The Unpersuadables: Adventures with the Enemies of Science
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111 He described the investigation as a ‘pantomime’: Heretics of Science, episode one, BBC2, 1994.
111 Benveniste finished his grand defence: ‘Dr Jacques Benveniste replies’, Nature, 28 July 1988.
112 Two years later, he was fired: Heretics of Science, episode one, BBC2, 1994.
112 ‘Shang et al.’: Aijing Shang et al., ‘Are the clinical effects of homoeopathy placebo effects? Comparative study of placebo-controlled trials of homoeopathy and allopathy’, Lancet, 27 August 2005. (I made repeated attempts to approach Shang and members of his team for comment and assistance, but unfortunately they declined to help.)
115 ‘One day,’ he said, ‘we are going to be able to get our drugs on the phone’: Heretics of Science, episode one, BBC2, 1994.
115 ‘Today you can send a strand of your hair’: Interview with Andy Lewis, The Quackometer.
115 ‘milk of the dolphin’: These are treatments recommended by Nancy Herrick in ‘Animal Mind, Human Voices’, noted on Reviewed by Edi Mottershead (accessed at: http://www.minimum.com/reviews/animal-mind.htm) and the biography of Herrick on the website of the Hahnemann Clinic, Point Richmond: http://www.herrickmorrison.com/sitemap.html.
116 The Cancer Act 1939: Section 4: ‘(1) No person shall take any part in the publication of any advertisement –. (a) containing an offer to treat any person for cancer, or to prescribe any remedy therefore, or to give any advice in connection with the treatment thereof ’.
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118 Morgellons was named in 2002, by American mom Mary Leitao: Brigid Schulte, ‘Figments of the Imagination?’, Washington Post, 20 January 2008.
118 Using a microscope: Chico Harlan, ‘Mom fights for answers on what’s wrong with her son’, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 23 July 2006.
118 blue, black and white fibres: Elizabeth Devita-Raeburn, ‘The Morgellons Mystery’, Psychology Today, 1 March 2007.
118 patients in ‘every continent except Antarctica’: http://www.thecehf.org/morgellons-disease-bizarre-truth.html.
118 Even folk singer Joni Mitchell has been affected: Matt Diehl, ‘It’s a Joni Mitchell concert, sans Joni’, Los Angeles Times, 22 April 2012.
118 thousands of sufferers in the US have written to members of Congress: Brigid Schulte, ‘Figments of the Imagination?’, Washington Post, 20 January 2008.
118 In 2008, the CDC established a special task force: ‘CDC to Launch Study on Unexplained Illness’, CDC Press Briefing Transcript, Moderator: Dave Daigle, 16 January 2008, 2:00 p.m. EST.
120 academics such as Jeffrey Meffert: Brigid Schulte, ‘Figments of the Imagination?’, Washington Post, 20 January 2008.
120 Dr Mary Seeman, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry: Michael Mason, ‘Is It Disease or Delusion? U.S. Takes on a Dilemma’, New York Times, 24 October 2006.
120–21 Dr Steven Novella of The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe agrees: ‘Delusional Parasitosis’, sciencebasedmedicine.org, 18 May 2011.
121 In the spring of 2005, Randy Wymore: Interview with author and Brigid Schulte, ‘Figments of the Imagination?’, Washington Post, 20 January 2008.
122 the moment they discovered the job was related to Morgellons: Randy Wymore, presentation, fourth Annual Morgellons Conference in Austin, Texas, 2 April 2011.
128 I find a 2008 paper on Morgellons: Robert E. Accordino et al., ‘Morgellons Disease?’, Dermatologic Therapy, vol. 21, issue 1, pp. 8–12, January 2008.
129 In 1987 a team of German researchers found: Atul Gawande, ‘The Itch’, New Yorker, 30 June 2008.
135 ‘No parasites or mycobacteria were detected,’ it reports: M. L. Pearson, J. V. Selby, K. A. Katz, V. Cantrell, C. R. Braden et al., ‘Clinical, Epidemiologic, Histopathologic and Molecular Features of an Unexplained Dermopathy’, PLoS ONE 7(1) (2012): e29908. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0029908.
135 Commenting on the work, Steven Novella: ‘Morgellons, Creating a New Disease’, www.skepticblog.org, 6 February 2012.
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145 In his book Doctoring the Mind: Richard Bentall, Doctoring the Mind, Allen Lane, 2009, p. 131.
145 A typical example is a 2004 paper: P. Bebbington et al., ‘Psychosis, victimisation and childhood disadvantage: evidence from the second British National Survey of Psychiatric Morbidity’, British Journal of Psychiatry 185 (2004), pp. 220–26.
