SGU Episode 918

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SGU Episode 918
February 11th 2023
Artist's impression of how dwarf planet Quaoar and its ring might look like
SGU 917                      SGU 919
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
B: Bob Novella
C: Cara Santa Maria
J: Jay Novella
E: Evan Bernstein
Quote of the Week
Not all lucid dreams are useful, but they all have a sense of wonder. If you must sleep through a third of your life, why should you sleep through your dreams, too?
Stephen LaBerge, American psychophysiologist
Links
Download Podcast
Show Notes
Forum Discussion

Introduction

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

Quickie with Steve (m:ss)

• Astronomers discover unexpected new ring system around dwarf planet

News Items

S:

B:

C:

J:

E:

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

Lucky Girl Syndrome (m:ss)

• Is 'lucky girl syndrome' trending on TikTok just old-school magical thinking? 

More on Space Debris ()

• How fallen space junk could aid the fight against orbital debris 

Earthing Update ()

• Earthing Update 

AI and Technosignatures ()

• Machine learning spots 8 potential technosignatures 

Paranormal Beliefs and Sleep ()

• The associations between paranormal beliefs and sleep variables 

Who's That Noisy? ()

Answer to previous Noisy:

_brief_description_of_answer_ _perhaps_with_a_link_

New Noisy ()

[_short_vague_description_of_Noisy]

short_text_from_transcript

Potent Quotables ()

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Science or Fiction (h:mm:ss)

Item #1: Scientists propose ejecting dust from the Moon to act as a shield between the Earth and Sun in order to mitigate global warming. Item #2: As mountain lion numbers increase, conservationists have proposed setting up traps that will dye their fur pink, or another bright color, to reduce their risk to humans and pets. Item #3: Neuroscientists propose using fMRI scanning to quantify subject reaction to a copycat trademark to see if it is too similar to an established trademark.

Answer	Item
Fiction
Science

Host	Result
Steve

Rogue	Guess

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

Skeptical Quote of the Week ()

Not all lucid dreams are useful but they all have a sense of wonder about them. If you must sleep through a third of your life, why should you sleep through your dreams, too?  – Steven LaBerge (1947-present), American psychophysiologist specializing in the scientific study of lucid dreaming.

Signoff/Announcements ()

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