I Think You'll Find It's a Bit More Complicated Than That
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anti-depressants 18; recession linked to rise in prescriptions for xviii, 104–7; SSRI 18, 105
antiretroviral medications 140, 185, 281, 284, 285
aortic aneurysm repair, mortality rates in hospital after/during 18–20, 114
APGaylard 252
Appleby, John 19, 173
artificial intelligence xxii, 394–5
Asch, Solomon 15, 16
Asphalia 365
Associated Press 316
Astel, Professor Karl 22
ATSC 273
autism: educational interventions in 325; internet use and 3; MMR and 145, 347–55, 356–8
Autism Research Centre, Cambridge 348, 354
Bad Science (Goldacre) xvi, 104, 110n, 257, 346
Bad Science column see Guardian
Ballas, Dr Dimitris 58
Barasi, Leo 96
Barden, Paul 101–4
Barnardo’s 394
Baron-Cohen, Professor Simon 349–51, 353–4
Batarim 305–6
BBC xxi; ‘bioresonance’ story and 277–8; Britain’s happiest places story and 56, 57; causes of avoidable death, overall coverage of 20; Down’s syndrome births increase story and 61–2; ‘EDF Survey Shows Support for Hinkley Power Station’ story and 95–6; psychological nature of libido problems story and 37; radiation from wi-fi networks story and 289–91, 293; recession and anti-depressant link, reports 105; Reform: The Value of Mathematics’ story and 196; ‘Threefold variation’ in UK bowel cancer rates’ story and 101–4; Wightman and 393, 394; ‘“Worrying’’ Jobless Rise Needs Urgent Action – Labour’ story and 59
Beating Bowel Cancer 101, 104
Becker muscular dystrophy 121
Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) 45
Benedict XVI, Pope 183, 184
Benford’s law 54–6
bicycle helmets, the law and 110–13
big data xvii, xviii, 71–86; access to government data 75–7; care.data and risk of sharing medical records 77–86; magical way that patterns emerge from data 73–5
Big Pharma xvii, 324, 401
bin Laden, Osama 357
biologising xvii, 35–46; biological causes for psychological or behavioural conditions 40–2; brain imaging, reality of phenomena and 37–9; girls’ love of pink, evolution and 42–6
Biologist 6
BioSTAR 248
birth rate, UK 49–50
Bishop, Professor Dorothy 3, 6
bladder cancer 24–5, 342
Blair, Tony 357
Blakemore, Colin 138
blame, mistakes in medicine and 267–70
blind auditions, orchestras and xxi, 309–11
blinding, randomised testing and xviii, 12, 118, 124, 126, 133, 137–8, 292–3, 345
blood tests 117, 119–20, 282
blood-pressure drugs 119–20
Blundell, Professor John 337
BMA 112
Booth, Patricia 265
Boston Globe 39
bowel cancer 101–4
Boynton, Dr Petra 252
Brain Committee 230–1
Brain Gym 10–12
Brainiac: faking of science on xxii, 371–5
brain-imaging studies, positive findings in 131–4
breast cancer: abortion and 200–1; diet and 338–40; red wine and 267, 269; screening 113, 114, 115
breast enhancement cream xx, 254–7
Breuning, Stephen 135–6
The British Association for Applied Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy (BANT) 268–9
British Association of Nutritional Therapists 270
British Chiropractic Association (BCA) 250–4
British Dental Association 24
British Household Panel Survey 57
British Journal of Cancer: ‘What if Cancer Survival in Britain were the Same as in Europe: How Many Deaths are Avoidable?’ 169–70
British Journal of General Practice 105–6
British Journal of Psychology 305
British Medical Association 251
British Medical Journal (BMJ): Bicycle Helmets and the Law (Goldacre/Spiegelhalter editorial) 110–13, 110n; criticism of medical practice within 251; ‘Explaining the rise in antidepressant prescribing’, 2009 paper 105, 106; hospital waiting times stories and 73; ‘IVF children have bigger vocabulary than unplanned children’ story and 109; MMR: The Scare Stories are Back. Goldacre article. 18th July, 2007 347–55; ‘more research is needed’ phrase banned by 4; studies of how ideas spread and myths grow 26; systematic review of effect of large multi-sports events on population 173, summaries of important new research from around the world 214; Why Don’t Journalists Mention the Data? Goldacre article, 16th June, 2007 292–4
