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The Infinite Monkey Cage

Trust me, I'm a Scientist

The Infinite Monkey Cage

BBC

Comedy, Science

4.79.4K Ratings

🗓️ 21 June 2010

⏱️ 28 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Physicist Brian Cox and comedian Robin Ince continue their witty, irreverent and unashamedly rational look at the world according to science. Brian and Robin are joined by special guests Ben Goldacre and comedian Dave Gorman to discuss the notion of trust in science. Why are people prepared to believe in magic and pseudoscience rather than empirical evidence, and does it matter? Science often appears open ended and evolving, a reason to mistrust it, especially when it can feel like we are bombarded with so much contradictory information. So is the scientific method the only way to truly test if something works, and why should we trust the scientists over alternative practitioners who many people would argue have helped them more than anything that comes out of a laboratory. Producer: Alexandra Feachem.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Thank you for downloading this program from BBC Radio 4. For more information visit bbc.co.uk slash Radio 4.

0:13.0

Hello and welcome to the Infinite Monkey Cave, I'm Brian Cox and I'm Robert Inz and after last week where we were allowed to venture out into the real world and go nose to nose with the audience at Cheltenham Science Festival we've returned now to the dank basement of a BBC Radio studio.

0:29.0

Cheltenham was actually fantastic, the level of questions from children was petrifying.

0:34.0

It gives me hope that there's a resurgence. Really, I don't think you'd got it 10 years ago. I don't think you would have had kids talking in those terms.

0:42.0

This week as I said we don't have any children's questions but we do have in the studio some people who do have very inquisitive minds.

0:49.0

We'll be looking at the importance of evidence and why people seem happy to avoid the evidence and believe in bamboozlers like next monsters, ghosts and all the other things I can't say because the libel laws haven't been changed yet.

0:58.0

Can we cover spontaneous combustion? No. What happened to that? It used to be so popular. You know it's the only spontaneous combustion anymore. It's a disappointment.

1:05.0

In a moment we'll be joined by psychologists and presenter of Radio 4's all in the mind, Claudia Hammond.

1:10.0

Also with us to analyse the data our genius hunter and comedian turned stand up lecturer, turned comedian again we don't know what he's going to do next Dave Gorman.

1:19.0

And a man whose life is one of almost constant fury. That's so unfair.

1:24.0

There you go. As he points out the bad science around us, Dr Ben Goldberg.

1:30.0

Dave was taught with you while we wind up Ben Goldberg and comedian with a selection of different facial takes.

1:36.0

Dave, now last week we have Ben Mileron who has an unfinished PhD. I believe you almost have a mathematics degree but not quite.

1:45.0

I did two years at university one year in which I attended lectures and I dropped out at the end of my second year.

1:52.0

And I now have an honorary doctorate from Staffordshire University which does say in the citation for your contribution to mathematics through your work.

2:00.0

So I went to eight degrees ceremony and my mum wore a hat.

2:04.0

I'm fine that your major contribution to mathematics was dropping out at the end of your second year.

2:09.0

No, I think it's because I had some graphs in some telephones. That was it.

2:13.0

Some of your kind of your stand up lectures like are you Dave Gorman, Google Wack Adventure. Were you using a kind of scientific method with those?

2:21.0

I did a show called Reasons to Be Cheerful years ago which was all about the lyrics to injure his reasons to be cheerful.

2:27.0

And throughout the show I used to carry like a chalk bag for climbers use full of marbles and at random moments in the show or apparently to the audience.

2:35.0

I would just take a few marbles out and drop them in a glass jar at the front of the stage without explaining what was going on.

...

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