Feisty column by Ben Goldacre

Ben Goldacre's 'Bad Science' column in The Guardian is a fine institution, used to take necessary swipes at bad science and bad reporting of science (sometimes regrettably in The Guardian itself). He's a tough-minded thinker and writer, with a special concern for issues relating to health. His first column for 2009 is a fine piece making, again, the crucial point that pseudo-science is harmful. He makes it with specific reference to HIV denialism, but the point goes more generally for any nonsense that encourages people to be guided by anything except the best available evidence.