SGU Episode 454

Introduction
You're listening to the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, your escape to reality.

This Day in Skepticism

 * March 22, 1394: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulugh_Beg

Waking from Coma with Psychic Powers

 * http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/life-imitates-science-fiction/

Cosmic Inflation

 * http://www.universetoday.com/110360/landmark-discovery-new-results-provide-direct-evidence-for-cosmic-inflation/

24/192 audio

 * http://xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html

Who's That Noisy

 * Answer to last week: Roger Penrose

Question #1: Cartouche Again
"I am a historian currently working on his PhD at Laval University in Quebec City.On last week’s podcast (March 1st), Steven mentioned that the term cartouche is derived from the French word for gun cartridge. This immediately sounded alarm bells in my head. Not only am I a native French speaker, but I also regularly come across the word cartouche in my pre-Napoleonic research.True, cartouche is a homonym for a cartridge. However, it has also been a long established term since 1543 describing an ornament or drawing representing a royal crest or coat of arms. These are most often seen on maps, not only denoting a crest but sometimes a detail of a cityscape (today this French word is still used to describe the area containing a map’s key). And the term, naturally, has been expanded to describe the royal Egyptian inscriptions found within hieroglyphs. In fact, this definition precedes that of a gun cartridge in the dictionary (Source: Dictionnaire le Petit Robert).Through the word’s pre-existing etymology, I conclude that the soldier story is highly unlikely. So where does this story originate? I can’t be sure, but I will point out that Wikipedia’s cartouche article refers to Jon Manchip White’s “Everyday Life in Ancient Egypt”. A quick read through Amazon’s user reviews reveals that “the book was originally written in 1970, and sadly relies on many sources (such as Budge) that are full of errors.”Yours truly,-Joseph Gagné (pronounced Gah-ny-ay) Quebec"

Interview with Joseph Anderson

 * Joe is a commercial airline pilot on to discuss the stability of jet planes.

Science or Fiction
Item #1: A new study finds an inverse relationship between years of playing high school and college football and performance on cognitive testing. Item #2: Scientists discover plants that can come back to life after 1,500 years frozen in the Antarctic ice. Item #3: A new genetic analysis shows that, while sea anemones are animals, they share certain genetic features in common with plants.

Skeptical Quote of the Week
"“The discovery of a complete unified theory... may not aid the survival of our species. It may not even affect our life-style. But ever since the dawn of civilization, people have not been content to see events as unconnected and inexplicable. They have craved an understanding of the underlying order in the world. Today we still yearn to know why we are here and where we came from. Humanity's deepest desire for knowledge is justification enough for our continuing quest. And our goal is nothing less than a complete description of the universe we live in.”— Prof. Stephen Hawking, The Illustrated A Brief History of Time"

Announcements and Links

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 * Hacking the System with Brian Brushwood: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/episodes/hack-your-home/
 * The Amazing Meeting 2014: http://www.amazingmeeting.com/