Physics Science Thought-Provoking Medicine

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Ben Goldacre has the rare gift of making things that the media will tell you are boring seem fascinatingly interesting. Bad Science is filled with the clear-minded, witty writing that makes him such a success on the pages of the guardian... and on top of the book being really entertaining, it is hugely educational. Goldacre dismantles everything from antioxidant and fish oil nonsense to the evils of big pharma and shows up Patrick Holford for the quack he is. He does all this without malace and with clear and undisputable evidence. The book is a triumph of the mind in an age of ignorance. If it wasn't for some slightly too smug narration, it would have been frighteningly close to the perfect listen.

Making science truly entertaining

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I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book and felt my eyes opened to some specific scandals in the health-food and pharmaceutical industries. My only criticisms are that the topics/chapters are a little repetitive in parts, and that the narration can be somewhat patronising in tone (though I notice some of the reviews on Amazon make this comment about the book itself, so maybe the narrator is being true to the text?!). Anyway, I'd certainly recommend this.

Much enjoyed

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What did you like most about Bad Science?

Ignorance is not bliss and Ben Goldacre highlights that fact beautifully in this book.

His assertion of the importance of questioning our sources of information and challenging ourselves to be mindful and objective, as far as possible, is both apt and timely. We are bombarded from all sides by information, so never has it been more important to be able to distinguish the genuinely noteworthy from the lazily headline grabbing.

Any additional comments?

For a book which I agree with so much, it made me surprisingly angry at times. Whilst it is mainly a good point quite well made, it tends towards being patronising.

As both a Humanities graduate and a teacher (both of which come under rather extensive scrutiny in the book), I felt almost attacked. Yes, I have a BA and MA, but I also know my way around the Cambridge Book of Statistical Tables and SPSS (though not Stata, I admit). As a university graduate, I am more that passingly familar with critical thinking, analysis of sources and the evaluation of evidence. The notion that simply because I am not a Science graduate I could not possibly know/understand/care about these things is both offensive and contrary to the message of the book: anyone can understand this if they want to.

Dr Goldacre also invited teachers to join doctors in the world of evidence-based practice. It is appalling to think that he has clearly assumed that this is the case rather than actually asking a teacher. We do action research in our classrooms. We research which methods are appropriate and apply them. There are vast numbers of journals constantly publishing research on just that. We have studied questions around practice and are mindful of them, to suggest otherwise is simply false. Certainly, it is not the case that all teachers conduct research, but neither is it the case for all doctors.On a different note, I also disliked how much he implied, or in some cases flat out stated, that to disagree with him was to be wrong. I am a fan of nuance and discussion and this attitude kills it dead. Even if your overall point is correct, that doesn't mean it doesn't need refinement and as an academic, you should always be open to that.

There were a host of points that niggled, but overall, that does not detract from the importance of the book. Read it, listen to it, but as the book itself asks, do so with an objective, critical mind.

Important but patronising

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Great book and I really enjoyed it throughly.
My only issue was the audio issues throughout. Skipping and quality issues. Not knowing if I missed a sentence or section as a result.

Great book but...

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Fantastic book but I'm not keen on the narrator's habit of doing silly voices/accents especially when quoting people.

Great book, not so great narration

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