Measure for Measure
My current First World dilemma is as follows: do I listen to ‘More or Less’ or ‘Sliced Bread’? I don’t seem to have time for both, even though all episodes are on BBC Sounds, so it tends to be whatever I haven’t heard much of recently. That is probably the sort of muddled arithmetic that is so wonderfully challenged on ‘More or Less.’ Full disclosure: the dames do not profess to be leading mathematicians, or even those that follow, which is probably why I like the programme so much.
This week I was chuckling at the image of the world’s population being able to fit into Loch Ness. In case you don’t know the format, members of the public contact Tim Harford, the programme’s presenter, and ask him to fact check an unlikely sounding statistic, usually presented as fact supporting a particular argument. Harford brings in handy experts in whichever field is under the spotlight.
This query was proved to be factually correct. I didn’t note down the volume of Loch Ness or that of the world’s population, but it turns out there would be room to spare, although the invited expert noted that it would be an easier exercise if everyone was neatly tube shaped. Harford also helpfully pointed out that there are many lakes in the world that are much bigger than Loch Ness and it is nowhere near the top ten largest inland bodies of standing water. And since you ask, the biggest is the Caspian Sea. Quite how many multiples of the global population could be popped in there was not discussed. They clearly would not be noticed.
Sliced Bread also introduces me to hypotheses that need challenging, but in the world of advertising and promotion. The format invites listeners to highlight the claims of manufacturers that their product is truly special and uses similar forensic techniques to examine the spiel. Once again, experts in the field are invited to challenge the purported ‘facts’.
This week the programme took me to a world that I am aware of but have not dipped any of my toes into. Gummies. Oh do keep up Dame B, surely you know that these are an indispensable part of dietary supplements? Tablets and syrups are so last century – sticky chewy rubbery sweeties are key to the ‘wellness’ industry, jam packed (supposedly) with all sorts of substances that will improve your life and wellbeing immeasurably.
A consumer had contacted the programme to check out a particular brand of ‘mushroom wellness gummies’. She wanted to know did they actually live up to the manufacturer’s claims that the combination of several types of mushrooms in the product would improve cognitive ability, ensure a better night’s sleep, lower anxiety, help with menopausal symptoms and mean that you could conduct an orchestra playing Wagner’s Ring Cycle. Ok, this last is my own invention, but you get my drift.
The team of experts started their investigation. Reader, you may not be surprised to learn that nearly all the claims could not be backed up by scientific evidence. The most distressing part was the consumer admitting that having taken these gummies for the last 8 weeks she was now worried that if she stopped the positive effects might be lost. Just which positive effects I hear you ask?
PS Where else would you get this sort of stuff apart from the Beeb? Just saying…take heed Matt Brittin.