Group-think antidote

This talk is as well-delivered as Dr Goldacre’s book is written. I highly recommend “Bad Science” − not an easy read by any means but one worth reading and re-reading.  Here’s a 15-min synopsis of  some of its most important themes.

Every day there are news reports of new health advice, but how can you know if they’re right? Doctor and epidemiologist Ben Goldacre shows us, at high speed, the ways evidence can be distorted, from the blindingly obvious nutrition claims to the very subtle tricks of the pharmaceutical industry.

His theme of the futility of the “placebo-controlled trial as product launch platform” is one that rings true with me. If the pharma industry did only one thing and replaced them with best-available-treatment comparisons, that would be a real leadership move.