I Think You'll Find It's a Bit More Complicated Than That
Page 40
Guattari, Félix 297, 298
Hampshire Chronicle 57
Hansard 76
happiest place, Britain’s 56–8
Harper, Dr Diane 332, 33–4
Harper’s Magazine 261, 263
Harris, Evan 119
Harvard Medical School 26
Harvard School of Public Health 387
Harvard University: Center for Ethics 32
Harwood, Professor John 30–1
Hatzistefanis, Maria 255
HbA1c blood test 120
Health Professional Council 253
Health Select Committee, UK 84
Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) 80, 84–5, 86
Heard, Gerald: Is Another World Watching? 263
heart attack 8, 9, 79, 119–20, 134–6, 172, 173, 174–6, 209–10, 265
Hegarty LLP 256
Helicobacter pylori 9
hepatitis B 233, 356
hepatitis C 225, 233
heroin, xx, 221–4, 225–44
hierarchies of evidence 359
highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) 140
Hinkley Point 95–6
HIV 182–7, 225, 233–4, 244, 254, 281–3, 284, 285, 286 see also Aids
Hodgkinson, Neville 283
Holfordwatch 252
Holt, Peter 19
Home Office xix, 157, 158, 159, 163, 193, 230, 232
home taping 159–62
homeopathy xvii, 20–1, 124, 137, 194, 262, 264, 304, 321–4, 389
Homeopathy News 389
homosexuality: age and 92–4; mental illness and 312–13
hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) 8–9
Hospital Episodes Statistics 18
Houben, Rom 324–6
House of Numbers (film) 281–3, 284
How to be Beautiful (Murray) 387
HPV 334
Huff, Darrell: How to Lie with Statistics 89–91
Hussein, Saddam 316–17
Hutton, John 221, 224
hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) 38
IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) 116
ICM 96
ignoring results from people you don’t trust 20–2
Imperial College 285
inclusion body myositis (IBM) 26, 27
Independent External Review for Department of Education on improving use if evidence and data in schools 202n
Independent 29, 61, 197, 345, 390
Insight Cube™ 154
Institute of Child Health 120
intelligent design 13
International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare: ‘Deconstructing the Evidence-Based Discourse in Health Sciences: Truth, Power and Fascism’ (International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare) 297
International Journal of Obesity 338
International Journal of Psychology 15–16
internet use, autism and 3
The Internet’s Own Boy (documentary) 34
Interphone 118
Ioannidis, Professor John 9–10, 132, 133
Ion-Conditioning Hairdryer 388
IQ scores, gradual improvement in 188
Iraq, detecting bombs in 273–5; weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in 316–17
irrationality, science of xxi, 301–26; cigarette packaging 318–21; crime, outrage is lower when a criminal has more victims xxi, 306–9; evidence-based smear campaigns 316–18; facilitated communication in coma patients 324–6; female musicians’ clothing and performance 309–11; illusions of control 305–6; nocebo effect 321–4; pre-existing view, scientific evidence that challenges a 311–13; superstition and improved performance 313–15; visualisation and fruit intake 303–4
IVF 107, 180, 181
Jack of Kent (blogger) 252
Jammeh, Yahya 182
JCVI (Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation) 353
Jill Dando Institute 163
Johnson, Alan 22, 24
Johnston, Lucy 333
Jordan, David Starr: Higher Foolishness 262
Journal of Aids 139
Journal of Applied Social Psychology 312
Journal of Public Health Nutrition 337
Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS) 135
Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) 11, 12
Journal of Trionic Physics 388
Journal of Wine Research 125
