SGU Episode 989
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SGU Episode 989 |
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June 22nd 2024 |
"Freeman Dyson theorized that hypothetical alien megastructures would give off infrared radiation and searching for that byproduct would be a viable method for searching for extraterrestrial life." |
Skeptical Rogues |
S: Steven Novella |
B: Bob Novella |
C: Cara Santa Maria |
J: Jay Novella |
E: Evan Bernstein |
Quote of the Week |
The downside of skepticism: it can easily turn into an arrogant position of a priori rejection of any new phenomenon or idea, a position that is as lacking in critical thinking as the one of the true believer, and that simply does not help either science or the public at large. |
Massimo Pigliucci, Italian-American philosopher and biologist |
Links |
Download Podcast |
Show Notes |
Forum Discussion |
Introduction, Juneteenth
Voice-over: You're listening to the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, your escape to reality.
GMO pineapple and petunias (4:58)
News Items
S:
B:
C:
J:
E:
(laughs) (laughter) (applause) [inaudible]
Sun's Magnetic Field About to Flip (7:04)
Kids and Gun Safety (14:42)
Gates Goes Nuclear (28:29)
Nanodroplet Drug Delivery (49:54)
Potential Dyson Spheres (1:03:23)
- 'Dyson spheres' were theorized as a way to detect alien life. Scientists say they've found potential evidence. [1]
Who's That Noisy? (1:15:01)
New Noisy (1:18:33)
[Forest sounds in background, squeaking animal foreground]
J: ... what this week's Noisy is
Announcements (1:18:55)
From TikTok: Free Energy Murders (1:21:55)
- [url_from_show_notes _article_title_] [6]
Science or Fiction (1:27:54)
Item #1: A recent analysis confirms that the current red spot of Jupiter is the same spot first observed by Cassini in 1665, making it at least 360 years old.[7]
Item #2: By analyzing tool-making researchers find that humans began cumulative culture around 600,000 years ago.[8]
Item #3: For the first time astronomers witness the activation of a massive galactic black hole into an active galactic nucleus.[9]
Answer | Item |
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Fiction | Cassini saw same Red Spot |
Science | Cumulative culture 0.6Mya |
Science | Black hole into nucleus |
Host | Result |
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Steve | win |
Rogue | Guess |
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Cara | Cassini saw same Red Spot |
Jay | Cumulative culture 0.6Mya |
Evan | Cassini saw same Red Spot |
Bob | Cassini saw same Red Spot |
Voice-over: It's time for Science or Fiction.
Cara's Response
Jay's Response
Evan's Response
Bob's Response
Steve Explains Item #3
Steve Explains Item #1
Steve Explains Item #2
Skeptical Quote of the Week (1:46:47)
The downside of skepticism: it can easily turn into an arrogant position of a priori rejection of any new phenomenon or idea, a position that is as lacking in critical thinking as the one of the true believer, and that simply does not help either science or the public at large.
– Massimo Pigliucci (1964-present), Italian-American philosopher and biologist, from Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk
S: ...we interviewed him[link needed]
Signoff
S: —and until next week, this is your Skeptics' Guide to the Universe.
S: Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is produced by SGU Productions, dedicated to promoting science and critical thinking. For more information, visit us at theskepticsguide.org. Send your questions to info@theskepticsguide.org. And, if you would like to support the show and all the work that we do, go to patreon.com/SkepticsGuide and consider becoming a patron and becoming part of the SGU community. Our listeners and supporters are what make SGU possible.
Today I Learned
- Fact/Description, possibly with an article reference[10]
- Fact/Description
- Fact/Description
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 CNN: 'Dyson spheres' were theorized as a way to detect alien life. Scientists say they've found potential evidence
- ↑ Live Science: The sun's magnetic field is about to flip. Here's what to expect.
- ↑ New York Times: In Homes With Children, Even Loaded Guns Are Often Left Unsecured
- ↑ Neurologica: Bill Gates Backs Nuclear
- ↑ Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences: Ultrasound beam triggers 'nanodroplets' to deliver drugs at exactly the right spot
- ↑ [url_from_show_notes _publication_: _article_title_]
- ↑ Geophysical Research Letters: The Origin of Jupiter's Great Red Spot
- ↑ PNAS: 3.3 million years of stone tool complexity suggests that cumulative culture began during the Middle Pleistocene
- ↑ European Southern Observatory: Astronomers see a massive black hole awaken in real time
- ↑ [url_for_TIL publication: title]
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