Inspired by the spoof sports newsletter/website I write for a fantasy football league I take part in I thought I might turn my hand to science/sceptism spoof news reporting in which I hope will become a regular feature of this blog. Please let me know your thoughts!

Drayson vs Goldacre

This week saw the long awaited debate between Science Minister Lord Drayson and Bad Science author Dr Ben Goldacre finally take place at the Royal Institution. The two had disagreed over an article in which Lord Drayson claimed ‘all science reporting from now on would be flawless’ and that the simple act of making that statement would make it so. Dr Goldacre, well known for writing the cult slasher movie ‘Bad Science’ in which two teenage kids create a computer program that, after a lighting storm hits the computer, physically manifests itself as an incredibly attractive woman who subsequently goes out of control and on a killing rampage killing any alternative medicine advocate on sight, was furious at the comments and their potential implications. “This can only be solved by debate” he said “Should what Lord Drayson say be true then I will lose my niche in the science reporting world, I can’t allow that to happen.”

The debate seemed to be going well for Goldacre with Lord Drayson contesting that perhaps there would be room for error in future science reporting and that he had been too quick to declare the problem solved. However after the debate Lord Drayson accused Goldace of making a placebo argument “I was full convinced at the time, but on reflection I think I was just persuaded by the fact that someone was just making an argument. I didn’t think objectively about the actual merits of the points he was making” said Drayson “In order for it to be a fair debate there should have been a counter argument that wasn’t very persuasive and a control argument and I should have been blindfolded.”

Dr Goldacre refused to give any merit to his complaints “This is ridiculous. It happens time and time again whenever you get into a debate. They agree to the conditions of the debate before it takes place and conceded the argument in a fair and balanced discussion then they complain later that the conditions were rigged. It’s a no win situation.”