Timothy Jordan misses the point on Beer Goggles

February 23rd, 2007

It’s always nice to receive recognition for a hard day’s debunking, in fact, the only thing I like better is hate mail, which is far more entertaining. So imagine my delight at receiving an Award for Excellence, bestowed upon me by the Timothy Jordan Show, a Friday drive-time radio slot on Santa Cruz’s 88.1 KZSC.

Of particular interest to them was my debunking of the Beer Goggle effect, the phony equation released by corporate stooge Nathan Efron to generate press for lenscare manufacturers Bausch & Lomb. However, Timothy Jordan and co. didn’t quite manage to wrap their heads around the complicated “fraudulent article written for grant money” concept. In their words:

Science writer Frank Swain saw through the symbolic Greek distractions and ran some analysis on the equation.

As he later informed the equation’s author, a simple sensitivity test showed that while the amount of alcohol consumed increased the “Beer Goggle Effect” at a steady rate, the vastly more important factor was the subject’s vision to begin with.

Thanks to Mr. Swain, that old phrase often uttered by friends late at night in a bar, “Dude, have you gotten your eyes checked?” may actually be the most important factor in preventing the dreaded “Morning After Beer Goggles Effect”.

Altogether now: No, no, no, no, no! That’s not it at all.  The most important factor in preventing the dreaded Beer Goggle effect is not to listen to made-up crap touted by unscrupulous researchers published as news by scientifically illiterate journalists!

Really, I don’t want to seem ungrateful, but the manner in which this award was presented clearly shows I’m not communicating these ideas clearly enough.  I could make it simple and just say Nathan Efron is a scientist who abandoned his integrity to make a quick buck, but that line already nearly got me sued.

Entry Filed under: General

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