Ben Goldacre at Nerdstock

[FunkyMonkeyJunkie302]

I think Ben Goldacre might be the love of my life. I could listen to him talk for months on end and not get tired. Then he might have to stop for breath...

[roidroid]

4:54

The first time i watched this i thought he was saying it's amazing that people who were given a drug - actually ended up having more of that drug in their bodies.

Thought he was taking the piss haha.

finally realised what he was saying on the rewatch though

[ElMufro]

OWNED!

[kiddhitta]

doctors should just start giving patients sugar pills and tell them that they're oxycontins.

[differentandalike]

YOU SYMBOLIZE HOPE

[Basta11]

3:49 is what Ben thinks about you.

[JossJossJoss1]

This guy is seriously challenging Stephen Fry for my "person you most want to have a mug of tea and a spliff with". I want a mini Ben that I can sit in the corner and consult on important matters butveryveryveryextremelyfast

[KittyTh]

@JossJossJoss1: LOL! I almost choked XD

[M1ST3RHYDE]

Does any one know What was the name of the muscle relaxer?

[maximilianhaeussler]

I love this video, I think I've been watching it every day for nearly two weeks. First, he is an incredibly funny and very good speaker (he must have practiced for hours) and a very good writer. Second the topic is an extremely interesting one, the various placebo effects explain why we spend up to 15% of GDP for mostly useless healthcare (except you Brits, perhaps) but first and foremost the whole story makes me feel as if my brain could be really the most important part of my body. :-)

[WhelkDoctor1]

@monarchicm Actually I have but, unlike Goldacre's drones, i don't automatically take what he says as the truth. Perhaps it's worth letting some of the larger drug companies in the States know that the MMR scare is "bullshit" before they pay out yet more cash in out-of-court settlements to those who claim their children have been affected. I'm sure they'd be grateful for the information.

[WhelkDoctor1]

@coolguyrob2006 No, it makes him a corporate darling.

[WhelkDoctor1]

"... Goldacre won a British Science Writers (BSW) award, in 2003, the very year that he began working for the Guardian. At this time, the BSW was funded by MMR manufacturers Glaxo Wellcome and called the Glaxo Wellcome BSW Award..."

Industrial science rules, eh Ben?

[Coolguyrob2006]

@WhelkDoctor1 He received an award? shit! that must make him an absolute corporate dogsbody!

[monarchicm]

@WhelkDoctor1 why is it his fault if he receives an award (with high reputation)?

have you ever read about his arguments why the whole MMR story is bullshit? obviously not.

[Phelan666]

Wow this guy could make a pretty good version of The Doctor, just by being himself.

[Arancaytar]

@Phelan666 His hairstyle is sort of like the Sixth, too.

[youxknowxyouxluvxit]

He doesn't look that good here but i saw him live and he's beautiful :')

[1977vanderlay]

@tommurphy67.know for a fact?got any evidence? it's not the contraceptives that work,rather your sperm that doesn't...

[tommurphy67]

@1977vanderlay I take the Homeopathic contraceptive. My girlfriend doesn't get pregnant. Duuhhhh. That proves it works.

[toniroxxxxx]

*sigh* 

[tommurphy67]

Listen, Ben Goldacre can say what he likes with his funny shirt and his curly hair, but I know for a fact that homeopathic contraceptives are more effective than those evil pills that nasty doctors prescribe. THEY WORK!!!!

[keinve2]

@tommurphy67 Homeopathy works for the Placebo effect. Nothing more. You want to know why? Because its WATER. WATER will not stop babies from happening unless one of the prospective parents is drowned in it.

[tommurphy67]

@keinve2 I just bought some Bach Flower Remedies in Boots. They cost 705euro per litre. I only bought 10ml for 7.05euro. At a price like that, it HAS to be good. Otherwise they couldn't charge that much. It is for creating a relaxing mood. I need it, after all the ABUSE I have taken on this board, for merely stating the FACTS.

