Ben Goldacre
Encyclopedia
Ben Michael Goldacre born 1974 is a British
science writer, doctor
and psychiatrist
. He is the author
of The Guardian
newspaper's weekly Bad Science column and a book of the same title
, published by Fourth Estate in September 2008.
Goldacre is the son of Michael Goldacre
, professor of public health
at the University of Oxford
, and the pop singer Susan Traynor, aka Noosha Fox
, the nephew of science journalist Robyn Williams
, and the great-great-grandson of Sir Henry Parkes.
then studied medicine
at Magdalen College
, Oxford
where he obtained a first class degree in his preclinical studies in 1995. While at Oxford he also edited the student magazine Isis
. He was a visiting researcher in cognitive neuroscience
at the University of Milan
, working on fMRI brain scans of language and executive function, and then he went on to study clinical medicine at UCL Medical School and qualified as a medical doctor in 2000. He received a master's degree
in philosophy (funded by the British Academy
) from King's College London
. He passed the MRCPsych
Part II examinations in December 2005 and became a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists
. In 2008 he was a research fellow at the Institute of Psychiatry
, King's College London
. , Goldacre is a psychiatric registrar and Guardian
research fellow
at Nuffield College, Oxford
.
newspaper, and publishes expanded versions of the columns with reader comments on his website badscience.net. Devoted to criticism of scientific inaccuracy, health scare
s, pseudoscience
and quackery
, it focuses especially on examples from the mass media
, consumer product marketing
, problems with the pharmaceutical industry and its relationship to medical journal
s, and complementary and alternative medicine
in Britain.
He has been a particular critic of the claims of television nutritionist
Gillian McKeith
, anti-immunisation campaigners (particularly followers of Andrew Wakefield
such as Melanie Phillips
and Jeni Barnett
), Brain Gym
, bogus positive MRSA
swab
stories in tabloids, SSRI antidepressant
s, publication bias, and the makers of the product Penta Water
. While investigating McKeith's membership of the American Association of Nutritional Consultants
, Goldacre purchased a "certified professional membership" on behalf of his late cat, Henrietta, from the same institution for $60. In February 2007, McKeith agreed to stop using the title "Dr
" in her advertising following a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority
by a Bad Science reader.
In 2008, vitamin entrepreneur Matthias Rath
sued Goldacre and The Guardian over three articles in which Goldacre criticised Rath's promotion of vitamin
pills to AIDS
sufferers in South Africa
n townships. Rath dropped his action in September 2008 and was ordered to pay initial costs of £
220,000 to the Guardian. The paper is seeking full costs of £500,000, and Goldacre has expressed an interest in writing a book about Rath and South Africa, as a chapter on the subject had to be cut from his book while the litigation proceeded. The chapter was reinstated in a later edition of the book, and also published online.
In his spare time, Goldacre frequently delivers free talks about bad science — he describes himself as a "nerd evangelist".
was published by Fourth Estate in September 2008. The book contains extended and revised versions of many of his Guardian columns. It has been positively reviewed by the BMJ
and Daily Telegraph and has reached the Top 10 bestseller list for Amazon Books. In an interview in 2008, Goldacre stated that "one of the central themes of my book [Bad Science] is that there are no real differences between the $600 billion pharmaceutical industry and the $50 billion food supplement pill industry".
Goldacre has also contributed to The Atheist's Guide to Christmas
, a charity book featuring essays and anecdotes from 42 well-known atheists, on the subject of "the power of ideas." He also wrote the foreword to the reprint edition of Testing Treatments: Better Research for Better Healthcare by Imogen Evans, Hazel Thornton, Iain Chalmers
and Paul Glasziou, published by Pinter & Martin in March 2010. He has had several articles published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) on the MMR vaccine
, science journalism and related topics.
He is writing The Drug Pushers, a book about "the misuse of evidence by the pharmaceutical industry", due for publication in 2012.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science writer, doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
. He is the author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper's weekly Bad Science column and a book of the same title
Bad Science (book)
Bad Science is a book by Ben Goldacre, criticising mainstream media reporting on health and science issues. Published by Fourth Estate in September 2008, the book contains extended and revised versions of many of his Guardian columns...
, published by Fourth Estate in September 2008.
