George Winter
When everybody is an expert…
‘Science’ does not refer to one thing, and neither does ‘the public’ In a piece for The Critic (28 May 2020, https://thecritic.co.uk/the-ecstasy-of-sanctimony/), a writer called Seymour Silk defends his neighbour Dominic Cummings (top tip: select ‘safe search’ before Googling those names together) and the excursion the latter undertook with his family from London to Durham.…
Read MoreThe smell of human adventure
Who is brave enough to tackle Everest’s faecal time bomb? In the June 2013 issue of National Geographic, Mark Jenkins wrote of Mount Everest that the two standard routes, the northeast and the southeast ridges, “are not only dangerously crowded, but also disgustingly polluted, with garbage leaking out of the glaciers and pyramids of human…
Read MoreEnvironmentalism is a cry from the soul
Public services, such as healthcare, should understand the impact they have on the environment In May 1982, after Argentina had invaded the Falklands, the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher offered this insight to the Scottish Conservative Party conference: “It is exciting to have a real crisis on your hands, when you have spent half your…
Read MoreIt’s all in the mind
George Winter questions the scientific basis of psychiatry and wonders about the future of the speciality
Read MoreEating meat – what’s the wurst that can happen?
George Winter looks at the evidence linking the consumption of red meat and processed foods to a range of health conditions
Read MoreMore than an endurance test
Running is a great way of keeping fit, but George Winter asks whether marathons are for everyone and if there could be adverse health consequences for ageing athletes
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