“Heavy drinkers of coffee, tea, energy drinks, and other caffeinated beverages are more likely to hallucinate, hear imaginary voices, and even sense the presence of deceased people, a new study suggests”

Yeah, right, go tell that to the giant centipede that is making me an espresso right now. It’s great to have an espresso making giant centipede. Mine can quote forwards and backwards from Naked Lunch, and can project mental images of Hallucigenia, properly inverting it as an onychophoran.

Jokes aside, this is the part that troubles me:

“It could also be that people who have hallucinations are more anxious and worried, so that causes them to consume more caffeine.”

I’m no behavioral scientist, but does the ‘It could also be’ mean that they didn’t get people who have hallucinations to be part of the study, with no caffeinated drinks? Wouldn’t this be some form of control group?

Or else, why publish the results if the whole thing is incomplete or inconclusive (the final message is, indeed, “it may be the caffeine, it may not be it”).

I guess it’s a slow science news day.

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