SGU Episode 595
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| SGU Episode 595 |
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| December 3rd 2016 |
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| (brief caption for the episode icon) |
| Skeptical Rogues |
| S: Steven Novella |
B: Bob Novella |
C: Cara Santa Maria |
J: Jay Novella |
E: Evan Bernstein |
| Quote of the Week |
This job is a great scientific adventure. But it's also a great human adventure. Mankind has made giant steps forward. However, what we know is really very, very little compared to what we still have to know. |
Fabiola Gianotti, Higgs Boson physicist |
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| Show Notes |
| Forum Discussion |
Introduction
You're listening to the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, your escape to reality.
Forgotten Superheroes of Science ()
- Maria Telkes: Maria Telkes 1900-1995 was a solar energy pioneer. She invented the solar distiller and designed the first modern home heated by solar energy
News Items
Fake News and Online Reasoning ()
Santa Myth ()
Farmer Ants ()
Diamond Batteries ()
Who's That Noisy ()
- Answer to last week: Number station
What's The Word ()
- Endemic
Name That Logical Fallacy ()
Yesterday, I posted an article (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/us-election/the-real-reason-donald-trump-got-elected-we-have-a-white-extremism-problem/article32817625/) to Facebook that argued that Trump's win had more to do with xenophobia than economic disenfranchisement. I posted it with a chart showing that a greater proportion of high-income earners voted for him than low-income earners. An old American friend responded that he wishes 'uniformed Canadians would stop having baseless opinions on my country's election.' That one is at least ad hominem, but my question regards his next comment. In response to people defending my right to express an opinion, he argued that my choice of that one chart was 'confirmation bias,' because it supported my point, whereas other charts paint a different picture. For example, slightly more low-income people voted for Republicans this year than in 2012, and slightly fewer high-income earners did. I'd argue the chart I posted is more instructive, but in any case, here's my question: Is there a term for when someone accuses you of employing a logical fallacy without sufficient reason to make that claim? Is there not a principle of 'innocent until proven guilty' in debate? That we should assume that evidence was chosen with due diligence until given reason to think otherwise? That our opponent is of right mind and weighing multiple considerations until he or she fails to? Intellectual generosity maybe? Saunders' article actually changed my mind on the issue, so clearly it was not a matter of confirmation bias. But either way, he couldn't know from one post whether it fell into a pattern of confirmation bias.
Science or Fiction ()
Item #1: Physicists studying solar cells may have discovered why most plants on Earth are green. Item #2: Researchers have published the first estimate of the mass of the technosphere, 30 trillion tons, or 50 kilograms per square meter of Earth surface. Item #3: Astronomers have identified the tiniest known asteroid, measuring about 200 millimeters in average diameter.
Skeptical Quote of the Week ()
'This job is a great scientific adventure. But it's also a great human adventure. Mankind has made giant steps forward. However, what we know is really very, very little compared to what we still have to know.' - Fabiola Gianotti, Higgs Boson physicist
S: The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is produced by SGU Productions, dedicated to promoting science and critical thinking. For more information on this and other episodes, please visit our website at theskepticsguide.org, where you will find the show notes as well as links to our blogs, videos, online forum, and other content. You can send us feedback or questions to info@theskepticsguide.org. Also, please consider supporting the SGU by visiting the store page on our website, where you will find merchandise, premium content, and subscription information. Our listeners are what make SGU possible.
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