The Unpersuadables: Adventures with the Enemies of Science (51 page)

128
I find a 2008 paper on Morgellons:
Robert E. Accordino et al., ‘Morgellons Disease?’,
Dermatologic Therapy
, vol. 21, issue 1, pp. 8–12, January 2008.

129
In 1987 a team of German researchers found:
Atul Gawande, ‘The Itch’,
New Yorker
, 30 June 2008.

135
‘No parasites or mycobacteria were detected,’ it reports:
M. L. Pearson, J. V. Selby, K. A. Katz, V. Cantrell, C. R. Braden et al., ‘Clinical, Epidemiologic, Histopathologic and Molecular Features of an Unexplained Dermopathy’,
PLoS
ONE 7(1) (2012): e29908. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0029908.

135
Commenting on the work, Steven Novella:
‘Morgellons, Creating a New Disease’,
www.skepticblog.org
, 6 February 2012.

9: ‘Top Dog wants his name in’

page

145
In his book
Doctoring the Mind
:
Richard Bentall,
Doctoring the Mind
, Allen Lane, 2009, p. 131.

145
A typical example is a 2004 paper:
P. Bebbington et al., ‘Psychosis, victimisation and childhood disadvantage: evidence from the second British National Survey of Psychiatric Morbidity’,
British Journal of Psychiatry
185 (2004), pp. 220–26.

10: ‘They’re frightening people’

page

162
Most recently (1991–96) she has been the Head of Ethics Science and Information for the British Medical Association:
http://www.networkprivacy.gg/fleur.htm
.

166
accused of being ‘fixated on finding satanic abuse’:
Esther Addley, ‘I Could Not Stop Crying’,
Guardian
, 21 October 2006.

166
a cognitive-psychology student named Jim Coan:
Interview with author.

171
Dr Sinason’s NHS-funded ‘Clinic for Dissociative Studies’:
http://clinicds.com/3.html
.

171
Dr Sinason is well known in mental-health circles:
http://valeriesinason.co.uk
.

171
an in-demand speaker … Department of Health:
Interview with author.

171
the Bulger killings:
Blake Morrison, ‘Jon Venables is not yet beyond redemption’,
Guardian
, 27 July 2010.

171
Chris Langham:
James Hanning, ‘Comic release: Is it time to forgive Chris Langham?’,
Independent
, 6 December 2009.

171
controversial condition known as multiple-personality disorder or ‘DID’:
Amanda Mitchison, ‘Kim Noble: The woman with 100 personalities’,
Guardian
, 30 September 2011.

175
paedophiles occasionally meddle with pagan rites and symbolism:
‘Kidwelly sex cult members face long jail sentences’, BBC News Wales, 9 March 2011.

178
‘It turned out to be that, yes. The people didn’t remember at first. They weren’t aware’:
Dr Fisher has previously admitted to journalist Daniel Foggo that ‘Carole had “no knowledge” of any ritual abuse when she first saw her.’ Daniel Foggo,
Sunday Times
, 12 June 2011.

11: ‘There was nothing there, but I knew it was a cockerel’

page

182
in a paper published in the
Journal of Philosophical Studies
:
Lisa Bortolotti and Matteo Mameli, ‘Self Deception, Delusion and the Boundaries of Folk Psychology’,
Journal of Philosophical Studies
, vol. 20, pp. 203–221.

183
Psychiatrist Robin Murray:
The Life Scientific with Robin Murray
, BBC Radio Four, first broadcast 7 February 2012.

183
According to Professor of Psychiatry Bruce Wexler:
Bruce E. Wexler,
Brain and Culture
, MIT Press, 2008, p. 9.

183
Developmental biologist Lewis Wolpert writes:
Lewis Wolpert,
Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast
, Faber, 2007, p. 36.

184
Psychologist Jonathan Haidt has called effectance:
Jonathan Haidt,
The Happiness Hypothesis
, Arrow, 2006, p. 22.

184
Professor Daniel Kahneman invites his readers:
Daniel Kahneman,
Thinking, Fast and Slow
, Penguin, 2011, p. 50.

184
Professor Wolpert, meanwhile, writes of studies:
Lewis Wolpert,
Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast
, Faber, 2007, p. 16.

