A few years after launching Grumpy Science, we figured it was time to resurrect it. Why? Because we’re a couple of curmudgeonly old guys who do what we want, when we want. Simple as that.
So, what exactly is Grumpy Science? It’s a videocast co-hosted by Bob Dennis and yours truly. It all started with our Friday afternoon impromptu meetings—sessions we refused to call "Happy Hour" because, well, that would have been inaccurate. Instead, they turned into “Grumpy Hour,” where we vented about all the nonsense in the world of science. After a while, we noticed a trend: most of our complaints were about science-related topics. Given that we’ve both spent decades entrenched in the scientific community, we figured, why not share our grumbles with the world? Thus, Grumpy Science was born.
Now, do we have a massive audience? Not exactly. But we do have at least three or four dedicated viewers who tune in and even send us questions from time to time. If reading isn’t your thing (although you’ve made it this far, so maybe it is), much of what’s in our blog can be found in our videocast. That said, if you’ve already read the blog, why bother watching? Good question. The blog posts are a bit more detailed, but the videos probably deliver the big picture with more entertainment value—or at least, we had fun making them.
Why Are We So Grumpy?
One of the recurring themes of both the blog and the show is why—why did we spend over a decade developing something that provides an objective measure of brain health? When Bob and I met in 2004, we realized we shared a common goal: making brain health assessment accessible to everyone.
We’re just a little grumpy about all the roadblocks we encountered along the way. Let’s just say neither of us are particularly agile at leaping over bureaucratic hurdles, and looking back, we have no choice but to laugh at the absurdities. Case in point: One review board claimed the Brain Gauge was dangerous because someone might swallow it and choke. Another worried someone might wrap the cord around their neck—also a choking hazard. Two separate concerns, same level of ridiculousness. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the nonsense we’ve dealt with. So yeah, we grumble a lot—especially about the people and systems that make it unnecessarily difficult for good science to reach the public.
Why Brain Gauge Is Revolutionary (Even If We’re Grumpy About It)
From our grumpy perspective, Brain Gauge is revolutionary because traditional healthcare has spent far too long discouraging people from taking responsibility for their own health. The only people who tend to do so are those who’ve already been let down by the system—people who’ve been told there’s nothing more that can be done and are forced to seek alternatives. The reality is that it takes decades (if ever) for laboratory science to make it into mainstream medical practice. Brain Gauge is one of the rare tools that actually made it out of the lab with the goal of being user-friendly.
Historically, most medical tools required expert training to operate. We took a different approach: if you can read, you can test yourself. Think about blood pressure monitoring—once upon a time, you had to go to a doctor’s office for that. Now, people track their cardiovascular health at home. So why shouldn’t they be just as aware of their brain health? Frankly, it’s just as important—if not more so. And no, your smartwatch’s heart rate variability feature doesn’t count as a comprehensive brain health metric. (If you’re curious why, we wrote about that here.)
Want to Dive into Grumpy Science?
If you’re intrigued, head over to GrumpyScience.com (https://grumpyscience.fluxhealth.co/) to browse our episodes. You can pick a topic that interests you, or if you’re feeling ambitious, binge-watch from the beginning. One viewer described it as the "best all-nighter of my life" after watching every episode back to back. We don’t necessarily recommend that—no telling what kind of cognitive trauma that much grumpy science might cause—but we do welcome comments, questions, and topic suggestions. And to ensure it’s not just us ranting into the void, we occasionally invite guests to join the chaos.
At the end of the day, we hope you enjoy it. More importantly, we hope you learn something—no matter how many of our answers we may or may not have made up!
Important links:
If you want to measure the cognitive impact that watching Grumpy Science causes, you really should get your own Brain Gauge. Learn more about that on the Brain Gauge YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZzmxVY2ewNmuFsVJ-IAIQA