SGU Episode 851

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SGU Episode 851
October 30th 2021
(brief caption for the episode icon)
SGU 850                      SGU 852
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
B: Bob Novella
C: Cara Santa Maria
J: Jay Novella
E: Evan Bernstein
Quote of the Week
In many cases, flawed or misleading evidence is worse than no evidence at all. This is because the state of ignorance resulting from a lack of evidence is recognized as a state of ignorance, whereas the state of ignorance resulting from misleading evidence is not so recognized.
Vance Berger and Sunny Alperson, biostatistician and nurse practioner, resp.
Links
Download Podcast
Show Notes
Forum Discussion

Introduction

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

What’s the Word? (15:43)

• Chirality

News Items

S:

B:

C:

J:

E:

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

Creepy Parasite (22:27)

• Parasite that replaces a fish's tongue caught at Texas state park

Lab Grown Coffee (31:55)

• Lab-Grown Coffee Passes Taste Test

Organoid Research (41:45)

• Mini-Brains for Disease Research

Conspiracies and COVID (53:55)

• People Who Believe COVID Conspiracies More Likely to Test Positive, Study Confirms

Death by Exorcism (1:00:37)

• Woman dies in apparent exorcism; sheikh, doctor and husband arrested

Who's That Noisy? (1:08:55)

Answer to previous Noisy:

CNC (computer numerical control) machine inscribing measuring marks on sheet metal

New Noisy (1:12:46)

J: Alright, guys, I have a new Noisy for this week. This was sent in by a listener named Robert House—

E: —Doctor House?

J: —and here it is:

[crackling whir in background, with animal-like squeaks and squawks, then higher-pitched whirring and hissing with pattering drops/beats]

Questions/Emails/Corrections/Follow-ups (1:13:57)

_consider_using_block_quotes_for_emails_read_aloud_in_this_segment_ with_reduced_spacing_for_long_chunks –

Science or Fiction (1:27:07)

Answer	Item
Fiction	Gilles de Rais
Science	Japanese spider crab
Science	Cotard's syndrome

Host	Result
Steve	win

Rogue	Guess
Jay	Japanese spider crab
Evan	Japanese spider crab
Bob	Japanese spider crab
Cara	Gilles de Rais

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

Theme: Creepy Science Item #1: The Japanese spider crab has the largest leg span of any arthropod at over 12 feet (3.7 meters). Item #2: Cotard’s syndrome is a neurological disorder in which people believe they are dead and their body is rotting, they often refuse to eat and in some cases request to be taken to the morgue. Item #3: Lieutenant General Gilles de Rais, who served under General Washington during the revolutionary war, was later convicted of raping and dismembering over a hundred children (although the exact number is unknown) and was ultimately hanged for his crimes.

Skeptical Quote of the Week (1:47:11)

In many cases, flawed or misleading evidence is worse than no evidence at all. This is because the state of ignorance resulting from a lack of evidence is recognized as a state of ignorance, whereas the state of ignorance resulting from misleading evidence is not so recognized.

– Vance Berger and Sunny Alperson, biostatistician and nurse practioner, respectively, from their paper, "A General Framework for the Evaluation of Clinical Trial Quality"

Signoff (1:48:20)

S: —and until next week, this is your Skeptics' Guide to the Universe.

[blood-curdling scream sound]

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