SGU Episode 808

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SGU Episode 808
January 2nd 2021
(brief caption for the episode icon)
SGU 807                      SGU 809
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
B: Bob Novella
C: Cara Santa Maria
J: Jay Novella
E: Evan Bernstein
Quote of the Week
You are modern humans of the civilized world. And modern humans rise beyond all laws and superstitions of the society. They help their fellow beings to rise from the ashes of ignorance, illusion and fear.
Abhijit Naskar, neuroscientist
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Show Notes
Forum Discussion

Introduction

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

News Items

S:

B:

C:

J:

E:

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

The New SARS-CoV-2 variant ()

• Coronavirus Variant Is Indeed More Transmissible, New Study Suggests

Satellites Made from Wood ()

• Japan developing wooden satellites to cut space junk

Quantum Computing ()

• Important milestone in the creation of a quantum computer

Who's That Noisy? (1:18:16)

• Answer to last week’s Noisy: Verrazano Bridge Groans and Shifts in High Winds

New Noisy (1:27:51)

[whooshing/whirring noise]

Science or Fiction (1:30:16)

Answer	Item
Fiction	Earth's slowing rotation
Science	Short Roman calendar
Science	Gregorian vs Julian

Host	Result
Steve	swept

Rogue	Guess
Cara	Earth's slowing rotation
Evan	Earth's slowing rotation
Jay	Earth's slowing rotation
Bob	Earth's slowing rotation

Voiceover: It's time for Science or Fiction.

Theme: The Calendar
Item #1: The ancient Roman calendar year originally contained only 304 days.
Item #2: In the last 2000 years the year has increased by 2.8 seconds due to the slowing of the Earth’s rotation.
Item #3: While the Gregorian calendar was first proclaimed official in 1582, the Julian calendar is still used by several groups even though it is now 13 days off.

Skeptical Quote of the Week (1:47:28)

You are modern humans of the civilized world. And modern humans rise beyond all laws and superstitions of the society. They help their fellow beings to rise from the ashes of ignorance, illusion and fear.
– Abhijit Naskar, neuroscientist

Signoff (1:49:58)

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