SGU Episode 386

This is the transcript for the latest episode and it is not yet complete. Please help us complete it! Add a Transcribing template to the top of this episode before you start so that we don't duplicate your efforts.

This episode is in the middle of being transcribed by banjopine (talk) as of {{{date}}}. To help avoid duplication, please do not transcribe this episode while this message is displayed.

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

How to Contribute

SGU Episode 386
8th December 2012
(brief caption for the episode icon)
SGU 385                      SGU 387
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
B: Bob Novella
J: Jay Novella
E: Evan Bernstein
Guest
PP: Phil Plait
Quote of the Week
When a man eminent in science tells us of something in his particular sphere, into which no fraud can intrude, and which can be verified under scientific conditions, he is entitled to a respectful hearing, but if he states that on a particular night his cow jumped over the postoffice his testimony on that point is no more valid than the testimony of other persons. The mere fact that a man is noted in his particular field of research, astronomy, physics, or mathematics should not be considered as presumptive evidence of his ability to see correctly things outside his experience.
Joseph Rinn
Links
Download Podcast
SGU Podcast archive
Forum Discussion

Introduction

You're listening to the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, your escape to reality. 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 5, 2012, and this is your host, Steven Novella. Joining me this week are Bob Novella,

B: Hey, everybody.

S: Jay Novella,

J: Hey, guys.

S: Evan Bernstein,

E: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

S: And, we have a special guest rogue this evening, Phil Plait, the Bad Astronomer. Phil, welcome back to the Skeptics' Guide.

PP: I don't think I'm a special guest rogue. This is like my eight billionth time, so

S: You're always special.

PP: But it's always nice to be here. Thank you for having me on again.

S: Rebecca is Down Under, at the Australian Skeptical Conference, and so she will not be joining us this week, so Phil is kindly sitting in. And this is a good week. This is one of those weeks where there was a ton of news items. So it was really hard to choose, you know, sometimes it's a little bit of feast or famine with the science news items. This was definitely a week when we had more to choose from than we really could, and a lot of astronomy news, so, it's great to have you with us for those.

This Day in Skepticism (1:11)

S: But, Evan, start us off with This Day in Skepticism.

E: Yup. December 8, 1953. So, Dwight D. Eisenhower was the President of the United States, when he went to the United Nations building in New York City to deliver his famous "Atoms for Peace" speech. In the address Eisenhower spelled out the necessity of repurposing existing nuclear weapons and nuclear technology for peaceful ends rather than destructive ends. And he stated that it must be humanity's goal to, and I quote "discover the way by which the miraculous inventiveness of man shall not be dedicated to his death, but consecrated to his life." Very well said. And they think, there's a bit of an argument, or a debate, as to how much Albert Einstein might have influenced this speech that Dwight Eisenhower had given because they, some would argue that it's kind of similar in letter and tone to some letters that Albert Einstein did send to Franklin Roosevelt in the 1940s talking about the potential of the atom and the positive potential as opposed to the negative destructive potential. The debate is ongoing about how much Einstein had sort of an influence over this particular moment and where it went from there.

S: Yeah, and there's also debate about what Eisenhower's true purpose was. Not long after that he started building up our atomic weapon reserve. Certainly didn't lead to disarming the United States and the Soviet Union in terms of their nuclear weapons.

PP: Well what happened there was that while giving his speech, actually, Eisenhower kept saying "nucular" and so everybody made fun of him, and he was so upset he came back and built more weapons.

E: These presidents, uh . . .

News Items

End of the World (3:02)

• In Panicky Russia, It’s Official: End of World Is Not Near
• 'The only place that will survive the Mayan Apocalypse': Residents of French mountain crack open End of the World wine (and offer house rental at $1,600-a-night)

S: Well that's actually an appropriate item, talking about the prospect of nuclear annihilation, because we are coming up on the end of the world!

B: About time.

S: It could be our last show; maybe we could squeeze one or two more shows in

E: Hope so.

