SGU Episode 73
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| SGU Episode 73 |
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| 13th Dec 2006 |
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| (brief caption for the episode icon) |
| Skeptical Rogues |
| S: Steven Novella |
B: Bob Novella |
R: Rebecca Watson |
E: Evan Bernstein |
P: Perry DeAngelis |
| Guest |
AW: Alan Wallace |
| Quote of the Week |
Coincidence is the science of the true believer. |
| Links |
| Download Podcast |
| SGU Podcast archive |
| Forum Discussion |
Introduction
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, December 13, 2006. This is your host, Steven Novella, president of the New England Skeptical Society. And joining me this evening are Bob Novella...
B: Hey, everybody.
S: Rebecca Watson...
R: Hello.
S: Evan Bernstein...
E: Hey, everyone.
S: And making his triumphant return, Perry DeAngelis.
P: Yaaay!
S: Perry, welcome back.
B: Welcome back, Perry.
P: Thank you. Hello, everybody.
S: How are you feeling?
P: I'm feeling much better; thank you very much. It's good to be back with the skeptical rogues and all the rest of you. I did spend a couple of gruesome weeks in the hospital. I was trundling in the thread between life and death, but I'm back now.
R: Your two fans were very worried.
S: (chuckles) They both were very worried.
P: It's a vibrant forum going back and forth between me and those two guys. And I'd like to say a special thanks to Nandes; he's the one who started a "get well" thread about me on the forums. All such well wishes always help when you're ailing. So thanks Nandes and all the rest of you who wrote. As I told them on there, I really am– really am feeling much better. Went to the hospital; I had– some systems were shut down; my kidneys, and... I wasn't eating. I was transitioning, as I said, basically between life and death. But they were able to pull me back at the hospital, at Yale Medical Center-- Steve's hospital of record, and I feel much better now.
S: Excellent.
P: I lost some significant weight; they fo– we did find a serious underlying condition, which is pulmonary venous hypertension, but we're aware of it now, so there's a treatment course now. And you know, it's good to be aware of what's been troubling me these past– actually couple of years. So we're going to work on that now; we're going to get better and stronger, and... we're back!
S: Well, it's great to have you back.
E: Amen.
R: We're all happy to hear it.
P: Thank you. Moving on...
News Items
Tree Octopus (2:10)
Iran's Holocaust Denial (6:06)
Questions and Emails (10:08)
Science and the Supernatural (11:06)
Hello Everyone,
I enjoy listening to the podcast each week and it is, by far, my favorite of all the podcasts out there.
My question for the panel to discuss is this: Is there any potential evidence, experience or phenomenon that you would deem supernatural, if you were to encounter it? Why do I ask this? Well, I have not been able to come up with anything while I ponder it. Anything I come up with on my own would just have me thinking that whatever it was, was something that science had not yet explained. Example: If the skies were to open up and a giant man were to appear claiming to be God, I would not automatically assume it was God. It may be a sufficiently advanced civilization attempting to fool us or mass hallucinations. The only thing I think comes close would be if someone were to accurately and, in detail, predict the future 100 percent of the time. And still, I would try to find the scientific answer to why this was happening. Ghosts, mind-reading, etc. If anyone were able to demonstrate any of these phenomena with reasonable evidence, I would still say there was a scientific and not supernatural explanation for them. So, to the panel: Is there anything that would indicate to you that it was supernatural in origin or is everything explainable within the physical world even if we cannot explain it yet?
Interview with B. Alan Wallace (19:15)
Randi Speaks (1:02:04)
Science or Fiction (1:07:49)
Question #1 By reproducing the nano-scale structure of butterfly wings, engineers have designed the most efficient photovoltaic cells to date.
Question #2 A German scientist has designed a nuclear power plant that will produce virtually no nuclear waste.
Question #3 Study finds that genes may predict the chance of women cheating on their partners.
Skeptical Puzzle (1:16:29)
Last Week's puzzle Take a mylar coat. Put it in a machine and mix it up. Lay it out.
What's left is something that was once believed to exist, yet has never been found.
What is it? Answer: carmot (anagram of mylar coat with "lay" taken out)
This Week's puzzle
If I have 3 items that are multicolored, 5 that are black and white, and 2 that are red, black and white, what do I have?
Skeptical Quote of the Week (1:18:35)
Coincidence is the science of the true believer.
Announcements (1:19:34)
S: The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is produced by the New England Skeptical Society in association with the James Randi Educational Foundation. For more information on this and other episodes, please visit our website at www.theskepticsguide.org. Please send us your questions, suggestions, and other feedback; you can use the "Contact Us" page on our website, or you can send us an email to info@theskepticsguide.org'. 'Theorem' is produced by Kineto and is used with permission.
References
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