SGU Episode 875

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SGU Episode 875
April 16th 2022
(brief caption for the episode icon)
SGU 874                      SGU 876
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
B: Bob Novella
C: Cara Santa Maria
J: Jay Novella
E: Evan Bernstein
G: George Hrab
Quote of the Week
Let us tenderly and kindly cherish therefore, the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write.
John Adams, second president of the United States
Links
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Show Notes
Forum Discussion

Introduction, Live from Boston, Accents

Voice-over: 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. (applause) Today is Sunday, March 27^th, and we are live from Boston. (applause) This is your host, Steven Novella and joining me this week are Bob Novella...

B: Hey, everybody! (applause)

S: Cara Santa Maria...

C: Howdy. (applause)

S: Jay Novella...

J: Hey guys. (applause)

S: Evan Bernstein.

E: Hello Boston! (applause)

S: And, not just a special guest but a regular rogue and our brother in skepticism George Hrab

G: Wicked live podcast lot! (applause) Let's pod, let's pod this bastard.

C: They're all shaking their heads.

J: Thank you George. Does anybody in here have a really thick Boston accent?

C: Please.

J: Anybody, please.

C: Come on, you might not know it about yourself. Does anybody point to somebody else?

J: I think you're laughing so you do, don't you?

S: No that's the girl from Virginia Jay if you remember from five minutes ago. So last night we were in New York so of course we were thinking, all right so which city is better? New York or Boston?

J: Throwing down the gauntlet.

S: Just throw it down. So what do you guys think? (laughter)

News Items

S:

B:

C:

J:

E:

(laughs) (laughter) (applause) [inaudible]

New CRISPR Mechanism to Turn On Genes (24:50)

• Using CRISPR to Turn Genes On

Acrhomatic X-Ray Lenses (45:05)

• An achromatic X-ray lens

Cleaning Solar Panels (52:20)

• How to clean solar panels without water

Public Media and Healthy Democracy (1:00:45)

• Do countries with better-funded public media also have healthier democracies? Of course they do

Pareidolia and Gender (1:15:17)

• Illusory faces are more likely to be perceived as male than female

Science or Fiction (1:24:44)

Theme: New England Geology Item #1: New England is primarily composed of volcanic island arcs. Item #2: Plymouth Rock geologically originated in northern Canada and was deposited in its current location by the Laurentide glacier 20,000 years ago. Item #3: New England was adjacent to modern day Morocco in Africa when part of Pangea, evidenced by their identical lithographic sequences.

Answer	Item
Fiction	Plymouth Rock origin, glacier
Science	Volcanic island arcs
Science	Once adjacent to Morocco

Host	Result
Steve	clever

Rogue	Guess
Jay	Once adjacent to Morocco
Evan	Once adjacent to Morocco
Bob	Volcanic island arcs
Cara	Volcanic island arcs
George	Plymouth Rock origin, glacier

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

Skeptical Quote of the Week (1:42:42)

Let us tenderly and kindly cherish therefore, the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write.
– John Adams (1735-1826), second president of the United States

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.

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Today I Learned

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• Fact/Description
• Fact/Description

References

Vocabulary