British Psychological Society 329, 331
British Social Attitudes Survey 170
Bromley Times 57
Brooks, Tom 67, 68, 69
Building Evidence into Education. (Goldacre report for UK education minister) 202–18
Bundesbank 56
Burstow, Paul 174–6
Bush, George W. 13, 185, 298, 316
Cabinet Office White Paper on using randomised controlled trials to improve government policy, 2011 202n
Cambridge Film Festival 281, 283
Cambridge University 102, 226, 352, 355
Cameron, David 173
Campbell, Denis 343, 344, 346, 347–55
cancer: bladder cancer and fluoride 24–5; bladder cancer and swimming in chlorinated water 342; bowel cancer rates, UK 101–4; brain cancer and mobile phones 116–18; breast cancer and abortion 200–1; breast cancer and diet 338–40; breast cancer and red wine 269; breast cancer screening 114–15; care.data and 78, 83; cervical cancer jab 331–4; using Facebook and 221; herbal medicine and 265, 267; lung cancer and alcohol 107–9; prostate cancer 144; smoking and 3, 22, 319; trials published, only one in four 146; UK survival rates 169–71, 173; urinary tract 265; vaccination and 267, 331–4
Cancer Research UK 339
capital punishment, murder rates and 311–12
Cardiff University 29–31, 40
CardioSEAL 248
care.data 77–86
Cataldo, Janine 20–1
Caterson, Professor 30, 31
Catholic Church, condoms and xx, 183–5, 186
caveats in newspaper articles 338–40
Cellarnot 123
censorship, Brain Gym and 10–12
Central TV 269, 270
Cervarix 332, 333
cervical cancer 332–4
chance, certainty of 56–8
Channel 4 News 118, 121, 197, 251
Charlton, Bruce 140–1, 145
chatnannies.com 393, 395
cherry-picking scientific literature xvii, 5–8, 12, 174, 176–7, 192, 193, 252, 336, 349, 355
Chief Medical Officer for Wales 12
child abuse xix, 157–9, 391–5
children, critiques of adult pseudoscience by 10–12
Chimoio, Archbishop Francisco 183–4
China: girls’ love of pink and 44–5
Chinese traditional medicine xix, 265–7, 388
chlorthalidone 119–20
cholera, Soho outbreak, 1854 365
Christian Medical Fellowship 197
Church, Dr Timothy 336–7
CIA 357
cigarette packaging xxi, 318–21
Cirak, Sebahattin 121
Circulation 248
‘citation classics’ 9–10, 102–3, 173
Citation, network of 26–7
ClimateSock 96
Clinical Trials Units 217
clustered water 388–9
clusters on maps 364–6
coalition government, UK, 2010–14: drugs addicts and sentencing policy 177–9; NHS reform 73, 169–77; ‘Programme for Government’ 177
Cochrane, Archie 209–10, 211, 218, 252, 297–300
Cochrane Group 298
Cochrane Library 298, 300, 336
cod liver oil 29–31
&nbs
p; Coe, Robert 189
coffee, hallucinatory effects of 64–6
Coghill, Dr Roger 363–7
College of Natural Nutrition 268, 270
Colquhoun, Professor David 252, 266
Coma Science Group, Belgium 326
comas, communication in xxi, 324–6
Commonwealth Games, 2022 156
Complementary and Alternative Therapy magazine 278
Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council, the (CNHC) 266
computer games, dementia and 3–5
condoms, Catholic Church and xx, 183–5, 186
conference papers 193
conflict-of-interest stories 402
conformity, studies on 15–17
confounding variables xviii, 107–9, 111
Congolese Bishops’ Conference 183
Conservative Party 150, 180, 201
Copp, Professor Andrew 120–2
copy number variants (CNV) 40
copyright 33, 76
cosmetics companies xxii, 254–7, 388–9
Cosmos 250
council overspending xix, 152–4
creationism 13, 281, 284
crime: outrage is lower when a criminal has more victims xxi, 306–9; prevention numbers and DNA database xix, 162–5; sentencing policy 177–9
Crohns Disease 12
Daily Express: council wastage story 152–3; ‘Mum Beats Odds of 50 Million-to-One to Have 3 Babies on Same Date’ story 49; ‘Danger from just 7 cups of coffee a day’ story 64–6; ‘Record numbers of people are being handed antidepressants’ story 105; ‘stilettos tone up your legs’ story 341
