I use xbmc as the hub of my media centre, and one particular xbmc plugin that I loved was for accessing the BBC’s iPlayer content. However, the BBC has decided to break this; the sad story can be read at:
As as a British citizen, living in the UK, paying taxes and paying the TV license fee (which goes to the BBC) I certainly feel fully entitled to access the BBC iPlayer content using whatever front-end software I feel like using. It is so much easier using a remote control to navigate/select/play iPlayer content from the comfort of one’s couch and watch it on the TV (connected to the xmbc media centre).
I don’t use a PS3 or wii so cannot use them to watch iPlayer content. I do have a Microsoft xbox 360 with a gold online account but the BBC have refused to allow Microsoft access to iPlayer content (stating that iPlayer content should be available to all and not just to those with gold accounts). So I’m well and truly stuffed; I have to resort to using my PC and mouse with a web browser at my computer desk…a wonderful experience! I think the BBC has made a mistake.
It seems that the BBC is much like any other large news organisation; perhaps better than some and perhaps worse than others. It has time pressures to produce something that is current and topical. And this can lead to poor research, poor quality assurance and poor implementation with biased reporting and inaccurate information. I certainly don’t buy into any romantic notions or myths that the BBC is impartial and infallible.
Fantastic! This has already been posted at a number of other blogs recently, and I think that this was originally on the BBC. Dara O’Briain explains, with humour, what he really thinks of pseudo-scientists, preachers of woo woo and other modern witch-doctors. Great line "homeopath horseshit peddler". And "psychics, astrologers and priests" all get the same treatment; I would add acupuncturists in that list too.
With news that Bill Gates has bought the rights from the BBC for some 1964 lectures given by Richard Feynman, in the discussions over at RichardDawkins.net a video clip was posted of Feynman explaining science through an analogy of observing a game of chess.
Nature of Science – Feynman’s analogy of science and chess
I remember this interview well, and I’m pretty sure that it was from the 1980s from the once great BBC "Horizon" science programmes.
Well, now that the Formula 1 Grand Prix has started, it was wonderful to see the UK TV coverage return to the BBC with Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” and accompanied with some great computer graphics. I’m sorry ITV, but the BBC win this feature hands down!
The MHRA has upheld the complaint about the wording used to advertise the medical efficacy of Prince Charles’s Dutchy Originals "Duchy Herbals Echina-Relief Tincture" and "Duchy Herbals Hyperi-Lift Tincture".
Now, I’m no fan of the MHRA as they are not fully transparent and have washed their hands in dealing with certain products. But at least the MHRA announcement, and the BBC’s reporting of it, will reach a wider audience and act as a warning to those that may otherwise have fallen victim for the disingenuous antics of Prince Charles’s company and other promoters of quackery and pseudoscience.
Stumbled across this interview with Ben Goldacre in his badscience blog article. Ben provides a way of cutting swathes of nonsense one increasingly hears in the media these days.
Of particular note, his quote at about 5 minutes 50 seconds regarding the BBC’s once respected “Horizon” science programmes as “Horizon going to nonsense” resonated with my own thoughts.
Actually, it’s quite a humorous article and is something that I identify with. However, I have to admit to being guilty to some extent and I give myself some form of self-justification as I work in a technology-led field…where real-time mission-critical front-end and back-end methodologies are synergised and strategised using proactive, holistic, distributed multi-platform geo-resources. So to speak.
Well, just the other day I saw an episode of the BBC’s Horizon programme titled “How to make better decisions”. I nearly barfed! It wasn’t as bad as their “The Dark Secret of Hendrik Schön” episode but it certainly ranks as a very bad science programme.
I don’t want to say too much about the corny equations for decision making or the need to be organised and prepared.
But I do want to say something about the extraordinary claim that Horizon presented with regards to the “scientist” who stated that the human brain could sense the future (about 3 seconds in the future) using some unknown quantum mechanism. It was presented in a way that could lead a significant number of people to think it was all true, and the programme did not go into much detail about how the “scientific” tests were undertaken (eg randomness of the picture slides, use of sequences forming patterns, use of “double blind”tests…was the scientist aware of what the pictures were in advance and was he in the same room as the subject hence offering an unconscious transfer of information? etc).
As is commonly said these days, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. And the evidence that Horizon presented was far from extraordinary…it was practically non-existent! No peer-review or independent duplication of experimental results were presented. And it’s been seen over the last few decades how easy it is for scientists to be fooled by so-called psychics and even for the scientists to fool themselves. The James Randi website is a good place to start research into this area. The claims and the lack of detail on the experiments undertaken had a certain “woo” about them. Look at http://www.watchingyou.com/woowoo.html for an idea of “woo” behaviour.
I’m not sure what Horizon were thinking. Their recent programmes have been far from impressive. For example, the recent episode “What on Earth is wrong with gravity?” presented by Dr Brian Cox took over twenty boring minutes to get near to the real point of the programme…that quantum theory likely holds the answers to a true understanding of gravity. Even the last twenty minutes of the programme was mostly window-dressing without much substance. Sigh. I really used to like Horizon but it just frustrates and disappoints these days.
Just noticed on the programmes credits at the end that they reference “The Institute of Noetic Sciences” which has a very questionable reputation and which is strongly associated to quackery. I’m not saying that the Institute is a quackery organisation only that there have been questions raised on the quality of their research. Do your own research and follow the evidence.
Just came across an article at the BBC called Obesity ‘not individuals’ fault’. It references a UK government-backed study that, basically, claims that it is not an individual’s fault for being obese but rather that it was the fault of society, and that both society and government needed to be involved to reduce obesity.
I can see some merit in that argument but it is not going to be easy. Take cigarettes as an example. Despite decades of health warning there are still a substantial number of people who continue smoking. It’s good that there is legislation here in the UK restricting smoking in public enclosed areas (and protecting people like me from second-hand smoke) but a lot of people have not stopped smoking; they’ve just moved elsewhere. Now, outside the main entrance to Paddington Station, there is a gauntlet of smokers and it is a real pain-in-the-rear getting passed the dense smoke (hold breath, walk fast!). What I’m trying to say is that legislation and many years of health warnings haven’t made our society smoke-free. Sure, it has made a difference but not much compared to all the effort that has been put in.
Now, when it comes to obesity, how can we change society? What can government do? Yes, it will be a challenge but I do not expect to see anything change much in my lifetime…obesity, or the lack of recognition of obesity, is too well entrenched and accepted in society. A lot of people who consider themselves “fit” may be surprised at being classed as “obese” according to the stand BMI. And they can now excuse themselves “knowing” that being fat isn’t their fault (although perhaps these people would also likely also blame there “genes” and their “metabolism”). The projections showing obesity numbers increase over time are shocking.
The problem with the study is that it can be used as an excuse by individuals for being obese. Individuals need to take responsibility for their actions, but they won’t as this society is lazy and blaming society or the government is easy.
Those who really, really want to lose weight will succeed…through mental strength and determination. Those with even a minuscule of doubt may succeed in the short term but will ultimately fail. There are no short-cuts or easy ways of losing weight; I would recommend this Singletrack article on one way of keeping fit.
I think that we’re all in trouble if people are generally lazy. I don’t really know. Perhaps I’m totally wrong on all this.
Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul. — John Muir