184
mode of language that is millions of years older:
Drew Westen,
The Political Brain
, Public Affairs, 2007, p. 57.

184
every sight, every smell, every person, every idea, every
thing
:
Michael S. Gazzaniga,
Human
, Harper Perennial, 2008, pp. 121, 124.

184
Professor Michael Gazzaniga writes:
Michael S. Gazzaniga,
Human
, Harper Perennial, 2008, p. 124.

184
incapable of making these decisions:
Michael S. Gazzaniga,
Human
, Harper Perennial, 2008, p. 120.

185
hitting you with dread or desire:
David Brooks,
The Social Animal
, Short Books, 2011, p. 207.

185
in the words of Professor David Eagleman:
David Eagleman,
Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain
, Canongate, 2011, p. 104.

185
Professor Bruce Wexler writes:
Bruce E. Wexler,
Brain and Culture
, MIT Press, 2008, p. 125.

186
he offers the example of young Native American men:
Bruce E. Wexler,
Brain and Culture
, MIT Press, 2008, p. 126.

186
Eagleman, ‘not at the centre of the action’:
David Eagleman,
Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain
, Canongate, 2011, p. 9.

186
Scientists at the Monell Centre, Philadelphia:
David Brooks,
The Social Animal
, Short Books, 2011, p. 16.

186
When chickens are born in industrial hatcheries:
David Eagleman,
Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain
, Canongate, 2011, p. 57.

186
Researcher Richard Horsey says:
Richard Horsey, ‘The Art of Chicken Sexing’, UCL Working Papers in Linguistics, 2002.

187
a team led by Professor Antoine Bechara:
Antoine Bechara, Hanna Damasio, Daniel Tranel and Antonio R. Damasio, ‘Deciding Advantageously Before Knowing the Advantageous Strategy’,
Science
275, no. 5304, pp. 1293–95 (February 1997).

188
Professor Timothy Wilson writes in
Redirect
:
Timothy D. Wilson,
Redirect: The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change
, Allen Lane, 2011, p. 51.

189
their understanding that germs and food can cause sickness:
Lewis Wolpert,
Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast
, Faber, 2007, pp. 48–49.

189
In 1889 the German psychiatrist Albert Moll:
Daniel M. Wenger,
The Illusion of Conscious Will
, MIT Press, 2002, p. 149.

189
Seventy-three years later, researchers at Columbia University:
Michael S. Gazzaniga,
Human
, Harper Perennial, 2008, pp. 295, 296.

190
Why this is remains a mystery:
Jonathan Haidt,
The Happiness Hypothesis
, Arrow, 2006, p. 7.

190
(although some speculate … sources of light):
Email to author from Professor Chris Frith.

190
the left side is specialised for language:
Jonathan Haidt,
The Happiness Hypothesis
, Arrow, 2006, p. 7.

190
the right is effectively mute:
Jonathan Haidt,
The Happiness Hypothesis
, Arrow, 2006, p. 9.

191
he flashed a picture of a chicken claw:
Michael S. Gazzaniga,
Human
, Harper Perennial, 2008, p. 294.

191
Gazzaniga flashed the command ‘Walk’:
Daniel Wegner,
The Illusion of Conscious Will
, MIT Press, 2002, p. 182.

192
driven to constantly narrate our actions:
Jonathan Haidt,
The Happiness Hypothesis
, Arrow, 2006, p. 8.

192
Gazzaniga writes, ‘Ah, lack of knowledge is of no importance’:
Michael S. Gazzaniga,
Human
, Harper Perennial, 2008, pp. 296, 297.

192
Opinions range from those of Professor David Eagleman:
David Eagleman,
Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain
, Canongate, 2011, pp. 137, 148.

193
Professor of Psychology Daniel Wegner, who argues:
This summary of his position was confirmed as ‘apt’ in an email from Professor Wegner.