Goldacre is the son of Michael Goldacre
Michael Goldacre
Michael John Goldacre is a medical doctor who has been professor of public health at the University of Oxford since 2002, and a fellow of Magdalen College since 1985...
, professor of public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, and the pop singer Susan Traynor, aka Noosha Fox
Fox (band)
Fox was a British-based pop band popular in the mid 1970s. Led by American songwriter and record producer Kenny Young, the band was perhaps best known for its charismatic Australian lead singer Susan Traynor, who performed under the name Noosha Fox....
, the nephew of science journalist Robyn Williams
Robyn Williams
Robyn Williams AM is a science journalist and broadcaster resident in Australia who has hosted the Science Show on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation since 1975, Ockham's Razor and In Conversation .-Background:Robyn Williams was born in Buckinghamshire, England, and educated in Vienna and...
, and the great-great-grandson of Sir Henry Parkes.
Academic career
Goldacre was educated at Magdalen College School, OxfordMagdalen College School, Oxford
Magdalen College School is an independent school for boys aged 7 to 18 and girls in the sixth form, located on The Plain in Oxford, England. It was founded as part of Magdalen College, Oxford by William Waynflete in 1480....
then studied medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
at Magdalen College
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
, Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
where he obtained a first class degree in his preclinical studies in 1995. While at Oxford he also edited the student magazine Isis
Isis magazine
The Isis Magazine was established at Oxford University in 1892 . Traditionally a rival to the student newspaper Cherwell, it was finally acquired by the latter's publishing house, OSPL, in the late 1990s...
. He was a visiting researcher in cognitive neuroscience
Cognitive neuroscience
Cognitive neuroscience is an academic field concerned with the scientific study of biological substrates underlying cognition, with a specific focus on the neural substrates of mental processes. It addresses the questions of how psychological/cognitive functions are produced by the brain...
at the University of Milan
University of Milan
The University of Milan is a higher education institution in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Europe, with about 62,801 students, a teaching and research staff of 2,455 and a non-teaching staff of 2,200....
, working on fMRI brain scans of language and executive function, and then he went on to study clinical medicine at UCL Medical School and qualified as a medical doctor in 2000. He received a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in philosophy (funded by the British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
) from King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
. He passed the MRCPsych
MRCPsych
MRCPsych is a postnomial qualification awarded to physicians who have completed the prescribed training requirements and membership examinations mandated by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Candidates must be registered with the GMC or a recognized medical board in their own country and should...
Part II examinations in December 2005 and became a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists
Royal College of Psychiatrists
The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the main professional organisation of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom responsible for representing psychiatrists, psychiatric research and providing public information about mental health problems...
. In 2008 he was a research fellow at the Institute of Psychiatry
Institute of Psychiatry
The Institute of Psychiatry is a research institution dedicated to discovering what causes mental illness and diseases of the brain. In addition, its aim is to help identify new treatments for them and ways to prevent them in the first place...
, King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
. , Goldacre is a psychiatric registrar and Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
research fellow
Research fellow
The title of research fellow is used to denote a research position at a university or similar institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a principal investigator...
at Nuffield College, Oxford
Nuffield College, Oxford
Nuffield College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is an all-graduate college and primarily a research establishment, specialising in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. It is a research centre in the social sciences...
.
Bad Science column
Goldacre writes a weekly column, Bad Science, in the Saturday edition of The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper, and publishes expanded versions of the columns with reader comments on his website badscience.net. Devoted to criticism of scientific inaccuracy, health scare
Health scare
Health scare is a campaign to scare the public into avoiding a food or chemical on the grounds that it might cause them to contract an illness or have some other negative effect on their health...
s, pseudoscience
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but which does not adhere to a valid scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status...
and quackery
Quackery
Quackery is a derogatory term used to describe the promotion of unproven or fraudulent medical practices. Random House Dictionary describes a "quack" as a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, knowledge, or...
, it focuses especially on examples from the mass media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
, consumer product marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
, problems with the pharmaceutical industry and its relationship to medical journal
Medical journal
A public health journal is a scientific journal devoted to the field of public health, including epidemiology, biostatistics, and health care . Public health journals, like most scientific journals, are peer-reviewed...
s, and complementary and alternative medicine
Alternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any healing practice, "that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine." It is based on historical or cultural traditions, rather than on scientific evidence....
in Britain.
