Subluminal

I recently read the book “Bad Science” by Ben Goldacre (it’s worth buying, but if you are remote, you can still visit the Pirate Bay… There is also some very nice material on this website).
It’s an excellent book, about great scientific scams, such as homeopathy, memory of water, alledged extra-benefits of highly expensive cosmetics and nutrition), and gives a good discussion about Placebo effect.

The book is also a strong advocate for the Cochrane Collaboration, which is an initiative for the gathering of statistical data and wiser use thereof.
It turns out people alone are really bad at statistics (for cognitive reason, see Thinking, Fast and Slow by D. Kahneman).

“Bad Science” book is excellent for people like me, who are not M.D. or Pharm.D. and then are ready to believe that some compound, such as antioxydant, are good for you since the advertised efficiency is made up of demonstration that looks scientfically sound.
Of course it makes sense antioxydant eliminates free-radicals.

But… wait a minute… Why would an antioxydant remain as is in my blood?!
It’s not the case, since fortunately everything is digested before that!
At best, the anti-oxydant are no-longer anti-oxydant (or should I say reductant? no : anti-oxydant inhibits oxydation. Luckily, they don’t inhibits vital redox reaction!)

It’s the same story for pheromones. I once thought that “ok, since

There are wavelengths that people cannot see, there are sounds that people cannot hear, and maybe computers have thoughts that people cannot think – R. Hamming (You and Your Research – once again!)

there might be odors we cannot smell, but that could still direct our behaviour”.
But then again, it seems that it’s complete bullshit.

In nature, there are actually pheromons, but they are extremely powerful :

For instance, when a female silkworm moth wants to get her guy, she sprays a chemical called bombykol from her abdominal gland and her targeted male transforms into a sex slave, trailing the scent until he mounts her. It’s an enviable feat – Slate

Well, I know some girls that are slave for me, but I don’t need no pheromones in my perfume (or has it some?)

This kind of crackpot turning into a vast popular knowledge seems to be a rather pheronomon, caused by media over-hyping.
But that’s another story.

Lesson learned : you have to remain skeptical all the time. But oddly, skepticism changes its side e.g.,  people deny the scientifically-accepted climate change theory are the one called skeptics. Vous avez dit bizarre? Comme c’est étrange.

I came to discover Ben Goldacre and skepticality after watching a TED video starring Michael Shermer, the head of the Skeptics society.
He’s among my skeptic hero alongside with Richard Dawkins or Lee Smolin.
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