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162 Most recently (1991–96) she has been the Head of Ethics Science and Information for the British Medical Association: http://www.networkprivacy.gg/fleur.htm.
166 accused of being ‘fixated on finding satanic abuse’: Esther Addley, ‘I Could Not Stop Crying’, Guardian, 21 October 2006.
166 a cognitive-psychology student named Jim Coan: Interview with author.
171 Dr Sinason’s NHS-funded ‘Clinic for Dissociative Studies’: http://clinicds.com/3.html.
171 Dr Sinason is well known in mental-health circles: http://valeriesinason.co.uk.
171 an in-demand speaker … Department of Health: Interview with author.
171 the Bulger killings: Blake Morrison, ‘Jon Venables is not yet beyond redemption’, Guardian, 27 July 2010.
171 Chris Langham: James Hanning, ‘Comic release: Is it time to forgive Chris Langham?’, Independent, 6 December 2009.
171 controversial condition known as multiple-personality disorder or ‘DID’: Amanda Mitchison, ‘Kim Noble: The woman with 100 personalities’, Guardian, 30 September 2011.
175 paedophiles occasionally meddle with pagan rites and symbolism: ‘Kidwelly sex cult members face long jail sentences’, BBC News Wales, 9 March 2011.
178 ‘It turned out to be that, yes. The people didn’t remember at first. They weren’t aware’: Dr Fisher has previously admitted to journalist Daniel Foggo that ‘Carole had “no knowledge” of any ritual abuse when she first saw her.’ Daniel Foggo, Sunday Times, 12 June 2011.
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182 in a paper published in the Journal of Philosophical Studies: Lisa Bortolotti and Matteo Mameli, ‘Self Deception, Delusion and the Boundaries of Folk Psychology’, Journal of Philosophical Studies, vol. 20, pp. 203–221.
183 Psychiatrist Robin Murray: The Life Scientific with Robin Murray, BBC Radio Four, first broadcast 7 February 2012.
183 According to Professor of Psychiatry Bruce Wexler: Bruce E. Wexler, Brain and Culture, MIT Press, 2008, p. 9.
183 Developmental biologist Lewis Wolpert writes: Lewis Wolpert, Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast, Faber, 2007, p. 36.
184 Psychologist Jonathan Haidt has called effectance: Jonathan Haidt, The Happiness Hypothesis, Arrow, 2006, p. 22.
184 Professor Daniel Kahneman invites his readers: Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow, Penguin, 2011, p. 50.
184 Professor Wolpert, meanwhile, writes of studies: Lewis Wolpert, Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast, Faber, 2007, p. 16.
184 mode of language that is millions of years older: Drew Westen, The Political Brain, Public Affairs, 2007, p. 57.
184 every sight, every smell, every person, every idea, everything: Michael S. Gazzaniga, Human, Harper Perennial, 2008, pp. 121, 124.
184 Professor Michael Gazzaniga writes: Michael S. Gazzaniga, Human, Harper Perennial, 2008, p. 124.
184 incapable of making these decisions: Michael S. Gazzaniga, Human, Harper Perennial, 2008, p. 120.
185 hitting you with dread or desire: David Brooks, The Social Animal, Short Books, 2011, p. 207.
185 in the words of Professor David Eagleman: David Eagleman, Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain, Canongate, 2011, p. 104.
185 Professor Bruce Wexler writes: Bruce E. Wexler, Brain and Culture, MIT Press, 2008, p. 125.
186 he offers the example of young Native American men: Bruce E. Wexler, Brain and Culture, MIT Press, 2008, p. 126.
186 Eagleman,
‘not at the centre of the action’: David Eagleman, Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain, Canongate, 2011, p. 9.
186 Scientists at the Monell Centre, Philadelphia: David Brooks, The Social Animal, Short Books, 2011, p. 16.
186 When chickens are born in industrial hatcheries: David Eagleman, Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain, Canongate, 2011, p. 57.
186 Researcher Richard Horsey says: Richard Horsey, ‘The Art of Chicken Sexing’, UCL Working Papers in Linguistics, 2002.
187 a team led by Professor Antoine Bechara: Antoine Bechara, Hanna Damasio, Daniel Tranel and Antonio R. Damasio, ‘Deciding Advantageously Before Knowing the Advantageous Strategy’, Science 275, no. 5304, pp. 1293–95 (February 1997).
188 Professor Timothy Wilson writes in Redirect: Timothy D. Wilson, Redirect: The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change, Allen Lane, 2011, p. 51.
189 their understanding that germs and food can cause sickness: Lewis Wolpert, Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast, Faber, 2007, pp. 48–49.