He has been a particular critic of the claims of television nutritionist
Nutritionist
A nutritionist is a person who advises on matters of food and nutrition impacts on health. Different professional terms are used in different countries, employment settings and contexts — some examples include: nutrition scientist, public health nutritionist, dietitian-nutritionist, clinical...
Gillian McKeith
Gillian McKeith
Gillian McKeith is a Scottish nutritionist, television presenter, and writer. She is the former host in the UK of Channel 4's You Are What You Eat and Granada Television's Dr Gillian McKeith's Feel Fab Forever, and as of 2010 presents Eat Yourself Sexy on the W Network in Canada...
, anti-immunisation campaigners (particularly followers of Andrew Wakefield
Andrew Wakefield
Andrew Wakefield is a British former surgeon and medical researcher, known as an advocate for the discredited claim that there is a link between the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, autism and bowel disease, and for his fraudulent 1998 research paper in support of that claim.Four years after...
such as Melanie Phillips
Melanie Phillips
Melanie Phillips is a British journalist and author. She began her career on the left of the political spectrum, writing for such publications as The Guardian and New Statesman. In the 1990s she moved to the right, and she now writes for the Daily Mail newspaper, covering political and social...
and Jeni Barnett
Jeni Barnett
Jeni Barnett is an English actress and TV presenter who grew up in Borehamwood. She is married to Yorkshire-born actor Jim Bywater and has one daughter, Bethany.-Acting career:...
), Brain Gym
Brain Gym
The Brain Gym program is based on the concept that learning challenges can be overcome by carrying out certain movements, the use of which will create pathways in the brain...
, bogus positive MRSA
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. It is also called multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus...
swab
Cotton swab
Cotton swabs or cotton buds or ear buds consist of a small wad of cotton wrapped around one or both ends of a short rod, usually made of either wood, rolled paper, or plastic...
stories in tabloids, SSRI antidepressant
Antidepressant
An antidepressant is a psychiatric medication used to alleviate mood disorders, such as major depression and dysthymia and anxiety disorders such as social anxiety disorder. According to Gelder, Mayou &*Geddes people with a depressive illness will experience a therapeutic effect to their mood;...
s, publication bias, and the makers of the product Penta Water
Penta Water
Penta Water is a brand of bottled water that claims to be structurally different from 'normal' water, and advertised as "ultra-purified" water. The company was founded in 1999 in San Diego, California...
. While investigating McKeith's membership of the American Association of Nutritional Consultants
American Association of Nutritional Consultants
The American Association of Nutritional Consultants is an organisation which seeks to enhance the reputation of Nutritional and Dietary Consultants by consolidating them into a professional organisation....
, Goldacre purchased a "certified professional membership" on behalf of his late cat, Henrietta, from the same institution for $60. In February 2007, McKeith agreed to stop using the title "Dr
Doctor (title)
Doctor, as a title, originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb docēre . It has been used as an honored academic title for over a millennium in Europe, where it dates back to the rise of the university. This use spread...
" in her advertising following a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority
Advertising Standards Authority (United Kingdom)
The Advertising Standards Authority is the self-regulatory organisation of the advertising industry in the United Kingdom. The ASA is a non-statutory organisation and so cannot interpret or enforce legislation. However, its code of advertising practice broadly reflects legislation in many instances...
by a Bad Science reader.
In 2008, vitamin entrepreneur Matthias Rath
Matthias Rath
Matthias Rath is a doctor, businessman, and vitamin entrepreneur. He earned his MD degree in Germany. Rath claims that a program of nutritional supplements , including formulations that he sells, can treat or cure diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and HIV/AIDS...
sued Goldacre and The Guardian over three articles in which Goldacre criticised Rath's promotion of vitamin
Vitamin
A vitamin is an organic compound required as a nutrient in tiny amounts by an organism. In other words, an organic chemical compound is called a vitamin when it cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities by an organism, and must be obtained from the diet. Thus, the term is conditional both on...
pills to AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
sufferers in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n townships. Rath dropped his action in September 2008 and was ordered to pay initial costs of £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
220,000 to the Guardian. The paper is seeking full costs of £500,000, and Goldacre has expressed an interest in writing a book about Rath and South Africa, as a chapter on the subject had to be cut from his book while the litigation proceeded. The chapter was reinstated in a later edition of the book, and also published online.
