Science has authority not because of white coats or titles, but because of precision and transparency: you explain your theory, set out your evidence, and reference the studies that support your case.
BEN GOLDACREJust just because there are flaws in aircraft design that doesn’t mean flying carpets exist.
More Ben Goldacre Quotes
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I spend a lot of time talking to people who disagree with me – I would go so far as to say that it’s my favourite leisure activity.
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These corporations run our culture, and they riddle it with bullshit.
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Just just because there are flaws in aircraft design that doesn’t mean flying carpets exist.
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Real science is all about critically appraising the evidence for somebody else’s position.
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Children can be disgusting, and often they can develop extraordinary talents, but I’m yet to meet any child who can stimulate his carotid arteries inside his ribcage.
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I hope that you will be asked to participate in a trial at some stage in your disease
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I agree, the world would be a better place if doctors were less enthusiastic about adopting very new drugs.
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As it is a major component of blood, water is vital for transporting oxygen to the brain. Heaven forbid that your blood should dry out.
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The plural of anecdotes is not data
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If I was writing a lifestyle book it would have the same advice on every page, and you’d know it all already.
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Positive findings are around twice as likely to be published as negative findings. This is a cancer at the core of evidence-based medicine.
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But as we will see, even these things are hard to do on your own, and in reality require wholesale social and political changes.
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The placebo effect is one of the most fascinating things in the whole of medicine. It’s not just about taking a pill, and your performance and your pain getting better. It’s about our beliefs and expectations. It’s about the cultural meaning of a treatment.
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And if, by the end [of this book], you reckon you might still disagree with me, then I offer you this: you’ll still be wrong, but you’ll be wrong with a lot more panache and flair than you could possibly manage right now.
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Eat lots of fruit and vegetables, and live your whole life in every way as well as you can: exercise regularly as part of your daily routine, avoid obesity, don’t drink too much, don’t smoke, and don’t get distracted from the real, basic, simple causes of ill health.
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