Boo to Woo

I really, really, dislike the word “woo”. I don’t mean it as in “to woo a fair maiden”, though that’s a bit weird too. No, I mean the term used by some communities of sceptics (the science-y ones) to refer to ideas which seem to be based on very flimsy evidence or are rooted in … Continue reading »

Saying no to intolerance

Last week, I found myself pulled into a load of email exchanges on the  topic of John Beddington (UK’s Chief Scientific Adviser). I thought I might as well turn this correspondence into a blogpost. Why all this talk? If you missed it, Research Fortnight ran a story repeating remarks Beddington had made to a meeting … Continue reading »