SGU Episode 361

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Introduction

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

This Day in Skepticism ( )

June 16 - Captain Picard Day - http://www.geeksaresexy.net/2009/06/16/captain-picard-day/

News Items

LiDAR ( )

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/06/08/lasers-help-discover-lost-city-gold-sought-by-conquistadors-in-1500s/?intcmp=obnetwork

Extremophiles ( )

http://colorado.edu/news/releases/2012/06/08/cu-boulder-led-team-finds-microbes-extreme-environment-south-american

Moral Behavior ( )

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/06/anonymous-cooperative-behavior/

Neck Manipulation ( )

http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/1734-bmj-articles-oppose-spinal-manipulation.html

Ghost Train ( )

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2012/06/05/Two-teens-killed-in-ghost-legend-game/UPI-55491338925923/

Questions and Emails ( )

Homeopathic Pharmacists( )

Subject: Pharmacists enthusiastically promoting homeopathy

Message: Dear skeptical rogues, I want to address a topic of utmost importance: the medical credibility lend to non-physicians. Pretty much all German pharmacies sell homeopathic remedies. After gathering an relatively big amount of information about current studies and so on, I wanted to confront some local pharmacists with the ethical question: how to justify selling, what obviously doesn't work? The responses were.. unexpected, to say the least. I went to 4 pharmacies, stating that I'm "interested to learn about homeopathy", setting up a little trap, hoping to get the every-day response to a question like that. All 4 pharmacists I talked to, assured me (enthusiastically), that homeopathy certainly works and that it's a great way to go. They were clear that there is not the least(!) doubt about the effectiveness. ( I was even told that homeopathy was, in fact, real medicine and shall not be confused with nutritional supplements. When confronted with the studies, they avoided to address any argument I made. Instead their responses became, ironically enough, some kind of liquid. I heard some arguments from ignorance, some false dichotomies and constantly moving the goalpost. I don't know about pharmacists in the US, but in Germany they have almost the same credibility as physicians. They sell a big variety of (non-homeopathic, actually real) medicine on own judgment and even tell people what dosage to take. Physicians usually only get consulted by Germans, if the state of health appears to be somewhat critical. Most medicine is sold purely on the pharmacists judgment. Today I discovered how full of crap they really are. I would love to hear your opinions on the topic. Especially regarding the potential risk of people selling medicine while basically believing in magic. If you should read from this mail in your show, feel free to change my wording so the grammar is correct. As you can tell, I'm not a native speaker, although I'm trying hard. Keep up the great work! Toni Michel Stuttgart in Germany PS: The reason I learned about this podcast is my older brother, Andreas Michel. He is a really great guy and a big fan of your show for quite some years now. It would be totally incredible, if you could greet him on the air. I probably wouldn't have to buy him birthday presents for the upcoming years.

Science or Fiction ( )

Item number one. Christian Huygens was the first to postulate, in 1678, the particle theory of light. Item number two. In 1695 he wrote a book expounding on his belief in extraterrestrial life. Item number three. He invented and patented the pendulum clock in 1657. And item number four. He designed a basic internal combustion engine fueled by gunpowder.

Skeptical Quote of the Week ( )

Science does not aim at establishing immutable truths and eternal dogmas; its aim is to approach the truth by successive approximations, without claiming that at any stage final and complete accuracy has been achieved.

Bertrand Russell's "The ABC of Relativity" (4th revised edition).

Announcements ( )