Daily Mail 25; breast enhancement cream story 255; cod liver oil ‘nature’s superdrug’ story 29; ‘Council incompetence ‘“costs every household £452 a year’’’ story 152; ‘Up to 10bn a year is wasted by clueless councils’ story 152; ‘Economic woes fuel dramatic rise in use of antidepressants’ story 104–5; ‘How Using Facebook Could Raise your Risk of Cancer’ story 221; increase in number of Down’s syndrome babies story 61, 63; music piracy stories 159–60; prehistoric monuments on a grid of isosceles triangles stories 66, 67; psychological nature of libido problems story 37; sending babies to daycare causes damage to future health story 5–6; ‘Strict diet two days a week “cuts risk of breast cancer by 40 per cent’’’ story 338–9; ‘Swimming too Often in Chlorinated Water “Could Increase Risk of Developing Bladder Cancer’’, Say Scientists’ story 342
Daily Mirror: Down’s syndrome births increase story and 61, 63; reporter has compressed molecule hair treatment 389
Daily Telegraph: British forces seizure of Afghan heroin story 221; ‘Doctors say no to abortion in their surgeries’ story 89–91; ‘economic woes fuel dramatic rise in use of anti-depressants’ story 104–7; ‘IVF children have bigger vocabulary than unplanned children’ story 107; Krügel missing person locator story 275–6; ‘Man Cut Off Own Head with Chainsaw’ story 362; nutritionists, coverage of 268, 269; pornography for sperm donors story 179–82; public sector pay stories 149, 150, 151; Reform: ‘The Value of Mathematics’, coverage of 194; Sarah’s Law prevention of abuse figures story, coverage of 159; ‘why stilettos are the secret to shapely legs’ story 341; ‘wind farms blamed for stranding of whales’ story 340–1; ‘women who dress provocatively more likely to be raped, claim scientists’ story 329
Dangerous Drugs Act, 1920 229
Dartmouth Medical School, New Hampshire 358–9
datamining, terrorism and 51–3
Davies, Nick 227
Davies, Philip 318
Dawkins, Richard 13
daycare, development of child brain and 5–8
Deer, Brian 354, 357–8
Deleuze, Gilles 297, 298
dementia, computer games and 3–5
Deming, Dr W. Edwards 57–8
dental health, fluoride and 24
Department for Communities and Local Government xix, 153
Department for Education: Independent External Review for on improving use of evidence and data in schools, 2012 202n
Department for Education and Employment: commissions research review on educational interventions in autism, 1998 325
Department of Health 23, 169, 176, 229, 365
DHA 343
diabetes 120
Diamond, Dr Michael 37–8
diarrhoea, handwashing/rehydration and 182, 186–7
‘difference in differences’ 130–1
DNA: database xix, 162–5, 193; new techniques for measuring 135; muscular dystrophy and 121; ‘tracking-device’ 275–7
Do People Want Choice 171
Doing What Works (US government website for teachers) 214
Doll, Richard 22, 187
Doncaster Today 57
Dorset Echo 57
Doubleday 262
Down, John Langdon: ‘Observations on the Ethnic Classification of Idiots’ 141–2
Down’s syndrome: increase in live births as proof that we live in a more caring universe story xviii, 61–3; ‘Down Subjects and Oriental Population Share Several Specific Attitudes and Characteristics’ article, Medical Hypotheses xix, 139, 141–3, 144
Dowson, Dr Andrew 249
doxazosin 119–20
Dr Rath Health Foundation 388
Dr Strangelove (movie) 22–3
Drayson, Lord 331
Drug Dependency Units (DDUs) 231, 233, 234
Drug Enforcement Agency 232
‘Drug Testing and Treatment Orders’ (DTTOs) 178–9
drugs, recreational xx, 219–44; British forces drug seizure figures in Afghanistan 221–4; drug-related deaths, government figures for 225–6; heroin on prescription 226–44; sentencing policy and 177–9
‘Drugs: Protecting Families and Communities Action Plan 2008–11’ 226
du Sautoy, Marcus 194, 196
Dubowitz Neuromuscular Centre 121
Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy (DMD) 118–22
Duelfer Report 316
Duesberg, Peter 139, 140, 283
Dungeness 95, 381
