SGU Episode 548

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SGU Episode 548
January 9th 2016
(brief caption for the episode icon)
SGU 547                      SGU 549
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
B: Bob Novella
C: Cara Santa Maria
J: Jay Novella
E: Evan Bernstein
Quote of the Week
We privileged few, who won the lottery of birth against all odds, how dare we whine at our inevitable return to that prior state from which the vast majority have never stirred?
Richard Dawkins
Links
Download Podcast
Show Notes
Forum Discussion

Introduction

You're listening to the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, your escape to reality.

Forgotten Superheroes of Science ()

• Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green: an inspirational young physicist who received a $1.1 million grant to pursue her breakthrough in treating cancer using lasers and nanoparticles

News Items

FTC Smacks Down Lumosity ()

• https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/ftc-slaps-down-brain-training-claims/

Picky Eaters ()

• http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/when-picky-eating-becomes-a-disorder/

New Elements ()

• http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/01/standards-organization-accepts-completion-of-last-row-of-periodic-table/

Who's That Noisy ()

• Answer to Last Week: The Cage

What's the Word ()

• Fugacity

Name That Logical Fallacy ()

"You really did your research on this one. You just took the word of one literature search study. They didn't actually study anything, except paper." "Hang on a second. As a 30-year teacher here, a couple of caveats. 1) This premise could be reduced to 'everyone learns the same way.' Not true. 2) It presupposes that students will do just as well in learning information/acquiring skills in an 80-minute lecture instead of being presented the material in different formats that work different modalities. Not true 3). There is also a mountain of evidence to show students have 'learning preferences' as opposed to 'learning styles.' --It *is* true that one's 'learning style' (determined from assessments) *does not* have good predictive powers like a good scientific theory should. (Just because one is a visual learner doesn't mean she will need that modality to learn the next new thing) .....however, teachers absolutely should present material in different ways because we do all learn differently. Different cultures, different families even, value a wide range of acquiring skills and knowledge." "SGU - Please review the studies I linked and come back when you have more than a mag share to contribute."

Science or Fiction ()

Item #1: A newly published paper suggests that globular clusters would be a likely location for extraterrestrial civilizations. Item #2: A new study finds that there is no negative correlation between hours of work and relationship satisfaction for dual career couples. Item #3: Researchers have found a strong correlation between homophobia and the belief that sexual orientation is a choice rather than biologically determined.

Skeptical Quote of the Week ()

"We privileged few, who won the lottery of birth against all odds, how dare we whine at our inevitable return to that prior state from which the vast majority have never stirred?" - Richard Dawkins

S: The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is produced by SGU Productions, dedicated to promoting science and critical thinking. For more information on this and other episodes, please visit our website at theskepticsguide.org, where you will find the show notes as well as links to our blogs, videos, online forum, and other content. You can send us feedback or questions to info@theskepticsguide.org. Also, please consider supporting the SGU by visiting the store page on our website, where you will find merchandise, premium content, and subscription information. Our listeners are what make SGU possible.

References