journalism, bad xxi–xxii, 327–67; academic PR, dodgy 358–60; breast cancer and diet 338–40; caveats, hidden 338–40; cervical cancer jab, dangers of 331–4; exercise, weight gain and 335–8; fish oil and concentration 343–7; journalists linking to primary sources 340–2; MMR and 347–58; rape, women’s clothing, alcohol and 329–31; Roger Coghill and ‘the Aids test’ 363–7; suicide and phone masts 363–5; suicide, press coverage of details of 361–3
JSTOR 32–4
Kelsey, Tim 80, 81
Kelvedon Hatch secret nuclear bunker 94
Kemshall, Professor Hazel 158
Kenyon, Paul 289–90
King’s College London: Mobile Phones Research Unit 125
King’s Fund 19, 176
Kirlian photography 387
Krügel, Danie 275–7
Labour Party 59, 150, 155–6, 176, 177
Ladies Home Journal 44
Lancet 118, 121, 140, 145
Lansley, Andrew 171–4
Laureys, Professor Steven 326
Lawrence, Nikki 267
LayScience 252
libel xvii, xx, 245–58; BCA sue Simon Singh 250–4; breast enhancement cream 254–7; Dr Gillian McKeith calls Bad Science ‘lies’ 257–8; NMT sue Dr Peter Wilmshurst 247–50
libido problems, brain and 37–9
‘Lindsay Syndrome’ 305–6
lipid-lowering drugs 119–20
local council overspending xix, 152–4
‘locked-in syndrome’ 324, 325
Loebner Prize 392
London Raindance Film Festival 284
LSD 230
lucky ball xxi, 314
lung cancer 22, 107–9, 319
Lysenko, Trofim 262–3
McDonnell, Mary 307
McKee, Martin 175–6
McKeith, Gillian xvii, xx, 257–8
McTimoney Chiropractic Association (MCA) 253, 254
Maggiore, Christine 283, 285, 286
Maggiore, Eliza Jane 283, 286
magic boxes xxi, 271–8; ADE 651 273–5; bioresonance 277–8; Krügel missing people locator 275–7
magnetic wine 122–6
Manchester Evening News 155
Manning, Julia 180
Marcus, Adam 134
Marketing Innovations Inc. 21
Martin, Simon 278
masturbation, nasal congestion and 139, 143–6
maths, decline in quality of UK 194–6
MBA California Facial Mask 309
Mbeki, Thabo 185, 285
‘Measuring the Mathematics Problem’ report, Engineering Council 190
Medical Hypotheses 139–46; AIDS denialism 138–41; ‘Down Subjects and Oriental Population Share Several Specific Attitudes and Characteristics’ article 139, 141–3; masturbation as a treatment for nasal congestion, articles discussing benefits and side effects of 139, 143–6
Medical Research Council 252
Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority, The 321–2
Medline 125, 141
Melville, Caspar 281, 283
Merck 333
meta-analysis 235, 304, 359, 401
methadone 227–9, 231, 234–43
Metro 37–8, 66–7
MI5 52
microfinance 204–5
miniature steam railways xxii, 379–81
Ministry of Defence (MoD) 221–3
MinistryofTruth 252
‘Miracle Mineral Solution’ 12
MIT 32–3
MMR jab 85, 304; Bad Science column manifesto and 399; Lancet 1998 paper on MMR, autism and bowel problems 145, L
ucy Johnston stories on 333; return of scare stories about 347–58
mobile phones: cancer and 116–18, 290; council spending and 153, 154; electrosensitivity and 292; stalking your girlfriend using xxii, 382–3; suicides and phone masts 363–7
Mobile Phones Research Unit, King’s College London 125
Monbiot, George 32
Morgan, Rhys 12
Mozambique 183–4
MRI machines 37–9
MRSA 124
Mullen, Dr Michael 249
Mulrow, Celia 6
multiple sclerosis 356
Munro, Professor Geoffrey 312
Muntoni, Francesco 121
Murray, Dale 274
music piracy xix, 159–62
‘Nanniebots’, search for paedophiles and 391–5
nasal congestion, masturbation and 139, 143–6
Nash, Barbara 268–9
National Autistic Society 325
National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research, The 137
National Down Syndrome Cytogenetic Register 62, 63
National Explosive Engineering Sciences Security Center, Sandia Labs 274
National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) 216
Nature Neuroscience 129, 131
Nature Reviews Neuroscience 38
Nazis 22, 23, 262, 300
Nelson, Fraser 284, 285, 286
