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Re: Book Review - It Ain't Necessarily So
I like what the Brigadier General for the North Atlantic Division of USACE
said earlier this year. He went on to explain that there are four types of
sciences. The first is hard science which is backed up by empirical data.
The second kind of science is popular science which is somewhat self
explanatory...it is what the people want. The third type of science is
called political science or science which serves a specific agenda...rightly
or wrongly. The fourth and last kind of science that he says the Corps has
to occasionally deal with is science fiction.
Jim Nicolosi
Cabrera Services, Inc.
865/671-2050
865/803-3730 (cell)
email: jnicolosi@cabreraservices.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Susan Gawarecki" <loc@ICX.NET>
To: "RADSAFE" <radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu>
Sent: Friday, November 09, 2001 2:13 PM
Subject: Book Review - It Ain't Necessarily So
> As the ability and role of the media in reporting scientific information
> has been a frequent topic on this list, I thought some of the members
> might be interested in the following book, reviewed on Medscape.
>
> --Susan Gawarecki
>
> Book Review - It Ain't Necessarily So: How Media Make and Unmake the
> Scientific Picture of Reality
>
> By David Murray, Joel Schwartz, S. Robert Lichter
> Rowman & Littlefield, 2001, 249 pages, ISBN: 0-7425-1095-6
> $24.95 hardcover
>
> Reviewed by: Cathy Tokarski
>
http://womenshealth.medscape.com/Medscape/GeneralMedicine/journal/2001/v03.n
06/mgm1106.01.toka/mgm1106.01.toka-01.html
>
>
> At a time when the nation is gripped by the fear of bioterrorism and
> seeks
> definitive answers from the federal government, a new book that examines
> the media's less-than-rigorous reporting on scientific findings and its
> influence on policy-making and public opinion is especially timely.
>
> David Murray, director of the Statistical Assessment Service in
> Washington, D.C., Joel Schwartz, senior adjunct fellow at the Hudson
> Institute, an Indianapolis-based think tank, and S. Robert Lichter,
> president of the Center for Media and Public Affairs in Washington,
> D.C., draw a troubling picture of the gullibility of media coverage of
> studies in the natural and social sciences. They look at the
> agenda-driven mission of advocacy groups that sponsor these works, and
> the dependence of politicians on research-supported "solutions," and
> offer up a wealth of examples from print and television coverage to
> illustrate this dilemma.
>
> Their insights into the way scientific studies are formulated,
> conducted, and reported by the press illustrate how biased or misleading
> -- or even grossly inaccurate -- some news reports can be. Since
> consumers of this information can be subject to unwitting manipulation,
> the authors assert, they must become more skeptical about how to better
> assess research findings, determine their value, and communicate that
> knowledge.
>
> Extensively referenced and well written, It Ain't Necessarily So is
> divided into 3 sections. The first describes the media's troubling
> tendency to ignore findings that suggest a positive trend, such as the
> declining number of AIDS diagnoses in the mid-1990s, or to slant the
> findings in a more negative, but attention-getting, manner. The authors
> also skewer the media's tendency to elevate preliminary but compelling
> research findings, such as a nonpeer-reviewed study on the effects of
> day care on the mother-infant relationship.
>
> The second section, examining the ambiguity of measuring scientific and
> social phenomena, could serve as an introductory (though more
> entertaining) course in statistics. Witty commentary, vivid examples,
> and sharp insight make what could be a tedious exercise in dissecting
> research methodology an entertaining and instructive guide. In 5
> chapters, the authors examine the perils of "tomato statistics," or
> cases where news reports draw attention to what appears to be a high
> number of incidents such as date rape or domestic assault but in fact
> are fueled by faulty research assumptions and definitions.
>
> Readers also learn the vulnerabilities of research findings that rely on
> proxy instead of direct measurement; the tendency of data to be used to
> support only 1 conclusion, not several plausible conclusions; and the
> tendency of the media to exaggerate health and environmental risks.
> Examples used to illustrate this section, such as misleading statistics
> about AIDS among women and a rise in mortality from infectious diseases,
> may serve as a helpful model to the physician or healthcare professional
> asked by patients to explain the significance of the latest health news
> report.
>
> While the book is replete with examples of incomplete reporting and
> biased
> research, the authors frequently point out the steps that readers can
> take to become better consumers of scientific information. In some
> cases, such as reporting on the incidence rates and risk of breast
> cancer, reporting has grown more sophisticated, the authors state. A
> widespread perception that 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer has
> been refined in recent years by the media to reflect the fact that
> lifetime risk is not the same as the risk a woman faces at any one point
> in her life. "Activist contentions have repeatedly been questioned, and
> alternative interpretations of the statistics have been readily
> offered," the
> authors state. "In this notable instance, the print media have often
> excelled at explaining the realities of risk" (123).
>
> The ongoing debate over to what extent research is influenced by
> industry
> sponsorship will make the final section of particular interest to many
> readers.
>
> <snip>
>
> In its concluding chapter, the authors acknowledge that their effort to
> bring a more rigorous examination to the proliferation of scientific
> studies by a harried press and results-driven advocacy organizations
> "may seem like the labors of Sisyphus." That may be true, but the
> information provided in It Ain't Necessary So gives readers the
> necessary tools to begin an ascent.
> --
> .....................................................
> Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director
> Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee
> Please visit our Web site - http://www.local-oversight.org
> .....................................................
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