Edinburgh, 20-22 November Details here […]
Month: October 2009
David Nutt and Unpopular Science
I’ve noted David Nutt’s unhappy relationship with the government that employed him before now – it was he who was told by erstwhile Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to apologise for having the temerity to point out that Ecstasy is probably safer than equestrianism; apparently facts play, and ought to play, no significant role in discussion […]
Research Debunks “Promiscuity Objection” to HPV Vaccine
One of the objections to the HPV vaccine was that it might encourage promiscuity, and so should not be administered. There was a number of reasons why the objection failed. […]
In Defence of Ethicists (Or: Dr No’s no-no)
If you look at the comments thread in the post about Kerrie Wooltorton, you’ll see that there’s been an interesting debate between me and someone who calls himself “Dr No”. I don’t think that No and I will ever see eye-to-eye on quite a lot of stuff, but, then again, I don’t see eye-to-eye on […]
Philosophy of Medicine Workshop, Bristol, 28.x.09
This looks like it could be interesting… Department of Philosophy, University of Bristol This is an informal workshop on topics in the philosophy of medicine. Everyone is welcome. •09.45–11.00 Kevin Brosnan (Cambridge) “Does nothing in medicine make sense except in light of evolution?” •11.15–12.30 Jeremy Howick (UCL) “Defining a role for mechanistic reasoning in EBM” […]
More on Science Journalism…
This thought hit me over the weekend in Tesco’s car-park; I was still mulling over the reliability, or lack thereof, of science reporting in the media. I was also thinking about the PCC and how powerless it is, largely because it’s simply a boys’ club for editors. However, in my finding-a-trolley reverie, it occurred to […]
Night Thoughts on Journalism
There’s an illuminating item that’s recently been posted on Enemies of Reason about the way that the press has been handling H1N1, and the way in which the distinction between deaths from and deaths with the illness has been blurred. And it’s very easy to look at the newspaper stands and laugh at the manner in which […]
Incentivising Healthy Lifestyles, the Tough Love Way
At least the Trolley Problem has been solved. (Hat-tip to Brian Leiter for the pointer.) […]
Can Saving a Life be the Wrong Thing to Do?
Doubtless many of you will have heard by now of Kerrie Wooltorton, who, apparently depressed by her fertility problems, drank anti-freeze, called an ambulance, and handed a living will to staff at A&E. Her story is reported by the Telegraph under the headline “Suicide woman allowed to die because doctors feared saving her would be assault” […]