Making science truly entertaining

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.

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40 people found this helpful

Great content, rather polemical style

This book isn't really about science, but about its misrepresentation. It is particularly topical as the NHS is currently mopping up the damage caused by the MMR scandal and scam of 2002-2005. Was it all done just to sell newspapers? Basically, yes, even though children may (this year) die as a direct result.

I got a bit tired of Ben Goldacre's polemical style, and overuse of adjectives such as exquisite and spectacular. The problem is that Mr Goldacre does not really understand rhetoric. He criticises humanities people for not understanding science (bravo) but he could do with understanding the rules of rhetoric better himself. He actually goes out of his way to alienate his scientific readers (by assuming that his reader knows less about e.g. statistics than himself, which will not always be true) as well as non-scientific readers who are bound to find him unsympathetic. Who did he want to appeal to? The first rule of rhetoric is to get your audience to identify with you, to feel that you are one of them. No one wants to identify with Mr Superior and Mr Outraged. You could blame the narrator for the constant and fatiguing tone of moral outrage, but I think he is genuinely reflecting the tone of Dr Goldacre's writing. Lighten up, laugh, you will communicate better!

So, Mrs Picky Moaner, why did you give the book five stars? It is a cracking tour of a fascinating subject, there is much thoughtful content, I was gripped throughout, and I didn't want to put anyone off audioing this illuminating tome.

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26 people found this helpful

Best (non-fiction?) book I ever read

I had to write a review for this book, it's just brilliant. Follow @bengoldacre on Twitter, or read his blog/Guardian articles at badscience.co.uk, and you'll see how realistic and cutting he can be, while warm and funny at the same time. He's a voice of sanity in a world of media (clich?d but quite frankly apt) 'gone mad' - especially around science, a.k.a., evidence. No, I didn't think that until I read the book, though I did have my suspicions from seeing various tabloid headlines!

It hasn't just been made fascinating reading by the content about warped newspaper stories, the laughable doctrine of homeopathy, and the health scares that needn't have existed and have actually eroded the nation's health. It also teaches some bare-bones science lessons which somehow I never got my head round in school (probably because we were trying to reproduce effects that were already certain!) about conducting fair experiments, allowing for and expecting bias, and considering other factors.

This has applied to so much of my life! I think differently and am much more willing to try new things - it's actually made more sense than the cognitive-behavioural therapy books I've read to combat my depression. And as a computer programmer, I've realised I'm constantly creating mini experiments all the time, finding out if my new addition to the code does what I hoped, what else could have made it go wrong, and so on.

Can't recommend this book enough.

Also recommend The Tiger That Wasn't for a similarly accessible and wildly successful attack on the stupid ways we're given statistics, and how they're more often than not interpreted by journalists entirely wrongly. You don't have to be a statistician to make sense of numbers, you just need a basic grip on the subject if you ever want to learn about the world!

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18 people found this helpful

A bit of an eye opener

In an easy to understand style that never talks down to the reader, Ben Goldacre pokes an big stick into some of the organisations and characters that shape how science is understood outside academic circles. From debunking the use of scientific sounding names in marketing ("now with madeupnameium to make you look younger") to disecting some of the more dubious characters that pollute our media this book analyses the methods used to show how they are as far removed from real science as it is possible to be.

I would challenge any reader not to be horrified by the way in which the MMR scandal was prolonged and fanned by the media, in spite of mounting evidence being presented to show that there was no provable link with autism. And then, noting when this book was written, predicting how the media would then turn on Andrew Wakefield when he was placed before the GMC without ever considering the role they played in whole shameful episode.

This is a great book that opened my eyes to many of the practices that companies and individuals use to make themselves wealthy without ever showing if their product/service/diet etc is effective. Goldacre also delves into the power of placebo and how convenitional medicine if failing to exploit it.

Fantastic listen.

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17 people found this helpful

VERY INTERESTING AND ENLIGHTNING

Although I understand the view that the author can be seen as condescending I did not find this. I thought he apologised too often for that to be the case. He certainly can get caught up with individuals who have severely crossed the line, it is amusing to hear a doctor be so angry about it, but at the same time it is hugely helpful to understand just how very much some individuals have crossed the line (and shockingly, they truly have) at our expense (I personally have paid, so I have 1st hand experience). This audiobook is well worth time and spend, but do remember to engage your sense of humour at the same time as you engage your brain, you will then enjoy this book all the more.

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15 people found this helpful

Well written but repetitive

This book was very factual and most enjoyable in places. The narration was excellent and really captured the authors' passion, which could be misconstrued as arrogant, even pompous. I however found Goldacre's sarcastic delivery of information quite humorous. I would have given four stars but quite a substantial amount of material was repeated unnecessarily and the book could have easily been shorter. Overall, I definitely recommend but it's not a book that I would listen to again.

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13 people found this helpful

Interesting topic, annoying narration

Ben Goldacre exposes many of the slights of hand used in the health & nutrition industry covering the obviously ridiculous, such as homeopathy, to the more believable, such as fish oil supplements. The content of the book was very interesting but I did find the narration started to grate after a while.

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12 people found this helpful

Shocking

This book really scared me. It opens your eyes to the potential misleading that is inherently baked into the science we believe. Ben goldacre divides opinion - some see him as a anti new age cynic who bangs on about proof and pooh poohs a whole sector of natural health care. I actually found him balanced in his views he is equally sceptical about pharmaceutical industry as he is about alternative health care. Whilst this book is primarily aimed at alternative health care his other book bad pharma really does shine a light on the mistakes through to criminal corruption inherent in the system. His view is proper evidence and transparency with proper regulation is the only way to move forward. I agree and i think Ben would suggest you read the book and make up your own mind.

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10 people found this helpful

Get this book.

It will change the way you look at the world.
Fantastic pace and very entertaining.

PJ

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10 people found this helpful

Arrogant delivery detracts from book

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Not really. I found the author's pompous and sarcastic tone really irritating. It was a real distraction from what could have been a interesting listen. I had to stop listening after a few chapters. I couldn't bear it any longer.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I think the book would have had more impact had the author written the book "straight", rather than trying (and really failing) to be funny. Instead, he comes across as being up his own bottom.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Rupert Farley's delivery was dreadful. He merely added to the general air of cynicism and arrogance.

Any additional comments?

Don't bother.

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8 people found this helpful