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This week’s articles are specifically relevant to those gym-junkies and wannabe pro athletes who have been downing extra protein shakes and eating heaps of meat in the false belief that this was necessary to help them beef up or stay fit and strong. Even people interested in weight-loss have been turning to high-protein diets in the hope that this would be the panacea to help them attain their perfect bodies.
As doomsday draws near for the United Kingdom of Great Britain with Brexit due in about a month, it is the perfect time to take a look at some of the peculiarities of British culture and society that have played no small part in pushing what was once a ‘mighty Empire’ to the brink of the abyss.
Ever wondered why, no matter how many words you memorise, you still often have difficulty understanding native English speakers when they are conversing with their friends and family? It may just be that you have not learned the special terms used in that particular region.
From examining the outright fraud committed by researchers that casts doubt over many of the academic studies that we read or hear about in the news, let’s now turn our attention to some issues with the values underpinning the scientific method.
In keeping with the theme of this series of articles about reasons for scepticism in science, as fate would have it, the news cycle has delivered potentially yet another case in point of scientific and academic misconduct. Since it appears that they have already been found guilty, the two (now former) researchers seem to have been caught out fabricating results in ways that have been quite common in recent years, including through the manipulation of data and images.
Following on from our look at the pitfalls of confirmation bias in science and research, and also in its reporting, we shall now examine a very much related problem that leads almost everyone down the same wrong path to misinformation, confusion and ignorance when searching for truth and knowledge – Appeal to Authority fallacies.
Have you ever made a New Year’s resolution? More importantly, have you ever stuck to and succeeded in seeing your resolution through? Some life coaches claim that it only takes 30 days to change or form a habit, so if you can maintain the momentum past February, it’s more likely that you’ll succeed.
After examining the many issues related to the fraudulence, criminality and greed of researchers that can arise in academia and science that should make us pause before putting too much faith in the results of published studies, it is now time to consider what biases that researchers may be totally unaware of when designing, conducting and reporting on their studies.
What are the origins of Christmas? Although the roots are still debated to this day, it seems clear that the earliest history came from a combination of Egyptian, Celtic, Roman, Nordic and Pagan celebrations around the time of the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year.
Was Stephen Hawking right to be worried about people being sceptical of scientists and other experts? In posts so far we’ve looked at how money and conflict of interest can influence not only the priorities and goals of research, but also the outcomes and findings.
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