SGU Episode 882

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SGU Episode 882
June 4th 2022
(brief caption for the episode icon)
SGU 881                      SGU 883
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
B: Bob Novella
C: Cara Santa Maria
J: Jay Novella
E: Evan Bernstein
Quote of the Week
When I was a kid, people wanted to be an astronaut. Today, kids want to be famous, and that's totally the wrong approach. You have to have authenticity in what you're doing. You have to really care about the core message of what you're saying, and then everything else will fall into place.
David Copperfield, American magician
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Show Notes
Forum Discussion

Introduction, Skipping horrible news

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

S: Hello and welcome to the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe. Today is Wednesday, June 1^st 2022, and this is your host, Steven Novella. Joining me this week are Bob Novella...

B: Hey, everybody!

S: Cara Santa Maria...

C: Howdy.

S: Jay Novella...

J: Hey guys.

S: ...and Evan Bernstein.

E: Good evening folks!

S: So here we are. We're trying to figure out what we're going to chat about at the top of the show. And like there's just there's just like horrible news happening in the world, you know what I mean? Like there's really nothing good that we would that we wanted to talk about or that wouldn't sound tone deaf or insensitive. Like you can't talk about something happy and there's only a bunch of sad stuff to talk about. So we decided just not to talk about anything.

C: Get on with it.

J: Let's talk about science.

C: Oh yeah.

S: Let's talk about science. Let's get right so let's, why don't we just get right to our news items and make people feel better about some awesome cool science.

E: Okay.

S: Not to diminish all the bad stuff but this is what we do. All right here we go.

News Items

(At some point in this episode, the Rogues mention the word/term consilience. This is arguably a good word to have tagged for the vocabulary section.)

S:

B:

C:

J:

E:

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

Exascale Supercomputer (1:05)

• Absurd U.S. Supercomputer Becomes First to Officially Enter Coveted Exascale Status

B: Okay. So, on SGU Episode 151--

C: --Whoa!

B: --June 9th, 2008--

E: --Oh my gosh!

B: --I announced the first petaflop supercomputer: a quadrillion calculations per second, 10¹⁵.

Dinosaurs Warm or Cold Blooded (16:17)

• Were Dinosaurs Warm or Cold-Blooded?

Preventing Violent Crime (30:17)

• A study gave cash and therapy to men at risk of criminal behavior. 10 years later, the results are in.

Revising Evolutionary Trees (46:29)

• Molecular phylogenies map to biogeography better than morphological ones

New Optical Illusion (1:02:39)

• This illusion, new to science, is strong enough to trick our reflexes

Quickie with Bob (1:11:44)

• Gato AI

Who's That Noisy? (1:14:18)

Answer to previous Noisy:

All vocalizations from Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson

_hearme_put_text_about_answer_here_

New Noisy (1:17:04)

[high pitched whoops and grunting, squeaking calls]

J: The more information you give me, the better. If you think you have an answer, or you want to send me in something cool, just like that Noisy--somebody just sent that in to me--you can email me at WTN@theskepticsguide.org

Questions/Emails/Corrections/Follow-ups (1:18:59)

_consider_using_block_quotes_for_emails_read_aloud_in_this_segment_
with_reduced_spacing_for_long_chunks –

Science or Fiction (1:28:40)

Item #1: A new analysis finds that the Cueva de Ardales in Spain, famous for its many cave paintings, was likely occupied by human ancestors for as long as 500,000 years. Item #2: In a prospective study, dogs were able to detect asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection with higher sensitivity than nasopharyngeal antigen testing, 97% vs 84%. Item #3: Scientists have developed a molecular drill that is activated by visible light and rotates at 2-3 million times per second, which can drill through bacterial membranes and can be used as a broad-spectrum, rapid-acting antibiotic for skin infections.

Answer	Item
Fiction	500,000-year occupation
Science	Dogs better than antigen test
Science	Molecular drill

Host	Result
Steve	sweep

Rogue	Guess
Bob	Molecular drill
Cara	Molecular drill
Evan	Molecular drill
Jay	Dogs better than antigen test

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

Cara's Response

... [in Cockney accent, as in The Rain in Spain] "the kive in Spine falls minely..."

Skeptical Quote of the Week (1:46:35)

When I was a kid, people wanted to be an astronaut. Today, kids want to be famous, and that's totally the wrong approach. You have to have authenticity in what you're doing. You have to really care about the core message of what you're saying, and then everything else will fall into place.
– David Copperfield, American magician

Signoff/Announcements (1:51:16)

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