193
‘can at best be a small factor’:
David Eagleman, ‘The Brain on Trial’,
The Atlantic
, July/August 2011.

194
A 1962 study by Professor Daniel Offer:
Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson,
Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me)
, Pinter and Martin, 2007, p. 76.

194
Social psychologists Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson believe:
Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson,
Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me)
, Pinter and Martin, 2007, p. 76.

194
One, for example, involves a man buying a chicken from a supermarket:
Jonathan Haidt,
The Righteous Mind
, Allen Lane, 2012, p. 3.

194
After 1,620 harmless offence stories:
Jonathan Haidt,
The Righteous Mind
, Allen Lane, 2012, p. 24.

195
“I know it’s wrong, but I just can’t think of a reason why”:
Jonathan Haidt,
The Righteous Mind
, Allen Lane, 2012, p. 25.

000
‘moral reasoning is part of our lifelong struggle’:
Jonathan Haidt,
The Righteous Mind
, Allen Lane, 2012, p. 50.

195
Don’t take people’s moral arguments at face value:
Jonathan Haidt,
The Righteous Mind
, Allen Lane, 2012, p. xiv.

195
We are selfish hypocrites:
Jonathan Haidt,
The Righteous Mind
, Allen Lane, 2012, p. xv.

195
‘myoclonic jerk’:
Jeff Warren,
Head Trip: Adventures on the Wheel of Consciousness
, Oneworld, 2007, p. 31.

195
As neuroscientist and sleep expert Dr Stephen LaBerge has said:
Jeff Warren,
Head Trip: Adventures on the Wheel of Consciousness
, Oneworld, 2007, p. 100.

195
neuroscientist and philosopher Thomas Metzinger notes:
Thomas Metzinger,
The Ego Tunnel
, Basic Books, 2009, p. 138.

196
Dopamine helps to tell us when our models need updating:
My understanding of this principle of dopamine was assisted by Professor Chris Frith.

197
‘It is so unsettling to think such thoughts’:
Timothy D. Wilson,
Redirect: The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change
, Allen Lane, 2011, p. 52.

197
Analysis of one hundred such papers:
Bob Holmes, Kurt Kleiner, Kate Douglas and Michael Bond, ‘Reasons to be cheerful’,
New Scientist
, 4 October 2003.

197
Anthropologists at the University of Connecticut:
Matthew Hutson, ‘In Defense of Superstition’,
New York Times
, 6 April 2012.

197
He tells of an examination of a group of people:
Timothy D. Wilson,
Redirect: The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change
, Allen Lane, 2011, p. 55.

197
Says Professor Wilson, ‘Those who had learned’:
Timothy D. Wilson,
Redirect: The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change
, Allen Lane, 2011, p. 56.

12: ‘I came of exceptional parents’

page

200
Christ Church? Was that it?:
I subsequently discovered that my father attended Exeter College.

201
Cognitive psychologist Professor Martin Conway:
Charles Fernyhough, ‘Our Memories Tell Our Story’,
Guardian
, 22 March 2010.

204
a popular speaker with America’s Tea Party movement:
‘Christopher, a Man of Many Talents’.
http://www.ukip.org/content/latest-news/1675-christopher-a-man-of-many-talents.

204
He has labelled climate science the ‘largest fraud of all time’:
Leo Hickman, ‘“Chemical nonsense”: Leading scientists refute Lord Monckton’s attack on climate science’,
Guardian
, 21 September 2010.

204
believes that ‘the Hitler Youth were left wing … Nuremberg Rallies’:
Interview with Jacek Szkudlarek,
corbettreport.com
, December 2009, YouTube.

204
he believes that ‘very little’ warming of the earth will take place:
‘Lord Monckton: Climate facts, not “consensus”’,
Daily Herald
, 22 March 2010.

204
When the presentation … was heard by Professor John Abraham:
John Abraham, ‘Monckton takes scientist to brink of madness at climate change talk’,
Guardian
, 3 June 2010.