SGU Episode 888

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SGU Episode 888
July 16th 2022
(brief caption for the episode icon)
SGU 887                      SGU 889
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
B: Bob Novella
J: Jay Novella
E: Evan Bernstein
Guest
AJR: Andrea Jones-Rooy, political, social, and data scientist and professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies at the NYU Center for Data Science
Quote of the Week
Anyone who attempts to generate random numbers by deterministic means is, of course, living in a state of sin.
John von Neumann, Hungarian-American mathematician and polymath
Links
Download Podcast
Show Notes
Forum Discussion

Introduction, Navigating Social Media, Misinformation, Pandemics

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

...

S: But we also like to just talk about cool science, and that's mostly what we're going to do in the News Item segment of the show this week, starting with Jay.

News Items

S:

B:

C:

J:

E:

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

Green Steel (11:10)

• The race to produce green steel

S: You're going to tell us about the race to create "green steel."

T. rex Arms (24:54)

• T. rex Arms

...

S: ...populations are interbreeding. We had this conversation last week with an expert on dog evolution.

Getting Out the Vote (44:58)

• Getting out the vote in the projects: lessons from a community organizing experiment

James Webb Images (59:36)

• Webb Telescope Reveals a New Vision of an Ancient Universe
• Webb's First Deep Field (NIRCam Image)

B: ...for this specific news item, and I came up with a couple: "Now witness the power of this fully operational Space Telescope; and this one's for Jay: "My god, ___!" Finish it, Jay.

J: "...it's full of stars!"

Who's That Noisy? (1:16:03)

Answer to previous Noisy:

Old, German aristocrat gravity-fed water fountain

J: ...Tom Scott's video on gravity-fed, decorative water fountains

New Noisy (1:19:42)

[increasing number of small animals chirping/twittering/squeaking]

J: If you think you know what this week's Noisy is or you heard something really cool, please do--just send it to me. You never know, I might love it. Send it to WTN@theskepticsguide.org

Patreon Reminder (1:20:31)

J:

Science or Fiction (1:32:40)

Item #1: A new study finds that smart thermostats, designed to save energy through efficiency, can increase strain on the electricity grid and worsen peak demand. Item #2: A new analysis finds that the probability of one or more human casualties from rocket body reentry is about 10% over the next decade. Item #3: Researchers find that intranasal oxytocin is effective in improving emotional sensitivity and relationship satisfaction in couples undergoing therapy.

Answer	Item
Fiction	Intranasal oxytocin
Science	Smart thermostats can strain
Science	More reentries, more death

Host	Result
Steve	clever

Rogue	Guess
Jay	More reentries, more death
Evan	Intranasal oxytocin
Bob	Intranasal oxytocin
Andrea	Smart thermostats can strain

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

Skeptical Quote of the Week (1:50:47)

Anyone who attempts to generate random numbers by deterministic means is, of course, living in a state of sin.
– John von Neumann (1903-1957), Hungarian-American mathematician, physicist, computer scientist, engineer and polymath

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