Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Geek Manifesto has triggered plenty of debate, some of it critical, which is something I find entirely healthy. The book was always meant to be a starting point, not a finishing point, and I welcome constructive disagreement — if … Continue reading →

I don’t agree with Jeremy Hunt about abortion. I think the 24-week limit is about right where it is, and that reducing it to 12 weeks, as he would like to, would have very damaging consequences for women’s health. It … Continue reading →

Over the past few weeks, it’s been great to see so many positive responses from MPs who’ve received a copy of The Geek Manifesto from a constituent. A fair number are reading it already, with others looking to do so … Continue reading →

The Geek Manifesto has now been sent to more than 600 MPs, thanks to the terrific pledge campaign started by Dave Watts. A few pledgers have yet to send — please do fill out the spreadsheet and send a copy … Continue reading →

The randomised controlled trial (RCT)  is one of the greatest inventions of modern science — a tool that allows you, more reliably than any other, to compare two or more interventions and determine which is more effective for a given … Continue reading →

This morning, I took part in Start the Week on BBC Radio 4 — a wide-ranging discussion about science, evidence and politics pegged to the Geek Manifesto. You can listen to the programme here. The other guests were Professor David … Continue reading →

We’re there… At about 11.15 this morning, PledgeBank recorded the 325th pledge to send a copy of The Geek Manifesto to every MP. Pam Lynch was the critical pledger. As my publisher, Transworld, has agreed to match every pledge to … Continue reading →

Several people have asked me over the past few days whether there is a free version of The Geek Manifesto available. There isn’t a free version of the whole book, but there are several ways you can read significant parts … Continue reading →

Ian Scoones, of the ESRC STEPS Centre, has written today in the Huffington Post about how the Rothamsted GM crop protest and the themes of The Geek Manifesto amount to “scientific self-righteousness” that advocate “a linear technocratic vision”. The argument … Continue reading →

In The Geek Manifesto, I wrote about how skeptics had begun to use a website called Pledgebank.com to assemble a critical mass of people to complain about quacks making unsupported claims. I was delighted when Dave Watts decided to use … Continue reading →