Slog - Comments on Mad Freelancer Vs. Scientist http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist What does it take to be considered an expert? Well, that rant I posted yesterday about the half-assed, pot-causes-cancer report apparently qualified me as the world's leading authority to refute it. Basically, I called bullshit on their claim that there’s an impending international “epidemic” of lung cancer, indicated by only 14 illin’ pot smokers in New Zealand. Sure, smoking pot is bad for the lungs, but the only complete previous study that used enormous sample sizes showed no link between pot smoking and cancer. People forwarded my post around the tubes and it worked its way Down Under. Last night... Copyright 2008 Fri, 01 Feb 2008 12:37:36 -0800 Fri, 01 Feb 2008 17:09:39 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by COMTE And...?

]]> COMTE http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist#c919433 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist#c919433 Conflict of Interest Fri, 01 Feb 2008 12:40:48 -0800 Comment by cochise. i mean come on. did you go on the show?

it seems like you forgot to finish your post.

]]> cochise. http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist#c919449 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist#c919449 Conflict of Interest Fri, 01 Feb 2008 12:48:22 -0800 Comment by Dominic Holden Well, yeah, I went on. I made the points I made in the original post.

]]> Dominic Holden http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist#c919454 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist#c919454 Conflict of Interest Fri, 01 Feb 2008 12:51:18 -0800 Comment by Jonathan Golob Well done, Dom.

]]> Jonathan Golob http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist#c919455 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist#c919455 Conflict of Interest Fri, 01 Feb 2008 12:51:57 -0800 Comment by Fifty-Two-Eighty Well, fuck, I've been smoking both of 'em for 40 years now. Haven't killed me yet. Did you get some of the purple berries?

]]> Fifty-Two-Eighty http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist#c919461 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist#c919461 Conflict of Interest Fri, 01 Feb 2008 12:54:38 -0800 Comment by Barak Those underwater tubes are amazing.

]]> Barak http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist#c919488 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist#c919488 Conflict of Interest Fri, 01 Feb 2008 13:08:52 -0800 Comment by Hernandez See? Pot brings us together.

]]> Hernandez http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist#c919497 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist#c919497 Conflict of Interest Fri, 01 Feb 2008 13:11:43 -0800 Comment by Amy Kate Horn That's SO awesome, Dominic. The internet will save us from the idiocy that is MSM.

]]> Amy Kate Horn http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist#c919564 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist#c919564 Conflict of Interest Fri, 01 Feb 2008 13:50:14 -0800 Comment by OR Matt Kind of creepy that your rant qualified you as an "expert" not to disagree with your claim ...

But what I don't get is that when they do a pot study, when they do a soy study, when they do a dairy study ... every god damn "study" the people in charge of it have to come to some conclussion that whatever it is has to be really really bad for you or really really good for you.

It makes you seriously questions the authors bias and afterwords you have to wonder. Is it really that necessary to make such outrageous cliams?

]]> OR Matt http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist#c919570 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist#c919570 Conflict of Interest Fri, 01 Feb 2008 13:53:37 -0800 Comment by Greg @9: Making big claims gets publicity. It may also help draw funding.

]]> Greg http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist#c919607 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist#c919607 Conflict of Interest Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:13:17 -0800 Comment by Bison @10
Maybe it's different with these public health types of studies, but I've been involved with grant committees that sunk proposals based upon the applicants' habit of exaggerating their results in the popular press.

I generally see it as the fault of the media more than the scientists, although there are exceptions. Sometimes there are media relations/PR departments within the researchers' universities that are the culprits. They take papers that are being published by their departments or schools, translate them into lay speak, and issue press releases. Sometimes their translations bear little relation to the actual paper and are so hyped as to downright embarrassing to the researchers.

]]> Bison http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist#c919838 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist#c919838 Conflict of Interest Fri, 01 Feb 2008 15:34:13 -0800 Comment by boyd main Holy shit - was the host's name Andy? I used to live in Dunedin, and know that guy.

]]> boyd main http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist#c920063 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist#c920063 Conflict of Interest Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:48:15 -0800 Comment by Jocelyn #10

Yeah, exactly. There were headlines a few years back about how diet soda causes people to overeat. I looked at the study it was based on — the experiment was done on rats who were given saccharin, not aspartame as is used in most diet drinks, and they ate the same amount of snacks but 33% more healthy food as the rats drinking sugar water. The study didn't say which group of rats' calorie totals came out to be higher.

]]> Jocelyn http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist#c920117 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/mad_freelancer_vs_scientist#c920117 Conflict of Interest Fri, 01 Feb 2008 17:09:39 -0800