[keinve2]

@tommurphy67 Really? Your justification is that because it costs a lot of money, its works the way it should. Well then, my friend, do I have an offer for you! Just 20 euros for 1ml of genuine snake oil, guaranteed to extend your life by twenty years, relieve stress, and make you grow four inches!

[tommurphy67]

@keinve2 I am short of money right now. I will buy it from you next week. Do you have paypal?

[theUSER101]

@tommurphy67 You cant be fucking serious. I know for a fact they don't....its been studied they dont do shit.

[dom1812]

@MamaTao1 I have your tinfoil hat.

[MamaTao1]

@drheaddamage

We at The Mama Tao do not consult dictionaries, why would we when we have The Sacred Placenta !!!

One quick flip across the kitchen floor and her sooth saying maggots form the symbols that speak the TRUTH !!! They said this was LIES !!!. The Sacred Placenta and her Psychic Maggots are never ever wrong.

Consider yourself Natural Parental Advisory Warning Stickered too !

[asdfasdf862]

I hereby nominate Ben Goldacre for the title King of Nerds.

[MamaTao1]

This film has been awarded a

Mama Tao Parental Advisory Warning sticker

by Natural Parents who do all Things Nature in Parenting who wish to protect their children from scientific filth and skeptical LIES !!!!

You may download your sticker from The Mama Tao Channel where the image is stored for your convenience.

[drheaddamage]

@MamaTao1 yea, but you cannot prove it is "LIES !!!!" without skepticism! Very chicken-and-egg your comment! Go and look up the word in a dictionary.

[talgalili]

OMG - he's on fire!

[BrokenBjartur]

The fucked up thing is that this is getting more and more attention and sometime in the future everyone will expect this so NO ONE WILL EVER REACT TO ANY DRUGS!

-.-...

Or not. Either way. Funny video.

[RohanTheTeaLover]

Heheheh, fuck-tons. Awesome word :D

[vongrzanka]

Isn't this melody similar to Doctor Who intro?

[RohanTheTeaLover]

@vongrzanka - I believe that may be the point...

[batmanofni]

I think bed took a few sugar pills before coming on.

[ffilou6]

Where can I find a transcript or subtitles for what he said ? Or any free software that can slow his speaking speed?

[gbessone]

You should speak at TED

[FriendlyHugo]

Look at the video statistics on this one to see the slashdot effect... ;)

[stevedekorte]

Anyone else think he might make a good Dr. Who?

[10mintwo]

Dr. Goldacre's datacock produces an ungodly huge skeptic load delivered with such rapidfire jets of white hot science that I had to go back and watch that last bit again twice, just so I could be sure I was fully internalizing his massive evidence-based wad. *lights cigarette*

Oh Dr. Goldacre, I need more of your sweet double-blind-tested medicine deep inside me!!

[deabreu]

extra points for the dr who song

[harmonykrieg]

*ominous orchestral sounds* Ben Goldacre: what the...?

[KapStuf]

"Skullfucked with my datacock". I don't know what it means either, but I'm going to use it in every conversation for a week.

-

Oh look, 3 homeopaths watched this video. That's quite...*sunglasses*...dilute.

[GrandHighGamer]

@KapStuf Don't feel you need to water down your insults when you're talking to homeopaths.

[jezkemp]

"8 million metric fucktons" is going to be my catchphrase for the next 6 months.

[DeusExInfernus]

DAMN, is that guy effing exhausting.

[koncorde]

I wonder if my relaxation from coffee / tea is a result of the placebo effect then. Tests in highschool recorded everyone elses heartbeats etc racing, but mine and my fellow tea and coffee loving friend both chilled out.

Always assumed it was some form of mind over matter, but never considered the idea of it being a component of the placebo effect.

[GrandHighGamer]

@koncorde But the placebo effect is mind over matter, or atleast the actual "sciencey" version of the concept.

