When: Thursday 21st April, 7.30pm
Where: Catford (map)
Speaker: Stefanie Knappe
Why everyone should Ask For Evidence.
Every day, we hear claims about what is good for our health, bad for the environment, how to improve education, cut crime, and treat disease. Some are based on reliable evidence and scientific rigour. Many are not. These claims can’t be regulated; every time one is debunked another pops up – like a game of whack-a-mole. So how can we make companies, politicians, commentators and official bodies accountable for the claims they make?
The Ask for Evidence campaign has seen people ask a retail chain for the evidence behind its MRSA resistant pyjamas; ask a juice bar for the evidence behind wheatgrass detox claims; ask the health department about rules for Viagra prescriptions; ask for the studies behind treatments for Crohn’s disease, and hundreds more. As a result, claims are being withdrawn and bodies held to account.
Our visiting speaker, Stefanie Knappe, is a PhD researcher at King’s College London, where she investigates how muscle stem cells regenerate muscle. She is passionate about science communication and advocates critical thinking and inquiry. Since October 2015, she has been working with Sense About Science as an Ask For Evidence Ambassador
