- das war die Reaktion einer Frau, der anhand von dem Buch, das ich jetzt empfehlen werde, die Homöopathie erklärt wurde. Ich denke, sie hat die Botschaft verstanden; was natürlich für das Buch spricht.
Ben Goldacre is a doctor in the National Health Service in London, and in his spare time he runs the blog www.badscience.net, writes columns for the Guardian and gives talks. Bad Science, the
book, explains several controversies about effectiveness of medical treatments, and is basically an introduction to evidence-based medicine. Of course, some proponents of “alternative” therapies come off the worse for wear. There are good explanations of what we know about placebo effects, and why clinical trials are organized the way they are. Refreshingly, Goldacre doesn’t come across as someone who can see no wrong, silliness or corruption in the world of “normal” medicine; he is rightly scathing about dodgy practices around drug research, and fairly puts the boot into the vitamin pills industry. In other words, he doesn’t join in the usual stereotyped slanging match between “alternative” and conventional medicine. As he says:
“Big Pharma is evil”, goes the line of reasoning, “therefore homeopathy works and the MMR vaccine causes autism”. This is probably not helpful.
A fine English understatement. The book is very easy and fun to read, and generally a breath of fresh air compared to much science coverage in the media. Anyone working in science, and many who aren’t should enjoy it.
Dr. Goldacre and his adoring fans even have a rallying cry: “I think you’ll find it’s a bit more complicated than that“.