On the latest episode of Last Week Tonight, host John Oliver takes on the subject of "new scientific studies" that routinely appear in the media. Pointing at several outlandish claims, he asks “Is science bullshit?” And answers, “Clearly, no!”
“But there is a lot of bullshit currently masquerading as science,” he cautions. Look at the newspaper and you are bound to find a new study every day, often contradictory to other studies on the same subject.
From claims that "staring at breasts for ten minutes daily can increase your life span by five year" to those that say a "full moon can shorten children’s sleep", not forgetting unbelievable conclusions on coffee, chocolate, and alcohol, these extraordinary reports are published routinely.
Oliver jokes, “Coffee today is like god in the old testament, it will either save you or kill you, depending on how much you believe in its magic powers...”
And to illustrate his point, he cites the remarkably weird "study" that proved “smelly farts can cure cancer”.
Oliver says that scientists under constant pressure to publish often manipulate their studies to find something that may seem significant but is essentially meaningless. Bias may seep into the best-designed studies. Or, the details of a study may often not be mentioned, to make it appear more interesting. Reports don’t mention the sample size, or even the test subjects of studies, which can be terribly misleading.
After all what’s good for lab rats may not be quite as good for humans.
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