189 In 1889 the German psychiatrist Albert Moll: Daniel M. Wenger, The Illusion of Conscious Will, MIT Press, 2002, p. 149.
189 Seventy-three years later, researchers at Columbia University: Michael S. Gazzaniga, Human, Harper Perennial, 2008, pp. 295, 296.
190 Why this is remains a mystery: Jonathan Haidt, The Happiness Hypothesis, Arrow, 2006, p. 7.
190 (although some speculate … sources of light): Email to author from Professor Chris Frith.
190 the left side is specialised for language: Jonathan Haidt, The Happiness Hypothesis, Arrow, 2006, p. 7.
190 the right is effectively mute: Jonathan Haidt, The Happiness Hypothesis, Arrow, 2006, p. 9.
191 he flashed a picture of a chicken claw: Michael S. Gazzaniga, Human, Harper Perennial, 2008, p. 294.
191 Gazzaniga flashed the command ‘Walk’: Daniel Wegner, The Illusion of Conscious Will, MIT Press, 2002, p. 182.
192 driven to constantly narrate our actions: Jonathan Haidt, The Happiness Hypothesis, Arrow, 2006, p. 8.
192 Gazzaniga writes, ‘Ah, lack of knowledge is of no importance’: Michael S. Gazzaniga, Human, Harper Perennial, 2008, pp. 296, 297.
192 Opinions range from those of Professor David Eagleman: David Eagleman, Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain, Canongate, 2011, pp. 137, 148.
193 Professor of Psychology Daniel Wegner, who argues: This summary of his position was confirmed as ‘apt’ in an email from Professor Wegner.
193 ‘can at best be a small factor’: David Eagleman, ‘The Brain on Trial’, The Atlantic, July/August 2011.
194 A 1962 study by Professor Daniel Offer: Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson, Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me), Pinter and Martin, 2007, p. 76.
194 Social psychologists Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson believe: Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson, Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me), Pinter and Martin, 2007, p. 76.
194 One, for example, involves a man buying a chicken from a supermarket: Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind, Allen Lane, 2012, p. 3.
194 After 1,620 harmless offence stories: Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind, Allen Lane, 2012, p. 24.
195 “I know it’s wrong, but I just can’t think of a reason why”: Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind, Allen Lane, 2012, p. 25.
000 ‘moral reasoning is part of our lifelong struggle’: Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind, Allen Lane, 2012, p. 50.
195 Don’t take people’s moral arguments at face value: Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind, Allen Lane, 2012, p. xiv.
195 We are selfish hypocrites: Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind, Allen Lane, 2012, p. xv.
195 ‘myoclonic jerk’: Jeff Warren, Head Trip: Adventures on the Wheel of Consciousness, Oneworld, 2007, p. 31.
195 As neuroscientist and sleep expert Dr Stephen LaBerge has said: Jeff Warren, Head Trip: Adventures on the Wheel of Consciousness, Oneworld, 2007, p. 100.
195 neuroscientist and philosopher Thomas Metzinger notes: Thomas Metzinger, The Ego Tunnel, Basic Books, 2009, p. 138.
196 Dopamine helps to tell us when our models need updating: My understanding of this principle of dopamine was assisted by Professor Chris Frith.
197 ‘It is so unsettling to think such thoughts’: Timothy D. Wilson, Redirect: The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change, Allen Lane, 2011, p. 52.
197 Analysis of one hundred such papers: Bob Holmes, Kurt Kleiner, Kate Douglas and Michael Bond, ‘Reasons to be cheerful’, New Scientist, 4 October 2003.
197 Anthropologists at the University of Connecticut: Matthew Hutson, ‘In Defense of Superstition’, New York Times, 6 April 2012.
197 He tells of an examination of a group of people: Timothy D. Wilson, Redirect: The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change, Allen Lane, 2011, p. 55.
197 Says Professor Wilson, ‘Those who had learned’: Timothy D. Wilson, Redirect: The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change, Allen Lane, 2011, p. 56.
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200 Christ Church? Was that it?: I subsequently discovered that my father attended Exeter College.
201 Cognitive psychologist Professor Martin Conway: Charles Fernyhough, ‘Our Memories Tell Our Story’, Guardian, 22 March 2010.
204 a popular speaker with America’s Tea Party movement: ‘Christopher, a Man of Many Talents’. http://www.ukip.org/content/latest-news/1675-christopher-a-man-of-many-talents.
204 He has labelled climate science the ‘largest fraud of all time’: Leo Hickman, ‘“Chemical nonsense”: Leading scientists refute Lord Monckton’s attack on climate science’, Guardian, 21 September 2010.
204 believes that ‘the Hitler Youth were left wing … Nuremberg Rallies’: Interview with Jacek Szkudlarek, corbettreport.com, December 2009, YouTube.
