Ben Goldacre at Nerdstock

An excerpt of Ben Goldacre doing stand-up at Nerdstock: 9 Lessons and Carols for Godless People, December 2009.
Ben's website:
http://www.badscience.net

• Category

  Comedy

[Stefan Travis]

"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.

[asdfasdf862]

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

[STHStuff]

Damn Ben I know you're pressed for time but you can afford to slow down a bit can't you? Can't talk if you aren't breathing properly.

[UbiquitousChe]

Treasonous wretch!

Joss Whedon will always be the one true King of the Nerds!

[xxmdogxx1ify1]

ben you been talking sense just brilliant

[Unus Domus]

(cont'd)

Homeopathy research is an example of bad science; they have described an unobserved effect and attempted to find proof. The entire basis of homeopathy "like cures like, dilution increases potency" was disproven before it began.

The science of placebo? There IS no accepted science. Its an observation of

effect. Which is exactly how its supposed to be.

I need a new spacebar key...

[Unus Domus]

(cont'd)

without attempting to explain it (mainstream; small groups and individuals are always proposing answers, and usually being discredited). That's an example of good science; observe something, attempt to understand it. The whole of our scientific knowledge is built upon those two parts.

[Unus Domus]

(cont'd)

If it performs better, then it is a treatment, and considered successful.

Homeopathy, in all well conducted trials, has never performed past placebo. Therefore, as a treatment, it is a failure, and not a theory.

Again, I would like to remind you that "effect" comes after "placebo"; it describes an observation (which people actually are trying to understand), (next)

[Unus Domus]

warning to non-vot63r's; TLDR likely ahead.

It is in no way a theory. A theory has substance. It has proof behind it. Standard medical trial is control (with placebo), then almost identical tests with only the treatment changed. If it performs worse than placebo, it is considered detrimental. If it performs equally, it is considered to inert; a canidate for placebo and tricking patients into feeling less pain, but not a treatment. (next)

[Vot63]

That's a difference of labeling. One obvious interpretation of placebo induced results would be contradictory to conventional medical dogma; the invention of the medical sounding name, "Placebo" is just a way of allowing placebo to ride the science bus without a ticket. You misrepresent homeopathy anyway, it is a theory based on observation and experimentation. Your analogy is funny, but facile.

[Unus Domus]

(cont'd)

You see the difference? The Placebo Effect describes an observed effect. Its like saying that trees have leaves without knowing why.  Homeopathy is like saying trees have leaves to tickle each other when bored.