If there's one thing Richard Dawkins has taught us, it is that we must not accept any claim without asking for backup evidence. The more outrageous the claim, the more evidence is needed. Sadly, it is often the case that the more outlandish claims are precisely those which are most difficult to prove without specialist scientific equipment.
Take, for instance, the claim that we humans share 50% of our DNA with the humble banana. At first glance, this may seem unlikely (in most cases at least), but fortunately a Mr Robert Jones has taken upon himself to demonstrate the truth of the matter. Except that I'm not sure that even a banana would be stupid enough to drive a car off a cliff just because the SatNav told it to.
These stories crop up every few months: some idiot gets SatNav, types in a postcode and then closes his eyes and follows the instructions to the letter, with varying degrees of resulting disaster. Now don't get me wrong: I'm no expert driver. But I DO know that if I wish to take my car along a given stretch of space, I need:
1) the space to be wider and higher than my car
2) the space to be solid and to keep on being solid in the direction in which I am travelling
3) no obstacles in the way.
I mean, it's not rocket science. Although it does prove a point, of sorts.
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