SGU Episode 665

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SGU Episode 665
April 7th 2018
Marsbees: a swarm of robot bees that could fly in the thin Martian atmosphere and deliver information from their sensors.
SGU 664                      SGU 666
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
B: Bob Novella
C: Cara Santa Maria
J: Jay Novella
E: Evan Bernstein
Guest
ML: Mark Lynas, British author
Quote of the Week
Do not train children to learning by force and harshness, but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.
Plato (The Republic)
Links
Download Podcast
Show Notes
Forum Discussion

Introduction, Cara back from the Amazon

Voice-over: You're listening to the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, your escape to reality.

clay licks

What's the Word (7:20)

• Atavism

News Items

S:

B:

C:

J:

E:

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

Cell Phones and Cancer (13:43)

• The Nation indulges in fear mongering about cell phones and cancer

Robot Bees on Mars (27:08)

• NASA funds project to study feasibility of using robot bees to study Mars from a new perspective

Largest Dinosaurs (35:16)

• Huge Dinosaur Footprints Discovered on Scottish Coast

Who's That Noisy? (42:48)

Answer to previous Noisy:

Gaval Dash stones ... Article: The Hypnotic Musical Stones of Gobustan, Azerbaijan

New Noisy (45:55)

[Groaning animal cries and braying]

short_text_from_transcript

Questions and Emails

Correction: Math Correction (48:30)

• F of Y/F – 1 = Y/((1-.3)*Y) – 1 = 1/.7 – 1 = 42.9%.

Followup: Interstitium (49:31)

• Neurologica: Science and Pseudoscience of the Interstitium

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Interview with Mark Lynas (58:11)

• Mark Lynas, scientific environmentalist and eco-activist

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Science or Fiction (1:22:05)

Theme: Animals of the Amazon Item #1: The pirarucu is a large carnivorous fish that grows up to 3 meters long and has teeth on its tongue. Item #2: The Cyclosa spider is tiny, but it will build a large decoy spider replica in its web out of leaves, twigs, and dead insects.†  Item #3: Pink river dolphins get their pink color from the shrimp that is their primary food. † ↳ NatGeo video

Answer	Item
Fiction	Pink river dolphins
Science	Fish with tongue teeth
Science	Large decoy spider replica

Host	Result
Steve	win

Rogue	Guess
Jay	Large decoy spider replica
Bob	Large decoy spider replica
Evan	Large decoy spider replica
Cara	Pink river dolphins

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

Skeptical Quote of the Week (1:34:13)

Do not train children to learning by force and harshness, but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.  – Plato, from The Republic (~428-347 BC), ancient Greek philosopher

Announcements

NECSS 2018 (1:38:39)

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

• Fact/Description, possibly with an article reference
• Fact/Description
• Fact/Description

References

Vocabulary