Nerdydaytrips.com 381
network theory 26–8
neuroscience xix, 37–9, 129, 130–1, 138
Neverland Systems 393
Nevirapine 186
New England Journal of Medicine 9
New Humanist 281
New Scientist xxii, 391, 393, 394, 395
New York Herald Tribune 261
New York Times 39, 273, 274–5
New York University 297
Newsnight 197
NHS xix; abortion and 90–1; Cancer Plan 170; care.data and 78–86; coalition government reforms xix, 73, 169–77; constitution 180; GP Consortiums 171–4, 175, 176; NHS Choices website 18, 63; NHS Information Centre (NHSIC) 84, 85, 170; ‘NHS Operating Framework’ 172; pornography for sperm donors xix, 179–82; price-based competition in 172–3, 174–5; Primary Care Research Network 216; Primary Care Trusts 171–2; waiting times 73–5; ‘Working Together For A Stronger NHS’ government leaflet 169
Nield, Dr Dalia 255–6
Nieuwenhuis, Sander 129, 130–1
Nigeria: polio vaccine scare in 273, 356–7
9/11 13
‘95 per cent confidence intervals’ 59–61
NMT 247–50
nocebo effect 321–4
Nolte, Ellen 175–6
Nordgren, Loran 307
NSA (National Security Agency), US 79–80
NSPCC 394
ntk.net 391
nuclear power xvi, xxii, 85, 94, 95–7, 379, 381
O’Connor, Cardinal Cormac Murphy 183
Observer: Denis Campbell MMR stories 347–55; Denis Campbell ‘fish oil helps schoolchildren to concentrate’ story 343–7; ‘Forensic DNA Tests “Reveal Traces of Madeleine’s Body on Resort Beach”’ story 276
OECD 175
Office of Fair Trading 265
Office of National Statistics (ONS): ‘Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings’ 150–2; births per year statistics 49–50; exam results and 189; ‘Labour Market’ figures 59; Statistical Bulletin 49–50
Olympics: 1992 156; 2012 xix, 155–7
Omand, Sir David 51–3
omega-3 fatty acids 343–6
The One Show 12
open data 20, 80, 85
Open Data (government initiative) 85
Opera Solutions 153–4
Oransky, Ivan 134
organic food xix, 191–4
Overfield, Dr Derek 57
Oxford University 3, 4, 5, 138, 194
Oxygizer 390–1
paedophiles, ‘Nanniebots’ and 391–5
Page, Dawn 268, 269–70
Pain 322
Pakistan 231, 232, 357
Panorama: wi-fi link to radiation story xxi, 289–91, 293
Parker, Matt 68, 69
Parliament 76, 84, 85, 196–7, 200–1, 322
Parry, Vivienne 353
peer review xvii, 4–5, 29, 139–41, 145; alternatives to 139–41, 145–6; dodgy peer reviewers delaying publication of findings they don’t like 10; GP fundholding and 176–7; journals deliberately not peer reviewed 145–6; post-publication xvi, 4–5; problematic nature of 138–41; putting a finding in a press release but not into the paper as a subversion of 66; refusal to submit ideas to 3–5
Pell, Cardinal George 183
Perfect Sommelier 123, 124
Perry, Simon 252–3, 266
pesticides, food and 191–4
Pfizer Trovan drug trial 357
Phelan, Jo: ‘Genetic Bases of Mental Illness – a Cure for Stigma?’ 41–2
Philip Morris 319–20
Philips, Alasdair 289, 290, 291
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 33
phone masts, suicides and 333, 363–7
pink, girls’ love of 42–6
piracy, music xix, 159–62
Pirate Bay 33
placebos 8, 124, 140, 322, 323, 343, 344, 345, 389
PLoS One 137; ‘Beaked Whales Respond to Simulated and Actual Navy Sonar’ 341
Poisson distribution 102, 103
Political Behaviour 316
political stance, beliefs and 13
politicians, knowledge of which policy works best 177–9
pornography, hospitals and 179–82
post-modernism 295–300; Archie Cochrane characterised as a fascist 297–300
postcode information 77
power calculation 125, 132–3, 164
Powerwatch 290–1
Poynter Institute 339
Prasad, Vinay 9
Prescription Cost Analysis 105
Press Association 155
press release: academic xxi, 6–7, 107–9, 358–60; breast cancer rates and 101–4; caveats and 338–40; linking to primary sources 340–2; positive anecdotes and 118–22; putting a finding in a press release but not in a paper 65, 66; without a scientific paper existing 29–31, 65, 116–18