Durham University 189
dystrophin 118–22
Eady, Mr Justice 250
early snarks xii, 387–98; artificial intelligence 394–5; Bad Science column manifesto 399–400; Ionic Hair Retexturising (IHR) 388–9; Nanniebots used to catch paedophiles 391–5; Oxygizer water 390–1; readers of Bad Science column spot pseudo-science 387–9
EDF 95–6
Edmunds, Jr, MD, Dr L. Henry 134
education: building evidence into xvi, xvii, xx, 202–18; exam difficulty 188–90; omega-3 fish oil and 343–7
electrosensitivity xxi; journalists’ failure to mention the data 292–4; wi-fi, dangers of 289–91
Ellison, Jane 85
Elsevier 139, 143, 144, 283
employment/unemployment numbers 59–61
Epicure 197–8
epidemiology xviii, xxii, 3, 18, 99–108, 298, 299, 349–50, 365; anecdotes, illustrating data with 118–22; bicycle helmets, the law and 110–13; bowel cancer rates, variation in 101–4; confounding variables 107–9; journalists, primary research and 104–7; magnetic wine 122–6; mobile phone use and cancer 116–18; screening for health problems 113–15
Ernst, Professor Edzard 323
Essex University 293
Etherington, Bill 23
Euromonitor 345
European Court of Justice 241
European Union 56, 169, 192
Eurostat 56
euthanasia 22
evidence-based policy xix–xx, 167–218; coalition government NHS reforms and 169–77; coalition government sentencing policy for drug offenders and 177–9; Commons Committee on Science and Technology report on ‘scientific developments relating to the Abortion Act, 1967’ 196–201; education, building evidence into 202–18; exams pass rates/difficulty 188–90; as fascist ideology 297–9; homeopathy and 322; maths, thinktank complains about decline in quality of within Britain 194–6; organic food and 191–4; pornography in sperm d
onor clinics and 179–82; power of ideas and (diarrhoea and AIDS) 182–7
EvidenceMatters 252
evolutionary psychologists 42–6
exams, difficulty of xx, 188–90
exercise, weight gain and xxi, 335–8
facilitated communication 324–6
Family Nurse Partnership, The 212–13
Fernandez, Bishop Demetrio 184
Finch, Felicity 61–3
fish oil 29–31, 343–6
Fisher, Dr Peter 322
fluoride 22–5
‘The Flynn Effect’ 188
‘fMRI in the Public Eye’ (2005 Nature Reviews Neuroscience paper) 38–9
Food Standards Agency (FSA) 12, 191
Fowler, Lord Norman 285
Fox News 107
Freedom of Information Act 18, 105
fruit, eating 303–4
FullFact 159
funnel plots xviii, 102–4, 132
Galileo 8, 227
Gambia 182
Gardasil 333
Gardner, Martin 261, 262, 263, 264; In the Name of Science 261, 264, 264n; Fads and Fallacies 262
gastric ulcers 9
Geller, Uri 50
General Chriopractic Council 253
General Medical Council (GMC) 227, 249, 251, 347
Geshekter, Charles 285
ghost writers, commercial 25–8
Gimpyblog 252
GM foods 29
government statistics 147–65; child abuse figures 157–8; conflation of two different things into one omnibus figure 155; council spending figures 152–4; crime figures 162–5; impact of major multi-sports events on host population 155–7; music piracy figures 159–62; public and private sector pay figures 149–52
GP Research Database 79
GPs 82; abortions and 90, 91; antidepressant prescriptions and 106; cod liver oil and 2; consortiums/fundholding 171–2, 174, 175, 176; increase in numbers of 170; participation in research 216; surveying of patients in waiting rooms and 60
Gray, Theodore 373–5, 375n
Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) 119, 120, 121–2
Greece: national economic data xviii, 54–6
Greenberg, Steven 26, 27, 28
Greenfield, Susan 3–5
Griffin, Beverly 285
Griffiths, Noola 309
Guardian: Bad Science column see under individual subject area; ‘Cuts protest violence: 149 people charged’ story 155; decision not to print technical information on suicide 362; declines Ben Goldacre article 17–20; recession and anti-depressant link story and 105; Reform: ‘The Value of Mathematics’, coverage of 194; Taliban narcotics factory story 221; transparency about research methods in articles questioned 17–20