SGU Episode 587

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SGU Episode 587
October 8th 2016
(brief caption for the episode icon)
SGU 586                      SGU 588
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
B: Bob Novella
C: Cara Santa Maria
J: Jay Novella
E: Evan Bernstein
Quote of the Week
There is nothing dull about a life without fairies, Easter bunnies, devils, ghosts, magic crystals, etc., Life is only boring to boring people.
Robert Todd Carroll
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Show Notes
Forum Discussion

Introduction

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

Forgotten Superheroes of Science ()

• Rosa Smith Eigenmann: Rosa Smith Eigenmann (1858 – 1947) was a pioneer woman ichthyologist, who, along with her husband discovered over 150 species of fish

News Items ()

Hawaii Telescope Hubbub ()

• http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/04/science/hawaii-thirty-meter-telescope-mauna-kea.html

Marijuana Changes the Brain ()

• http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0887899416304787?via%3Dihub

Brain Training and Power Poses ()

• http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/review-brain-training-games-dont-work/

Listening to Experts ()

• http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/people-who-oppose-gay-marriage-are-less-likely-to-value-expert-opinion/

Who's That Noisy ()

• Answer to last week:

What's the Word ()

• Ultracrepidarian

Your Questions and E-mails ()

Question #1: Net Metering ()

I did this a few years ago, and discovered this catch: The panels generate electricity all day long, and you have to buy it. If it generates more than you use, it's put back into the grid, and you get a credit for it. But there is a large difference between the price at which you buy the electricity, and the credit you get from the power company, so you're selling it at a massive loss. If you produce a lot more than you use, you're losing money like crazy. And there are all kinds of provisions in the contract about not blocking the panels, so that they generate less power, etc. Just a head's up. — Eric Lehi, UT

Science or Fiction ()

Item #1: A new analysis of centaurs, 44,000 objects orbiting between Jupiter and Neptune, concludes that they are mostly the remains of a single failed or destroyed protoplanet. Item #2: A recent review conducted by the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration found that 80% of clinical trial data submitted to them over the course of a year was “fabricated, incomplete, or untraceable.” Item #3: The Hubble Space Telescope has detected “cannonballs” of plasma twice the mass of Mars being ejected from a red giant star.

Skeptical Quote of the Week ()

'There is nothing dull about a life without fairies, Easter bunnies, devils, ghosts, magic crystals, etc., Life is only boring to boring people.' — Robert Todd Carroll

S: The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is produced by SGU Productions, dedicated to promoting science and critical thinking. For more information on this and other episodes, please visit our website at theskepticsguide.org, where you will find the show notes as well as links to our blogs, videos, online forum, and other content. You can send us feedback or questions to info@theskepticsguide.org. Also, please consider supporting the SGU by visiting the store page on our website, where you will find merchandise, premium content, and subscription information. Our listeners are what make SGU possible.

References