Here comes the science bit...

[innerbrat]

You will all be pleased to know that back in the NHM, Ford the laptop is working just as he did last week; he's not working very well, but I have access to my thesis and a 17" screen and decent sized keyboard to write it on, so that's good enough for me. It's backing up to the college Citrix neighbourhood right now, just in case. AND I have a

Comments

[pippaalice]

This is very good indeed.

[ginasketch]

ooh ooh! Me and Dave always sneer at the term "scientifically proven" when it appears in a Loreal ad.

And I can't stand Garnier going on about "anti-aging" creams either. If your creams work then why do you put vaseline all over the lens when you film the model?

[innerbrat]

Playing spot the ridiculous word is fun too!

It's just that they're doing these things for the scientific community as well! I want to say "thank you for all the money you're giving us, now can you please stop saying bad things about us to everyone?"

[ginasketch]

Playing spot the ridiculous word is fun too!

Oh you mean like "Ultra-set-Deep-Wrinkle" lol.

It's just that they're doing these things for the scientific community as well! I want to say "thank you for all the money you're giving us, now can you please stop saying bad things about us to everyone?"

If it's any consolation, I don't think science or scientists when I see those ads, I think B.S. advertising executives.

[innerbrat]

But you think about those things when you hear them. Whether its beleiavble or not is not the point - it's still bad science.

Greenfield

[anonymous]

I used to have the most Awesome respect for Susan Greenfield. She wrote an excellent layman/laylady's book on the Human Brain, she was a respected neuroscientist, she was a bit of a hero

Re: Greenfield

[innerbrat]

Thank you! There was, in the part of my brain that reads Goldacre, a bell ringing on hearing her name but I couldn't remember what and I didn't want to witchhunt for reasons to hate on her for this post.

I do hope she's just forgotten slipped in her rigour with things like that social media and hasn't just sold out for the money.

PS, you can leave comments here with OpenID, if you wish. I don't know if it takes twitter.

[rymenhild]

Thank you for this essay. The problem of corporations polishing themselves up by funding science seems to be getting worse these days because, at least where I'm standing, the government doesn't want to do as much of the funding as it used to. BP has sent an enormous amount of money to my university to study biofuels; does that make its gasoline any less bad for the environment than anyone else's gasoline? Sadly, no.

[viridian]

TO be fair, whatever science (or pseudoscience, or magic!) let them come up with L'Oreal's Vive conditioner for wavy/curly hair? Is awesome. It's discontinued now and I cry forever because no other conditioner I've tried is as nice at detangling my hair and keeping it nicely curly. IDK what they put in that one that makes it better than all the others, but it was amazing.

[innerbrat]

Aw! I'm sorry :(