Bad journalism – when critical thinking flies out the window and science gets misinterpreted.

This week you are doing some thinking about thinking – how to evaluate ideas using a set of intellectual standards. You might enjoy this 10-minute impromptu video (filmed in a men’s washroom!) of an interview with Ben Goldacre of Bad Science. You’ll recognize his blog from this week’s discussion forum (where the need for critical thinking is abundantly demonstrated in the video you are evaluating!). He talks about why the reporting of science is often badly done, why it is critically important to get it right, and how blogging might ultimately replace print journalism. Some of the context is more relevant to the UK, but the reasoning is universal.