[etnlIcarus]

@koncorde It could just be the caffeine hit satisfying a dependence you've developed. Caffeine will usually stress you out and cause vascular contraction but the doses you consume are pretty mild. Compared to the effects of even early stage withdrawal, it could be easy to get counter-intuitive results.

[koncorde]

@etnlIcarus The test would be do I get the same effect if I drink decaffeinated. Right?

[etnlIcarus]

@koncorde The test would be both; that would be the control.

[koncorde]

@etnlIcarus Cheers, might give it a go in the interest of science.

I might even have some of that homeopathic coffee I got.

[HiAdrian]

Astonishing if true. I'm a long sufferer of psychosomatic symptoms, so this encourages me even more to experiment with different mindsets.

[TheTrendykendy]

@shpoffo placebo effects by definition dont effect everyone, an the ones they do effect, they dont effect in the same way. so what you're saying is meaningless. Also, if you're going to trash a guy about leaving info out, be a doll and actually give us some indication of where you're getting your info from, otherwise we have to assume you're spouting nonsense.

[tentrillicon]

@TheTrendykendy You just stated "facts" without citing them. Guilty of your own accusations much?

[scannanproductions]

@tentrillicon i stated a commonly known fact, not a specific reference to research.

[shpoffo]

@TheTrendykendy right, and Goldacre is just lush with citations - but I'm not, and the standard is different.

[TheTrendykendy]

@shpoffo i assume your talking about this speech in particular when your saying he's lush with citations? because you can't be talking about his site or books where he cites every research paper he refers to. you do realize he only had 5 minutes to speak here?

[shpoffo]

He forgot to mention the group that took things with real dangerous effects and still had the dangers effects despite placebo – well I guess that wouldn't be as funny, not for his sponsors.

At least Gervais has a complete set of balls.

[etnlIcarus]

@shpoffo I understand the char limit can be a pain but your comment is just incoherent. Goldacre described people who took the drugs and who experienced the intended effects of those drugs. Dangers? Sponsors? Ricky Gervais? What on earth are you talking about?

[shintsu01]

i am sure he is on nerve sticks

[Vesaly]

Excellent! But what does he say near the end? It sounds like "the people who were given the muscle relaxant, but they were told they were given the muscle relaxant..."

[bagehi]

@Vesaly Translation: They had a longer lasting, more potent reaction to the muscle relaxant.

[RakshasaCat]

@Vesaly The control group that took muscle relaxant _AND_ were told the story that it was a test for muscle relaxant, had a higher concentration of the active ingredient of the muscle relaxant than those told other stories...

Which would imply that the body was producing it.

[Squeeonline]

@RakshasaCat No, the body could just be breaking down less of it, or absorbing more of it into the blood stream.

[bIuebonics]

@RakshasaCat i doubt it means the body is producing it. it's more likely that it means absorption and the action is increased.

[BoonyBanny]

The pharmaceutical companies must just love Goldacre - do not be fooled by the hippy-shirt, student-cool audience or the specs and cardigans abounding in the auditorium - this has the high and tight haircuts and sharp suits of Glaxo loitering to applaud in the background. 

[ZarlanTheGreen]

@BoonyBanny Of course not.

Ben Goldacre is known for his harsh criticism of the pharmaceutical industry.

He likes pointing out to people, that there are serious problems, with the pharmaceutical industry.

He frequently argues for stricter controls on them, for their research methodology and how they publishing said research.

However, the pharmaceutical industry does have some scientific hurdles they have to go through, unlike stuff like homeopathy, so it's generally good and reliable.

[bagehi]

@ZarlanTheGreen It is generally better. That isn't the same thing as generally good. I mean there are a number of medications that have made it to market that have caused deaths. Homeopathy hasn't had that impact, mostly because people are just drinking small glasses of $100 water.

[ZarlanTheGreen]

@bagehi "That isn't the same thing as generally good"

In this case, it is.

