Sponsored science ? No, thanks
Started by Franco, Aug 16 2005 10:14 AM
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I don't always read every word of every article published on these forums, but I did read this one.
Who can we trust these days? The Government… definitely not. Industry…certainly not. Scientists on the payroll… nope. The Media…hardly.
It's very difficult for the general public to know the truth about anything with confidence and it is very difficult to know when research that is presented as ‘independent' is truly independent.
Take the internet - if I wanted to know if there was a link between breathing aluminium dust and Alzheimer's disease the first thing I would do is consult Google - I'd probably type in something like:
'the link between breathing aluminium dust and Alzheimer's disease'
I've not tried it but no doubt tens of thousands of results would be returned; I would then look at the titles and descriptions of the results and click on the most relevant.
If the site said categorically there was no link between Aluminium dust and Alzheimer's should I believe it? Some of the indicators I use in deciding whether to accept or reject information on a web site are:
- Site publisher
- Author credentials
- Professional look of the web site
- Information well written without spelling mistakes etc.
- it backs up my argument
But is this correct, the site could be bankrolled by Aluminium inc. and the article written by a scientist with a penchant for fine wines, fast cars and loose women (I mean who doesn't?
I suppose the safest way is to not trust any ONE source - read a lot, discuss with people you trust (discussion forums are a good place) and then make up your own mind.
In another thread I discussed unhealthy factory produced chickens whose short and cruel lives are spent fattening up in double quick time so that we can gobble them up and fill our arteries full of goo. Unethical behaviour by the Retailers? I think so. I would like to stress I'm not a vegetarian, a member of the Chicken Freedom Party, or the Anti British Retail Consortium Coalition - I'm just a concerned consumer.
Thanks for the interesting article Franco.
Regards,
Simon
Who can we trust these days? The Government… definitely not. Industry…certainly not. Scientists on the payroll… nope. The Media…hardly.
It's very difficult for the general public to know the truth about anything with confidence and it is very difficult to know when research that is presented as ‘independent' is truly independent.
Take the internet - if I wanted to know if there was a link between breathing aluminium dust and Alzheimer's disease the first thing I would do is consult Google - I'd probably type in something like:
'the link between breathing aluminium dust and Alzheimer's disease'
I've not tried it but no doubt tens of thousands of results would be returned; I would then look at the titles and descriptions of the results and click on the most relevant.
If the site said categorically there was no link between Aluminium dust and Alzheimer's should I believe it? Some of the indicators I use in deciding whether to accept or reject information on a web site are:
- Site publisher
- Author credentials
- Professional look of the web site
- Information well written without spelling mistakes etc.
- it backs up my argument
But is this correct, the site could be bankrolled by Aluminium inc. and the article written by a scientist with a penchant for fine wines, fast cars and loose women (I mean who doesn't?
I suppose the safest way is to not trust any ONE source - read a lot, discuss with people you trust (discussion forums are a good place) and then make up your own mind.
In another thread I discussed unhealthy factory produced chickens whose short and cruel lives are spent fattening up in double quick time so that we can gobble them up and fill our arteries full of goo. Unethical behaviour by the Retailers? I think so. I would like to stress I'm not a vegetarian, a member of the Chicken Freedom Party, or the Anti British Retail Consortium Coalition - I'm just a concerned consumer.
Thanks for the interesting article Franco.
Regards,
Simon
I suppose the safest way is to not trust any ONE source - read a lot, discuss with people you trust (discussion forums are a good place) and then make up your own mind.
Thanks for the interesting article Franco.