204 he believes that ‘very little’ warming of the earth will take place: ‘Lord Monckton: Climate facts, not “consensus”’, Daily Herald, 22 March 2010.
204 When the presentation … was heard by Professor John Abraham: John Abraham, ‘Monckton takes scientist to brink of madness at climate change talk’, Guardian, 3 June 2010.
204 Monckton responded by accusing Abraham: ‘Monckton: At Last, the Climate Extremists Try to Debate Us! (PJM Exclusive)’, PJmedia.com, 4 June 2010.
204 Our modern notion of ‘left’ and ‘right’ beliefs: John T. Jost, ‘“Elective Affinities”: On the Psychological Bases of Left–Right Differences’, Psychological Inquiry 20 (2009), pp. 129–41.
204 clinical psychologist and political strategist Professor Drew Westen: Drew Westen, The Political Brain, Public Affairs, 2007, p. 82.
205 In The Righteous Mind, Haidt writes that genes account for: Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind, Allen Lane, 2012, p. 278.
205 An analysis of thirteen thousand Australians: Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind, Allen Lane, 2012, pp. 277–79.
206 In The Political Brain, Professor Westen writes: Drew Westen, The Political Brain, Public Affairs, 2007, p. 146.
206 the political left and the right each has a ‘master narrative’: Drew Westen, The Political Brain, Public Affairs, 2007, p. 158.
207 ‘The data from political science are crystal clear’: Drew Westen, The Political Brain, Public Affairs, 2007, p. 123.
207 ‘shows much promise in curing everything from HIV to malaria to multiple sclerosis’: The Lord Monckton Roadshow, ABC Television, Sunday 17 July 2011.
208 this liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Broderers: Who’s Who 2007, p. 1599.
213 ‘There is only one way to stop AIDS’: ‘AIDS: A British View’, American Spectator, January 1987, pp. 29–32.
216 ‘a worldwide coup d’état by bureaucrats’: Interview with Jacek Szkudlarek, corbettreport.com, December 2009, YouTube.
216 who seek to ‘impose a Communist world government on the world’: Speech to an event sponsored by the Minnesota Free Market Institute, 14 October 2009.
217 he writes that moral reasoning ‘
evolved not to help us find truth’: Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind, Allen Lane, 2012, p. 76.
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219 The assistant to Hitler’s ambassador: ‘Mrs Jaenelle Antas worked for David Irving from August 2008 to December 2011.’ According to David Irving’s website: http://www.fpp.co.uk/docs/Irving/staff_Ja.html.
220 Vienna’s Josefstadt prison: Ruth Elkins, ‘Irving gets three years’ jail in Austria for Holocaust denial’, Independent, 21 February 2006.
221 In 1993 the American historian Professor Deborah Lipstadt wrote: The Hon. Mr Justice Gray, Judgment, Tuesday 11 April 2000, Court 36, Royal Courts of Justice.
221 at one point accidentally calling the judge ‘Mein Führer’: Christopher Hitchens, ‘The Strange Case of David Irving’, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2001.
221 ‘Irving has misstated historical evidence’: The Hon. Mr Justice Gray, Judgment, Tuesday 11 April 2000, Court 36, Royal Courts of Justice.
221 Irving called the verdict ‘indescribable’ and ‘perverse’: ‘Unrepentant Irving blasts “perverse” judgment’, Guardian, 11 April 2000.
222 a similar one against the Observer: ‘David Irving v the Observer’, Observer, 16 April 2000.
223 ‘All Irving’s historiographical “errors”’: The Hon. Mr Justice Gray, Judgment, Tuesday 11 April 2000, Court 36, Royal Courts of Justice.
224 Irving ‘was clearly incensed’: Richard J. Evans, Telling Lies About Hitler, Verso, 2002, p. 12.
224 ‘Whether or not Lipstadt was correct to claim’: Richard J. Evans, Telling Lies About Hitler, Verso, 2002, p. 8.
225 The Daily Mail quoted a spokesman for the Polish embassy: ‘Controversial historian David Irving to tour Nazi death camps in Poland’, Daily Mail, 8 September 2010.
228 a 2009 article from the Daily Mail: Jason Lewis, ‘Hitler historian David Irving and the beautiful blonde on the rifle range’, Daily Mail, 20 December 2009. Antas responds to this piece on her blog, ‘Make Lemonade’, 4 April 2001. http://www.alternativeright.com/main/blogs/exit-strategies/make-lemonade/.
228 ‘a neo-Nazi pin-up’: Jason Lewis, ‘Hitler historian David Irving and the beautiful blonde on the rifle range’, Daily Mail, 20 December 2009.