SGU Episode 890

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SGU Episode 890
July 30th 2022
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Open link above to view image: Monkeypox rashes
SGU 889                      SGU 891
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
B: Bob Novella
C: Cara Santa Maria
J: Jay Novella
E: Evan Bernstein
Quote of the Week
The illiterates of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.
Alvin Toffler, American futurist
Links
Download Podcast
Show Notes
Forum Discussion

Introduction, Audiobook Recording, Celebrity Narrators

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

What's the Word? (10:20)

• Word_Topic_Concept

_consider_using_block_quotes_for_emails_read_aloud_in_this_segment_

News Items

S:

B:

C:

J:

E:

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

Detecting Exoplanets (16:06)

• A new method to detect exoplanets

The Cliffs of Insanity!

Too Hot, Wet-bulb temperature (23:20)

• How Hot Is Too Hot for the Human Body?

Overconfidence and Denial (36:13)

• Overconfidence and Opposition to Scientific Consensus

Monkeypox (54:54)

• Monkeypox declared a global emergency: will it help contain the outbreak?

C: ... I don't know if you guys remember, but we did a Monkeypox piece maybe, like, 3 months ago, when the cases in the U.S. started cropping up. We went ahead and covered Monkeypox, and so I want to direct everybody to our archive for the deep dive about the background of Monkeypox.

Who's That Noisy? (1:08:15)

Answer to previous Noisy:

MIDI file of piano-interpolation of Toto's "Africa"

New Noisy (1:15:50)

[low-quality audio of two men in photography conversation in English]

J ...So, guys, if you enjoyed Who's That Noisy this week and you want to help, you can send me some cool Noisys that you hear in your life or you find on the web. Or if you want to try to answer this week's Who's That Noisy, you can email me at WTN@theskepticsguide.org

Announcements (1:16:50)

• Upcoming NECSS

Science or Fiction (1:35:55)

Theme: Edible Plants Item #1: There are over 400,000 known plant species in the world, about 300,000 are edible to humans, but we regularly consume only 200, and 3 crops make up over half of plant calories consumed. Item #2: Cattails are almost entirely edible, and in fact produce more edible starch per acre than any other green plant. Item #3: Many species of cacti contain significant stores of water that can be used as an emergency source in the desert.

Answer	Item
Fiction	Cacti w/ lots of water
Science	~300,000 edible plants
Science	Cattails ~totally edible

Host	Result
Steve	clever

Rogue	Guess
Evan	Cacti w/ lots of water
Bob	Cattails ~totally edible
Jay	~300,000 edible plants
Cara	Cacti w/ lots of water

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

Skeptical Quote of the Week (1:55:51)

The illiterates of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.
– Alvin Toffler (1928-2016), American writer, futurist, and businessman

Signoff/Announcements

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