SGU Episode 892

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SGU Episode 892
August 13th 2022
Meteor (artistic rendering)
SGU 891                      SGU 893
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
B: Bob Novella
C: Cara Santa Maria
J: Jay Novella
E: Evan Bernstein
Quote of the Week
Death might appear to destroy the meaning in our lives, but in fact it is the very source of our creativity. As Kafka said, "The meaning of life is that it ends." Death is the engine that keeps us running, giving us the motivation to achieve, learn, love, and create.
Caitlin Doughty, American mortician, author
Links
Download Podcast
Show Notes
Forum Discussion

Introduction, NECSS reflections & plans

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

Guest Rogue's 50th Birthday (5:15)

• Episode 402

Special Report: USA's New Climate Change Bill (6:10)

• Inflation Reduction Act: one-page summary

News Items

S:

B:

C:

J:

E:

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

The Physics of Meteors (19:57)

• Bolide fragmentation: What parts of asteroid 2008 TC₃ survived to the ground?

New Kind of Motion (33:38)

• Robotic motion in curved space defies standard laws of physics

Structured Water (43:34)

• 'Structured Water' Is Not What People Claim. Don't Believe The Hype, Scientist Says

Cryonic Horror Stories (58:58)

• Horror stories of cryonics: The gruesome fates of futurists hoping for immortality

Who's That Noisy? (1:22:32)

Answer to previous Noisy:

During Vietnam War, from Operation Wandering Soul's psychological warfare effort

New Noisy (1:29:34)

[low chiming then intermittent, increasingly loud buzzing coupled with rising chime notes]

J: ... what this week's Noisy is, ...

Questions/Emails/Corrections/Follow-ups

Correction #1: Photons Have Momentum (1:32:21)

_consider_using_block_quotes_for_emails_read_aloud_in_this_segment_
with_reduced_spacing_for_long_chunks –

Science or Fiction (1:34:08)

Theme: Robots Item #1: Robot-assisted lobectomy for lung cancer had better outcomes than video-assisted lobectomy in a recent double-blinded clinical trial. Item #2: A University of New Hampshire team has developed a robot that can independently take care of a demented patient's entire daily needs. Item #3: A robot armed with a new AI algorithm was able to map its own body without any outside help or input and use that information to plan its own movements.

Answer	Item
Fiction	Caring for the demented
Science	Robot-assisted lobectomy
Science	Robot maps its own body

Host	Result
Steve	swept

Rogue	Guess
Cara	Caring for the demented
Evan	Caring for the demented
Bob	Caring for the demented
Jay	Caring for the demented

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

Skeptical Quote of the Week (1:44:53)

Death might appear to destroy the meaning in our lives, but in fact it is the very source of our creativity. As Kafka said, "The meaning of life is that it ends." Death is the engine that keeps us running, giving us the motivation to achieve, learn, love, and create.
– Caitlin Doughty, American mortician, author, blogger, YouTube personality, from her book, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory (2014)

Signoff

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