Science has authority, not because of white coats, or titles, but because of precision and transparency: you explain your theory, set out your evidence, and reference the studies that support your case. Ben Goldacre Read Quote
More academics should blog, post videos, post audio, post lectures, offer articles and more. You’ll enjoy it: I’ve had threats and blackmail, abuse, smears and formal complaints with forged documentation. Ben Goldacre Read Quote
Alternative therapists don’t kill many people, but they do make a great teaching tool for the basics of evidence-based medicine, because their efforts to distort science are so extreme. Ben Goldacre Read Quote
Teaching needs an ecosystem that supports evidence-based practice. It will need better systems to disseminate the results of research more widely, but also a better understanding of research, so that teachers can be critical consumers of evidence. Ben Goldacre Read Quote
There are many differences between medicine and teaching, but they have much in common. Both involve craft and personal expertise, learned through experience; but both can be informed by the experience of others. Ben Goldacre Read Quote
If you put me in charge of the medical research budget, I would cancel all primary research, I would cancel all new trials, for just one year, and I would spend the money exclusively on making sure that we make the best possible use of the clinical evidence that we already have. Ben Goldacre Read Quote
When you prescribe a new drug, often you are prescribing something that has only been tested in a few thousand people for a very short period of time, perhaps only six months, and that’s not long enough to know whether there are any medium- or long-term side effects. Ben Goldacre Read Quote
I agree, the world would be a better place if doctors were less enthusiastic about adopting very new drugs. Ben Goldacre Read Quote
In general, drug companies are reasonably good at developing new treatments, and there’s also a lot of good in the industry. Ben Goldacre Read Quote
Science isn’t about authority or white coats; it’s about following a method. That method is built on core principles: precision and transparency; being clear about your methods; being honest about your results; and drawing a clear line between the results, on the one hand, and your judgment calls about how those results support a hypothesis. Ben Goldacre Read Quote
