SGU Episode 141

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SGU Episode 141
2nd Apr 2008
(brief caption for the episode icon)
SGU 140                      SGU 142
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
B: Bob Novella
R: Rebecca Watson
J: Jay Novella
E: Evan Bernstein
Quote of the Week
There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.
Hippocrates
Links
Download Podcast
Show Notes
Forum Discussion

Introduction

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

News Items

Expelled Again (5:52)

• Skepchick: Audio of PZ Myers Crashing the Expelled Teleconference

Human Cow Hybrids (17:41)

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article3663033.ece

Tantric Killing Ceremony Fails on Live TV (21:25)

Rationalist International: The Great Tantra Challenge

Questions and Emails

Debunking Skeptics (38:10)

Hello skeptics

My name is Edgard Polanco, I'm 24 and I'm writing you all the way from Bogota, Colombia (just 4 degrees over the Ecuator line). I've been listening to you from a while now, as a matter of fact the first episode I listened was the one where you announced Perry's death.

Well, I'm an economist and I used to believe really weird stuff... UFOs, ESP, reincarnation... you name it. Thanks to people like you, James Randi, Richard Dawkins and a lot more I'm now a proud skeptic.

I'm sorry for the long introduction but I really have a question. Browsing over the internet I found this page:

http://www.happierabroad.com/Debunking_Skeptical_Arguments.htm

It has a long list of arguments skeptics made when debunking something. Some I can think of an answer but for some (like number 5 and the France tactic) elude me.

I know the time in your show is short and maybe you can't go over the whole list... but I think this would make a nice "Name the logical fallacy".

Thank you for your time, I hope you keep with your show a lot more so I can keep learning nice things (like special relativity)

Edgard Alfonso Polanco

Colombia

Dinosaur Fossils on the Moon (50:42)

Hi,

I'm a great fan of the podcast. Keep up the good work. I wrote before on this matter but never got a reply. But I know you guys are pretty busy. Please write back if you can. I'm a university teacher in Japan and some time ago I told my class that some of the dust on the moon had been found to contain dinosaur bone fragments or dust from fossils that had been blown into the atmosphere during the KT event. I heard this on a reputable podcast like Science Friday or Scientific American but when I tried to find info on the Net I found nothing. I wrote to both of these podcasts but never heard back from them. I felt bad later because despite my interest in skepticism I had passed along something to my class that I later could not verify. Please tell me if you have ever heard of this.

Your avid listener,

David Gann

Japan

Skeptical Quote of the Week (1:06:15)

There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.

Hippocrates

S: The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is produced by the New England Skeptical Society in association with the James Randi Educational Foundation and skepchick.org. For more information on this and other episodes, please visit our website at www.theskepticsguide.org. For questions, suggestions, and other feedback, please use the "Contact Us" form on the website, or send an email to info@theskepticsguide.org. If you enjoyed this episode, then please help us spread the word by voting for us on Digg, or leaving us a review on iTunes. You can find links to these sites and others through our homepage. 'Theorem' is produced by Kineto, and is used with permission.

References