In his spare time, Goldacre frequently delivers free talks about bad science — he describes himself as a "nerd evangelist".
Books
Goldacre's book Bad ScienceBad Science (book)
Bad Science is a book by Ben Goldacre, criticising mainstream media reporting on health and science issues. Published by Fourth Estate in September 2008, the book contains extended and revised versions of many of his Guardian columns...
was published by Fourth Estate in September 2008. The book contains extended and revised versions of many of his Guardian columns. It has been positively reviewed by the BMJ
British Medical Journal
BMJ is a partially open-access peer-reviewed medical journal. Originally called the British Medical Journal, the title was officially shortened to BMJ in 1988. The journal is published by the BMJ Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Medical Association...
and Daily Telegraph and has reached the Top 10 bestseller list for Amazon Books. In an interview in 2008, Goldacre stated that "one of the central themes of my book [Bad Science] is that there are no real differences between the $600 billion pharmaceutical industry and the $50 billion food supplement pill industry".
Goldacre has also contributed to The Atheist's Guide to Christmas
The Atheist's Guide to Christmas
The Atheist's Guide to Christmas is a 2009 book written by forty-two atheist celebrities, comedians, scientists and writers who give their funny and serious tips for enjoying the Christmas season...
, a charity book featuring essays and anecdotes from 42 well-known atheists, on the subject of "the power of ideas." He also wrote the foreword to the reprint edition of Testing Treatments: Better Research for Better Healthcare by Imogen Evans, Hazel Thornton, Iain Chalmers
Iain Chalmers
Sir Iain Chalmers is a British health services researcher, one of the founders of the Cochrane Collaboration, and coordinator of the James Lind Initiative, which includes the James Lind Library and James Lind Alliance....
and Paul Glasziou, published by Pinter & Martin in March 2010. He has had several articles published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) on the MMR vaccine
MMR vaccine
The MMR vaccine is an immunization shot against measles, mumps, and rubella . It was first developed by Maurice Hilleman while at Merck in the late 1960s....
, science journalism and related topics.
He is writing The Drug Pushers, a book about "the misuse of evidence by the pharmaceutical industry", due for publication in 2012.
Awards
Goldacre has won several awards for his journalism, including:- Association of British Science WritersAssociation of British Science WritersThe Association of British Science Writers is the UK society for science writers, journalists and communicators. It was founded in 1947...
award for Best Feature 2003 for his article "Never mind the facts" - Association of British Science Writers award for Best Feature 2005 for his article "Don't dumb me down"
- Freelance of 2006 at the Medical Journalism Awards
- The inaugural Statistical Excellence In Journalism Award of the Royal Statistical SocietyRoyal Statistical SocietyThe Royal Statistical Society is a learned society for statistics and a professional body for statisticians in the UK.-History:It was founded in 1834 as the Statistical Society of London , though a perhaps unrelated London Statistical Society was in existence at least as early as 1824...
for his article "When the facts get in the way of a story" - the HealthWatchHealthWatchHealthWatch is a long-established UK charity which promotes evidence-based medicine. Its formal aims are:# The assessment and testing of treatments, whether “orthodox” or “alternative”;...
Award for "significant steps in improving the public's understanding of health issues" - Honorary Doctor of ScienceDoctor of ScienceDoctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
at Heriot Watt University (June 2009) "in recognition of his outstanding contribution to scientific journalism and in the promotion of public engagement with and greater understanding of science." - Honorary Doctor of ScienceDoctor of ScienceDoctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
at Loughborough UniversityLoughborough UniversityLoughborough University is a research based campus university located in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, in the East Midlands of England...
(July 2010) "in recognition of his outstanding contribution to science and journalism"
External links
- Bad Science - Goldacre's website (main blog, with Guardian columns and forum)
- bengoldacre.posterous.com - Goldacre's additional blog
- @bengoldacre - Goldacre's Twitter page
- Radio interviews and podcasts:
- 23 December 2005, Resonance FM's Little Atoms
- 3 October 2008, Resonance FM's Little Atoms
- 1 November 2008, ABC Radio National's The Science Show
- Pulse Project podcast, 12 May 2009, Skeptics in the Pub Oxford
- Video