Pringle, Tom 372
Pritchard, Stephen 344
processed foods 11
Project Redsand 94–5
prospective cohort study 117
prospectively defined studies 198–9
psychological or behavioural condition, linking to a biological cause 40–2
Psychological Science 313
PTSD 105
Public Health Observatories, The 104
Public Library of Science, US 25
‘Public Service Agreement Delivery Agreement 25’ 226
publication bias 132–3, 136, 314, 315
Pusztai, Dr Arpad 29
QLIF 192
Quackometer 252, 253
quacks xx, 261–70; alternative therapist regulation 265–7; moron-baiting, tradition of 261–4; nutritionists 267–70
Queen Mary, University of London, School of Mathematics 68
Quilty-Harper, Conrad 159
racial hygiene 22
Radio 4: Born With Down’s 61–3; Today programme 5
Randi, James 273, 274, 276
randomised trials: animal experiments and 137–8; antiretroviral medications and 140; blinding xviii, 12, 118, 124, 126, 133, 137–8, 292–3, 345; drug addiction and sentencing 178–9; in education xvii, 8–9, 12, 137, 138, 202, 202n, 204–13, 214, 216, 217, 218; fish oil and 345; how randomised trials work 204–7; HRT 8–9; methadone and 236, 241–2; myths about 207–13; NHS reforms and xix; placebos/nocebos and 8, 124, 140, 321–4, 343, 344, 345, 389; public policy and xvii, xix, 401; systematic reviews of 6–7, 12, 20–1, 23, 25–8, 140, 156–7, 192–3, 298, 314, 323, 336, 359
Rasnick, David 139, 140
Rath, Matthias 185
Rationalist Association
281
Reader’s Digest 261
recession: anti-depressants and 104–7; public sector pay and 149
Red Bead Experiment 58
reductionism, crass xvii, 37–9, 239, 323–4
Reform: ‘The Value of Mathematics’ 194
registered sex offenders 158
relative risk reduction 115
RetractionWatch 134, 135, 136
‘retrospective case-control study’ 117
risk compensation 111
ritalin 135–6
RK Partnerships Ltd 365
Roberts, Judge Jeremy 265
Rodial 255, 256
Rolleston clinics 240–2
Rolleston Committee Report, Department of Health, 1926 229–30, 231, 235, 239, 240
Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway 379–81
Rosa, Emily 11
rosiglitazone 120
RoundAbout 120–2
Royal Brompton Hospital 249
Royal Institution xvi, 331
Royal London Homeopathic Hospital 322, 389
Royal Mail 77
Royal Society of Chemistry: ‘The Five Decade Challenge’ 188–9
Royal Society 227; JSTOR scanning of papers 33–4; motto ‘Nullius in Verba’ (‘On the word of nobody’) 17–20; Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 33–4
Rubin, Dr James 125
SABIP (the Strategic Advisory Board for Intellectual Property Policy) 160–2
Sagan, Carl 13
SAGE (a ‘stakeholder’ group) 365
salaries, public and private xix, 149–52
Samaritans 361–2
sampling error 57–61
Sarah’s Law 157–8
Sars 388
Saturday National Post (Canada) 388
‘Scared Straight’ programme 208
science: ‘by press release’ 29–31 see also under individual article or story; how science works 3–34; process of close critical appraisal and xv–xvi; resistance to challenge of orthodoxy 8–10; what is? 124–6
Science and Technology Committee, House of Commons 196–7, 200–1, 322
Science Citation Index 22
Scientific American 261
Scott, Fiona 352, 353–5
Scottish Health Survey 106
screening for diseases xviii, 113–15, 334
Seasilver nutrient potion 387
‘second-round’ effects 111, 112
select committees xx, 84, 196–201, 322
Sense About Science 256
Sgreccia, Bishop Elio 184
Shape Up for Summer 269
Sharp, Dr Julie 339
Shaw, Sophia 329–31
Sheffield Philharmonic Orchestra 310
Sheldrake, Rupert 190, 304
Sigman, Aric 5–8
Singh, Simon 250–4
Sky TV 371–5
smear campaigns, evidence-based 316–18
Smeed’s Law 112
Smith, Gary 104