John Brignell
Encyclopedia
John Brignell, Ph.D., is a retired Professor
of Industrial Instrumentation at University of Southampton
.
, and suggested that the hole in the ozone layer
existed before the rise in the use of chlorofluorocarbons.
He has published two popular science books, Sorry Wrong Number and The Epidemiologists: Have They Got Scares for You!, which have been reviewed in the British press (for example,).
In mid 2005, Brignell prepared a list of over 600 links to news reports linking various contradictory phenomena to global warming. In November 2007, this list appeared on the spiked
website, then the Rush Limbaugh
show, and has since been quoted in other places, eg.
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Industrial Instrumentation at University of Southampton
University of Southampton
The University of Southampton is a British public university located in the city of Southampton, England, a member of the Russell Group. The origins of the university can be dated back to the founding of the Hartley Institution in 1862 by Henry Robertson Hartley. In 1902, the Institution developed...
.
Popular science works
Brignell retired in the late 1990s from his academic career and now devotes part of his time to his interest in debunking what he asserts to be the use of poor science and false statistics common in much of today's media. In this context, he has expressed controversial opinions on many subjects. In particular, he has disputed the theory of anthropogenic global warming, questioned the relationship between second-hand smoke and lung cancerLung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
, and suggested that the hole in the ozone layer
Ozone layer
The ozone layer is a layer in Earth's atmosphere which contains relatively high concentrations of ozone . This layer absorbs 97–99% of the Sun's high frequency ultraviolet light, which is potentially damaging to the life forms on Earth...
existed before the rise in the use of chlorofluorocarbons.
He has published two popular science books, Sorry Wrong Number and The Epidemiologists: Have They Got Scares for You!, which have been reviewed in the British press (for example,).
In mid 2005, Brignell prepared a list of over 600 links to news reports linking various contradictory phenomena to global warming. In November 2007, this list appeared on the spiked
Spiked (magazine)
Spiked is a British Internet magazine focusing on politics, culture and society from a humanist and libertarian viewpoint.- Editors and contributors :...
website, then the Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
show, and has since been quoted in other places, eg.
Criticism
Bob Carroll (author of the Skeptic's Dictionary) initially accepted Brignell's argument against the EPA. However, he changed his mind on the basis that the "scientific principle" (relative risk less than 2) that Brignell used to reject the finding was not recognized by epidemiologists.Books
- John Brignell and Godfrey M Rhodes, Laboratory on-line computing: an introduction for engineers and physicists, Intertext, 1975. ISBN 978-0-7002-0258-4.
- John Brignell and Neil White, Intelligent sensor systems, Institute of Physics (Great Britain), 1994. ISBN 978-0-7503-0297-5.
- John Brignell, Sorry, wrong number!, Brignell Associates, September 2000. ISBN 978-0-9539108-0-9
- John Brignell, The epidemiologists: Have they got scares for you!, Brignell Associates, July 2004. ISBN 978-0-9539108-2-3.