Simon Singh

“Scientists aren't necessarily good communicators, because they aren't trained to be good communicators.”

“Roughly 65% of American households owned a video recorder by 1989, when 'The Simpsons' was launched. This meant that fans could watch episodes several times and pause a scene when they had spotted something curious.”

“I start 'The Code Book' with the story of Mary Queen of Scots and the Babington Plot, which was foiled when Mary's enciphered messages fell into the hands of Elizabeth I's codebreakers.”

“The truth is that many of the writers of 'The Simpsons' are deeply in love with numbers, and their ultimate desire is to drip-feed morsels of mathematics into the subconscious minds of viewers.”

“Bearing in mind that homeopathic remedies are generally so diluted that they contain no active remedy, it seems obvious they can be nothing more than placebos.”

“The age of the universe is not just 'a guess', but rather it is a carefully measured number that is now known to a high degree of accuracy.”

“Many of the worst cases that triggered the campaign for libel reform involved corporations suing critics, so these particular sections of the bill are vital to reduce future abuses of libel law.”

“You don't have to be a genius mathematician to have a career in cyber security, but it certainly helps to be a strong mathematician.”

“High street homeopaths, who typically do not have any serious medical training, are allowed to treat you and me for almost any condition.”

“In my case, I estimate that the members of the British Chiropractic Association have an annual turnover of £100m, and the BCA decided to sue me personally. I was very close to backing down and apologising for an article that was fair and accurate.”

“I'm fairly unemotional and tend not to get too excited when things go well and I tend not to get too depressed when they go badly.”

“I'm happy watching 'The Simpsons' at home.”

“All that was required to measure the planet was a man with a stick and a brain. In other words, couple an intellect with some experimental apparatus and almost anything seems achievable.”

“In 2001, a systematic review of five studies revealed that roughly half of all chiropractic patients experience temporary adverse effects, such as pain, numbness, stiffness, dizziness and headaches. These are relatively minor effects, but the frequency is very high, and this has to be weighed against the limited benefit offered by chiropractors.”

“The fact that we have 7 days of the week can be traced to the Babylonian and Jewish civilisations, with the first documented reference dating to 600BC.”

“One scientist will interpret data one way, another in another way. One scientist may feel that an experiment is valid, another feels it's invalid. That's why scientists have discussions and put forward their opinions in conferences and papers.”

“People back down because the libel system is so utterly hostile to journalists, bloggers, scientists. The smart thing is not to fight.”

“In fact, scientific results are a careful attempt to objectively measure reality, and although they may be refined over time, they are always our best hope of getting at the truth.”

“You might think that modern chiropractors restrict themselves to treating back problems, but in fact they still possess some quite wacky ideas. The fundamentalists argue that they can cure anything. And even the more moderate chiropractors have ideas above their station.”

“All I am saying is that if you want to answer a question, then we need to examine and weigh up the evidence. To me, that's not dogmatic that's just... what else would you do?”