"I mean there are a number of medications that have made it to market that have caused deaths"

Some have had more severe side effects than they should have had, even a few rare deaths, but...

The few exceptions are, quite significantly, outweighed by the death and suffering that's been removed.

Homeopathy, on the other hand, has caused more suffering (and death) than what little placebo-induced comfort it has given.

[killbot9]

8 million metric fuck tons of cool

[jacobromu]

antivax is a belief system of the conspiracy theory brand, that is contrary to evidence and held dearly by True Beleivers.

[Laglace2010]

so geil

[tymbrevolf]

Brilliance, sheer brilliance. 

[Joe22c]

Oh. My. God.

I fuckin love Ben Goldacre.

He can skull fuck me with his data cock any day.

[lilacpilgrim13]

And the part where Ben falls asleep and we womenfolk lie awake staring at the ceiling in frustration was so cleverly cut out. Sigh.

Fun while it lasted though.

[markscott7777777]

heres a really good joke, you would have thought that a doctor that can speak this quickly in front of an audience of at laest 1000 people, would have no problem speaking out against the swine flu vaccine ?

[merlin23]

Surprise, surprise. Benny boy going on about placebo's and homeopathy. Change the record you curly haired twat.

[markscott7777777]

i always knew he was a comedian on coke !

[frankystein12]

That was stupefyingly awesome, check it out.

[fionndempsey]

My word, Ben! That's the fastest I've seen you talk! It was a little alarming/distracting! Was that part of the act?

Great talk, though!

[alexkidd3d]

MY HERO!! lol

[benthejrporter]

Could somebody please adjust the playback speed. He sounds like Morph! :-)

[marduk666666666]

man he must b on coke man..:D

[markscott7777777]

@marduk666666666

never !

[markscott7777777]

@marduk666666666

well he is a psychobabble bullshit artist !

[JonathanBloggs]

@markscott7777777 Are you a homoeopathy salesman or something?

[markscott7777777]

@JonathanBloggs

i never recommend medicines that have not been fully trialed, including swine flu vaccine ! have you worked out what i do for a living !

verbal diarrheoa is a sign of coccaine missuse, which appears to be significant in Dr. Ben Goldacre, as it has fried the bit of his brain that allows him to discern when the govt goes off the deep end and recommends an untrialled, poorly tested, rubber stamped licensed, fast tracked, expeimental " Totally " safe swine flu vaccine.

[JonathanBloggs]

@markscott7777777 So that's a yes then?

[Traitorfish]

@markscott7777777 "I disagree with him, and he talks fast, therefore he is a cocaine addict, therefore he is wrong"? At no point does any single step in that equation connect to any other step.

[markscott7777777]

@Traitorfish

who said it was an equation smart ass !

and please show me the peer reviewed papers

on the safety and efficacy of the swine flu vaccine !

this bit is a bit difficult to disagree with unless you are

the miraculous individual behind doing some science

into flu vaccines !

and he is a coke head, dummy !

dont forget to get back to me with the peer reviewed

scientific literature produced in a medical journal !

[dennisryan35]

Is this guy on drugs, where does he get them? I want some.

[VicKyCusTard]

god i love that man :)

[DarthLlama226]

Just one question, really.

How much is a metric fuck-ton?

[schnappy00]

@DarthLlama226 1000 metric shit tonnes.

[Thiefree]

I'm so glad you know awesometric.

[SvivalityInABox]

I believe it's 10 shitloads. I'm not sure of an exact imperial conversion, though about 12.344 Duecings is quite good

[Thiefree]

Does he always talk that fast, or had someone given him a muscle relaxant?

[soupie]

i think he'd talk slower if he had muscle relaxants:D

[mystique772]

This is funny and educational, can't get better than that.

[grizzledwoebegones]

Obviously he's taken a few sugar pills :)

[theUSER101]

@grizzledwoebegones Ironic that you say that because sugar pills dont make you hyper

[tanderullum]

Was that as good for you as it was for me? Nerdilicious.