“Scientists have proved / discovered that …” – with these words can begin a reportage about a genuine discovery, and a stupid anecdote, and an advertisement for a product, without which you did just fine. A group of British scientists with academic pedantry undertook to prove that the words “scientists have proved” are often completely unfounded. In the United States and England, it is possible to sell and advertise products without disclosing the underlying know-how. But the statements must still correspond to the truth and not contradict the laws of nature.
An informal association called (in this case, it can be translated as Common Scientific Sense) is an independent charity whose work is to respond to “misinterpretations of science and scientific data on such topics of public interest as plastic bottles, fluoride or triple measles-mumps-rubella vaccine; and the debate over genetic modification, stem cell research and radiation. ”
The Sense About Science Society, which was founded in 2002, now unites about 2000 British scientists and is supported by the Royal Society – an analogue of our Academy of Sciences. In one of the recent issues of the online publication The Scientist, it was told about the next action Sense About Science, which did not require much effort from the participants, only the application of professional knowledge for the benefit of fellow citizens and in the name of the purity of science. Sense About Science activists called 11 firms that offer medical products, describing their merits in terms that might seem strictly scientific to the layman. As expected, there was no science behind any of them.
Transcripts of conversations were published in a separate book, for the edification of descendants
Heck with a baby: details
The first on the list of volunteer experts was a manufacturer of rock salt lamps, which have a beneficial effect on the human body due to ions that are released when heated. Physicist Jennifer Large asked a company representative how they emit their “healing” ions? “This happens when the light bulb heats up,” was the answer. “Yes, but I’m doing a little science now, and as far as I know, the chemical bonds that hold the ions in the salt molecule are strong enough. I am wondering if the energy of an ordinary light bulb is enough to break them? ” – continued to pry Large. “Yes, they actually heat up pretty well, scientists have proven that.” “And detail?” – Jennifer did not stop. “There are many internet sites that will tell you about salt lamps.” “Is there anything more specific than a website?” And here the unambiguous and truthful answer sounded – “no”!
Biologist Harriet Ball spoke with a nutritionist at a reputable company that makes vitamin-fortified yogurt. It was advertised, especially with reference to the Active8 complex contained in it – eight B vitamins, which, according to the text of the commercial, optimize energy metabolism. The company’s specialist explained that Aktiv8 “extracts the optimal amount of nutrients from what you have eaten, and directs them exactly where you need it”. “Is it necessary for people who already have a balanced diet, and already receive these very B vitamins in the right amount?” “Well, if they already get enough vitamins from food, yogurt will optimize it …” “What does it mean – optimize?” “Well, that means getting the essentials out of your food using the vitamins and minerals that are in your healthy food.” “If you feed a person more vitamins than they need, they are, at best, simply excreted from the body,” says Ball. “Oh, yeah, then they just stand out and do no harm.”
In the scientific world, it is customary to formalize the results of research and discoveries in the form of reports and articles, to report them at conferences – in a word, at least to your colleagues to present everything as it is, what was done and on what basis certain conclusions were made. Garriet decided to leave the company employee alone and asked if she could see the results of clinical trials confirming the effectiveness of the Active8 vitamin complex. It turned out that they do not exist.
Another physicist from Sense About Science, Eric de Silva, phoned the manufacturers of the Q-Link medallion. It is supposed to be worn around the neck and then it will protect from electromagnetic radiation, heal hangovers and irritations on the skin, improve golfing results and increase road safety. The customer service representative tried to explain how he works: “Well, you have an energy field because your body produces electrical impulses. This is called the biofield, the energy field around your body. ” “Are you talking about nerve impulses? De Silva asked carefully. “Oh, yes, these!” “And this object, the medallion … does it somehow strengthen or weaken them?” – “Strengthens”… The scientist tried for another ten minutes to achieve at least the least intelligible answer, hoping that by the words “electromagnetic oscillations” his interlocutor means the same thing as his physicist colleagues. In vain.
But why?
“Idiots have always been and will be, five hundred years ago they gave the last for the powder from toad eyes, now – for dietary supplements, people pay not for a thing, but for hope for it” – you cannot argue with that. Switch the channel, read the label on the jar of yogurt and choose the one that contains the components you understand and costs as much as a jar of yogurt should cost, at best – to conduct an explanatory conversation with an old lady-neighbor who came to borrow several thousand for the “necessary medicine” – everyone can do all this. But, according to the leadership of the Sense About Science project, since you are a scientist and understand how it actually works or does not work, it is worth doing something more than curling your lips and saying how much such nonsense pisses you off. British scientists are urged not to be lazy and to make it clear to manufacturers that any statement may require proof.
And you and I, British scientists have proved that it is worth listening to your doubts, which are based on common sense. It will not be worse.
Marina Astvatsaturyan, Lyalya Bulkina