S: before the end of the world. Some people think it's gonna be on December 21st, although there is that movie that came out that said it was going to be on December 12th, I think just to go for the 12-12-12 thing.

E: 12-12, yeah.

B: Yeah.

PP: What movie was that?

S: 12-12-12?

(laughter)

PP: No, I'm serious. Was it 2012? The movie 2012 never gave a date, though, did they?

S: No, there was a movie 12/12/12.

PP: Oh, I didn't know that.

S: Yeah, it was like a cheesy movie.

B: I mean why the hell am I even doing this podcast? I mean, I wanna, you're lucky I had nothing better to do today, 'cause, you know, if the end of the world is so close I got better stuff to do. I should anyway, but I don't, so here I am.

PP: You know, that's a good point. If anybody out there listening is scared about this, there's nothing that is more indicative of my attitude of the long, plodding life I have ahead of me as spending an hour and a half talking to you jokers instead of, you know, going to New Orleans or something and partying down.

E: What are you saying, Phil?

S: Yeah, it's interesting to think, who's freaking out? I certainly don't see a lot of it around me. I don't think there are many people who are taking this seriously to the point that they're behaving as if they really think the world's gonna blow up in a week or so. I think, those people who are taking it seriously apparently are all gathering in one town in the south of France. You guys have heard this about the,

E: Bugarach.

S: Bugarach? Wonder if they're playing baccarat there.

J: Yeah, the town is actually preventing people from congregating at this point because they're worried about way too many people showing up and of course that makes a very dangerous situation. You know, bathrooms, food, all that.

S: Yeah.

E: Well, it's a very small town. The population is 176 people. We're not talking about Paris or anything.

J: There's no McDonald's in this . . .

PP: Why there? What's going on there?

S: Well, Phil. . .

J: Phil, that's a good question!

PP: South of France is nice and all.

J: The UFOs are coming there, Phil, and they're gonna basically take care of those people that were smart enough to trek to the top of this mountain.

S: They're already there. Apparently they're parked in an alien space garage in the mountain. They will emerge on the eve of December 21st, kind of like the Great Pumpkin . . .

(laughter)

E: Or the Hale-Bopp Comet.

S: Right. Take the people who are close at hand, 'cause, why not, and save 'em.

(laughter)

PP: Well, that's ridiculous. I know that's not true because the lizard overlords told me a completely different location.

(laughter)

S: Oh, yeah. You sure it wasn't misdirection?

Denver Bug UFO Update (13:27)

• Another Journalism Fail on the Denver Bug-UFO

Inattentional Amnesia (24:46)

• Did You Not Notice or Not Remember?

Curiosity Kurfuffle (33:06)

• Mars Curiosity announcement to be 'one for the history books'

Age of the Grand Canyon (41:43)

• Study challenges presumed age of Grand Canyon

Planetary Rings and Moon Formation (49:53)

• Planet Rings Could Be Behind the Formation of Solar System Satellites

Who's That Noisy? (57:24)

• Answer to last week: Lucy

Science or Fiction (59:43)

Item number one. 2012 saw the warmest July on record, a hurricane season tied for the 3rd most active, and an Arctic ice cap minimum smaller than in any year on record. Item number two. NASA warns about "cosmophobia" - fear of astronomy especially among children who have been lead to believe that the universe is going to kill them. And item number three. Despite the fact that there were no major consequences of the Y2K bug, minor computer system glitches were common and were estimated to cost over 2 trillion dollars worldwide.

Skeptical Quote of the Week (1:18:49)

When a man eminent in science tells us of something in his particular sphere, into which no fraud can intrude, and which can be verified under scientific conditions, he is entitled to a respectful hearing, but if he states that on a particular night his cow jumped over the postoffice his testimony on that point is no more valid than the testimony of other persons. The mere fact that a man is noted in his particular field of research, astronomy, physics, or mathematics should not be considered as presumptive evidence of his ability to see correctly things outside his experience.

Joseph F Rinn

References