It must be one of the most annoying and predictable child behaviours. Perhaps even more predictable than asking if orange juice has got bits in. Any journey of any length […]
Columnists
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . Re: “-er” or “-re”
Anglo-Saxon spelling was consistent, but when Old English and French collided after the Norman conquest of England in 1066, inconsistencies in English spelling arose that lasted until the printing press […]
Richard Smith: Another step towards the post-journal world
Recently I asked a leader of a major research funder what proportion of its grants led to a publication. “I’ve no idea,” he answered, “but it’s probably 20-30%. What bothers […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . A memorandum about referendums
So, we now know the results of the referendum, and the government will have to decide how to proceed to the next stage of negotiations. I am talking, of course, […]
Martin McKee: What will happen to EU citizens living in the UK after Brexit?
One of the few things that almost everyone, whichever side of the Brexit argument they are on, can agree on is that the NHS would face severe problems if the […]
William Cayley: Where lies greatness?
Recently while driving to work, I was bemused (or should I say, dismayed) to pass yet another presidential campaign poster promising to “make America great,” just as I was hearing […]
Richard Smith: Psychiatry in crisis?
Peter Gøtzsche, a Danish physician and researcher, has written a book arguing that 97% of psychiatric drugs cause more harm than good. Allen Frances, emeritus professor of psychiatry at Duke […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . More medical patronymics
Last week I discussed the various forms of patronymics that are formed by adding prefixes or suffixes meaning “son/child of,” concentrating on UK varieties. Now I go further afield. The […]
Martin McKee: Fair and balanced? Science in a post fact society
No one can be in any doubt, after the referendum campaign, that large parts of the British print media have abandoned any attempt at balance. A detailed study by academics […]
Martin McKee: Brexit and health—the confusion grows
When I wrote my last BMJ blog it was within hours of the result of the EU referendum. I admitted freely that, despite having studied the EU extensively for three […]