7 'Controversies' That Are Total Bullsh*t
From video game violence to medical marijuana, we wade through the science and the bullsh*t.
We all love a controversy, and no one loves a controversy more than the media.
This is probably one of the major driving factors behind the sheer amount of bullsh*t that makes its way onto our front pages, into our heads and out of our politicians' mouths, and it seems as though, the stupider the controversy, the bigger it gets.
There are some genuine controversies in science - Is the standard model wrong? Is the peer-review system fatally flawed? How do we measure quantum mechanics? - but these rarely make the front page, shunned in favour of the latest scare story.
Why is it, then, that people seem so intent on demonising your favourite video games? Why do people still refuse to vaccinate their kids, and why do people still push the idea that evolution is a controversial theory? (spoiler: it's totally not)
Look, I'm well aware that the inherent flaws in the peer review system of scientific literature is not exactly attention grabbing, but whilst we waste our time arguing the pros and cons of vaccinating your kids against deadly diseases, or whether gay people make gay babies or whatever, we could be having many more interesting discussions without descending into the murky world of bullsh*t and controversy.