SGU Episode 668

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SGU Episode 668
April 28th 2018
Organic solar cells incorporate carbon into their construction, with several advantages over conventional "inorganic" cells.
SGU 667                      SGU 669
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
B: Bob Novella
C: Cara Santa Maria
J: Jay Novella
E: Evan Bernstein
Quote of the Week
Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false idea that democracy means "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."
Isaac Asimov, American writer
Links
Download Podcast
Show Notes
Forum Discussion

Introduction, sicknesses, SGU's sound editing

Voice-over: You're listening to the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, your escape to reality.

J: ...bent

What's the Word? (11:38)

• Annealing

Wētā Workshop, sword making, metallurgy

Wētā

News Items

S:

B:

C:

J:

E:

(laughs) (laughter) (applause) [inaudible]

Are Echochambers a Myth? (23:33)

• The myth of the online echo chamber 

Organic Solar Cells (42:37)

• Organic solar cells reach record efficiency, benchmark for commercialization  

Self-Cleaning Coating (51:52)

• How science made a self-cleaning coating that repels all liquid 

S: ..."Nearly-Headless Nick"...

Who's That Noisy? (58:50)

Answer to previous Noisy:

TI-30 calculator computations' radio transmissions heard over AM radio

New Noisy (1:02:18)

[creaking and winding noises]

what this noisy is

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Interview with Tobias Füchslin (1:02:51)

• Tobias Füchslin, Research Manager Online at Media Pulse (in Switzerland)
  • "Probability and conspiratorial thinking", by Marko Kovic and Tobias Füchslin

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Science or Fiction (1:16:51)

Item #1: A new study finds that untrained 8-12 year old children have the muscular endurance of elite marathon or triatholon athletes. Item #2: Researchers find that reading an op-ed was more likely to reinforce existing beliefs than to change the reader’s mind. Item #3: Scientists have demonstrated quantum entanglement in the largest experimental setup to date, 15 micrometers wide, the thickness of a fine human hair.

Answer	Item
Fiction	Op-eds reinforce beliefs
Science	Children's elite endurance
Science	Quantum entanglement 15μm 15 micrometers

Host	Result
Steve	clever

Rogue	Guess
Jay	Quantum entanglement 15μm 15 micrometers
Evan	Op-eds reinforce beliefs
Cara	Quantum entanglement 15μm 15 micrometers
Bob	Children's elite endurance

Voice-over: It's time for Science or Fiction.

Skeptical Quote of the Week (1:41:39)

Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."  – Isaac Asimov (1920-1992), American writer and professor of biochemistry

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.

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Today I Learned

• Fact/Description, possibly with an article reference
• Fact/Description
• Fact/Description

References

Vocabulary