SGU Episode 941

This transcript is not finished. Please help us finish it! Add a Transcribing template to the top of this transcript before you start so that we don't duplicate your efforts.

This episode needs: transcription, formatting, links, 'Today I Learned' list, categories, segment redirects. Please help out by contributing!

How to Contribute

You can use this outline to help structure the transcription. Click "Edit" above to begin.

SGU Episode 941
July 22nd 2023
"A 300,000-year-old hunting weapon has shone a new light on early humans as woodworking masters."
SGU 940                      SGU 942
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
B: Bob Novella
C: Cara Santa Maria
J: Jay Novella
E: Evan Bernstein
Quote of the Week
Science is not about building a body of facts. It is a method for asking awkward questions and subjecting them to a reality-check, thus avoiding the human tendency to believe whatever makes them feel good.
Terry Pratchett, English humorist
Links
Download Podcast
Show Notes
Forum Discussion

Introduction, Cara's and Jay's trips

Voice-over: 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]

Early Woodworking (15:31)

• Early humans were weapon woodwork experts, study finds  

Genetic Engineering to Fight Malaria (23:56)

• Using Genetic Engineering To Fight Malaria 

How We Determine What's True (38:12)

• How We Determine What to Believe as True 

Killing Bacteria (49:13)

• Dual wavelengths of light shown to be effective against antibiotic-resistant bacterium 

Nanopatch Pseudoscience (58:32)

• Novak Djokovic’s Nano Patch: He Calls It His ‘Biggest Secret’—Some Experts Call It Bogus 

[2020 covid news item about Djokovic]^{[link needed]}

Who's That Noisy? (1:17:39)

Answer to previous Noisy:

playground "pebble harp"
(and here's an older video of a bigger, exposed "pebble chime")

New Noisy (1:21:18)

[whirring in background, scratching sound fading in foreground]

J: ... what this week's Noisy was

Announcements (1:21:52)

[top]                        

Science or Fiction (1:26:46)

Theme: Animal sound tropes Item #1: The famous sound made by Flipper the dolphin is actually a recording of a kookaburra bird sped up. Item #2: The only species of frog that makes the “ribbit” noise is the Pacific tree frog, which is native to Hollywood, CA. Item #3: Horses make a variety of sounds, but they don’t whinny like in the movies, which is a sound recorded from a donkey.

Answer	Item
Fiction	Horses don't whinny
Science	Dolphin = kookaburra
Science	Pacific tree frog's "ribbit"

Host	Result
Steve	win

Rogue	Guess
Jay	Horses don't whinny
Evan	Pacific tree frog's "ribbit"
Cara	Horses don't whinny
Bob	Horses don't whinny

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

Skeptical Quote of the Week (1:40:35)

Science is not about building a body of facts. It is a method for asking awkward questions and subjecting them to a reality-check, thus avoiding the human tendency to believe whatever makes them feel good.  – Terry Pratchett (1948-2015), English humorist, from The Science of Discworld

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.

[top]                        

Today I Learned

• Fact/Description, possibly with an article reference
• Fact/Description
• Fact/Description

References