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The Skeptics' Guide To The Universe - Podcast 242 - 3/3/2010
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The Skeptics' Guide To The Universe
The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is produced by SGU Productions, LLC - dedicated to promoting critical thinking, reason, and the public understanding of science through online and other media. The first episode of the SGU podcast went online on May 4th, 2005. It soon became a popular science/skeptical podcast, and remains one of the most popular science podcasts on iTunes.
SGU Podcasting Awards: SGU on XM: You can listen to the SGU on America's Talk XM 166 every Saturday night from 8-9pm Eastern.
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Podcast
242
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March 03, 2010
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Special Guest: James Randi
News Items: Chile Earthquake, Darwinius Revisited, Raining Fish, Acupuncture for Depression, Haunted Hotels
Who's That Noisy
Your Questions and E-mails: Contrarion vs Skeptic, Personality Tests
Science or Fiction
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Segment: News Items
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Segment: Who's That Noisy
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Who's That Noisy
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Answer to last week: an elephant
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Segment: Questions and E-mails
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Question #1- Skeptic vs Contrarion
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skeptics/contrarian
What is the difference? I am really interested in improving my awareness. The rhetorical
techniques used by others to manipulate the unknowing and gullible, are my call to arms.
Can you and will you give me some assist?
Russell Bell
Houston, Texas
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Question #2 - Personality Tests
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Hi Guys!
Love the show, changed my life, etc.
I experienced something interesting recently that I do not believe that you have discussed on the show. I work for a healthcare organization that required us employees to go through a series of "Enneagram" workshops. These workshops delved into our enneagram personality type and how our personality type shapes our social interactions and outlook on life. My wife is a staff member at the local University and she had to take the True Colors personality test and attend similar workshops. Many of my friends have also been required to take similar tests for their workplaces, such as the Myers-Briggs test.
Two questions:
-What do you guys think of these "professional" personality tests? I felt that my personality typing was fairly accurate (considering it's a self reporting questionnaire), but then my type was over extrapolated with implications and sounds eerily similar to a generalized astrology reading.
-What do you think these personality tests being used in the workplace? This seems like a bad path to start down...
The specific enneagram I took was in a book, but http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/ is a good example of the "theory". There is also a wikipedia entry on the subject.
My wife's test is http://www.truecolorstest.com/True_Colors_Test.shtml
With snowy regards here in Denver,
Joe P
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Segment: Science or Fiction [ Click Here to Show the Answers ]
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Item # 1  Science
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Fluorescent lighting in supermarkets enhances nutrient levels of spinach.
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Item #2 Science
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Artificial marijuana is becoming increasingly popular with teens in the US. It is made of common dried herbs and sprayed with a potent psychotropic drug.
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Item #3  Fiction
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HCFCs which have been used for years as a replacement for ozone destroying CFCs, slowly damage the ozone layer once a critical threshold amount has been released in the atmosphere.
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Segment: Quote of the Week
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Quote of the Week
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"Large skepticism leads to large understanding. Small skepticism leads to small understanding. No skepticism leads to no understanding."
- Xi Zhi
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