SGU Episode 516
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| SGU Episode 516 |
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| May 30th 2015 |
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| (brief caption for the episode icon) |
| Skeptical Rogues |
| S: Steven Novella |
B: Bob Novella |
J: Jay Novella |
E: Evan Bernstein |
| Quote of the Week |
Science is not a boy's game, it's not a girl's game. It's everyone's game. It's about where we are and where we're going. Space travel benefits us here on Earth. And we ain't stopped yet. There's more exploration to come. |
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| Download Podcast |
| Show Notes |
| Forum Discussion |
Introduction
You're listening to the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, your escape to reality.
Forgotten Superheroes of Science ()
- Georges Méliès: influential filmmaker who made the first science fiction film ever
News Items
Scam Charities ()
Creationist Talking Points ()
Twitter Demons ()
Who's That Noisy ()
- Answer to last week:
Questions and Emails
Question #1: Bird Feeders ()
Recently we put up a bird feeder in our yard. This prompted a discussion between myself and my husband about the effect of bird feeders on a bird population. I have heard that if you start feeding birds you should not stop as the birds learn to rely on the constant food supply and, if it is removed, have difficulty obtaining food the usual way. My thinking is that the easily obtained energy birds receive via the feeders is almost always a benefit as they do not have to exert a lot of energy obtaining it and, if it is no longer there, they have still had the benefit of that easy food energy. We had hoped to come to Nexus this year, but there are no longer direct flights from Edmonton to New York City. Maybe next year! Thanks, Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta Nancy
Interview with Paul Braterman ()
- I am a retired chemistry professor, now science writer, in Glasgow, committee member of British Centre for Science Education, heavily involved in promoting and defending science, in Skeptics and Humanists, regular contributor to 21st Floor, to Panda's Thumb a couple of times, to BCSE's analyses of creationist activity in the UK, and, on a variety of topics, as a result of contacts I made while working in the US, to the New Mexico Committee for excellence in science education house organ, the Beacon. My formal networks: British Centre for Science Education (BCSE), http://www.bcseweb.org.uk/ [a small group doing much the same work as our friends, NCSE, whom you mention, are doing in the US; we got Sue Blackmore to sign the CrISIS campaign letter to the Education Secretary], Glasgow Brights, New Mexicans for Science and Reason, Oxford University. From NCSE: http://ncse.com/news/2015/05/update-from-scotland-0016382 https://www.scottishsecularsociety.com/creationism-in-scottish-schools-the-scottish-secular-society-won/
Science or Fiction ()
Item #1: Biologists have engineered double-helix DNA that has six instead of four nucleotides. Item #2: Recent research suggests that infants are able to understand abstract relationships even before they develop language. Item #3: Italian physicists have announced the discovery of the Majoranon, the first elementary particle that is its own antiparticle.
Skeptical Quote of the Week ()
'Science is not a boy's game, it's not a girl's game. It's everyone's game. It's about where we are and where we're going. Space travel benefits us here on Earth. And we ain't stopped yet. There's more exploration to come.' - Nichelle Nichols
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.
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