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The Skeptics' Guide To The Universe - Podcast 344 - 2/18/2012
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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
344
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February 18, 2012
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This Day in Skepticism
News Items: The Science of Pony Tails, Online Surveys, Structural Batteries, Quickie with Bob - Alien Matter
Who's That Noisy
Questions and E-mails: Evolution Falsifiable, Headgear
Science or Fiction
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Segment: This Day in Skepticism
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February 18, 1930
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The Discovery of Pluto
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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: Kabala
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Segment: Questions and Emails
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Question #1 - Can Evolution be Falsified
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Thanks so much for the show.
My old Grandad raised an interesting question recently: can evolution be falsified? My initial reaction was 'of course it can', but it turned out that no matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn't come up with a way in which it could. So I turned to the web, and the best and only possible falsification (that I could understand) I could find is this: the discovery of a complete human fossil that is 3 billion years old (you can substitute the specifics but you get the idea).
What are your thoughts? If evolution can't be falsified should it be discounted, or at least somehow relegated as a scientific theory? I think not, but I struggle to find an answer to those that stipulate that science must be falsifiable.
Later.
paul wild
UK
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Question #2 - Headgear
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My 13 year old daughter is being required to wear headgear to prevent concussion during soccer games and practices. I have researched extensively on pubmed but cannot find much support that these headbands will prevent concussion. What I have so far:
1. females are more likely to get concussions than males
2. properly heading the ball does not cause concussion
3. colliding with a person or goal post will give you a concussion
4. pro soccer players will show some damage to their heads
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2582549/
http://ajs.sagepub.com/content/30/2/157.abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9548117?dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17615173
I am being told to buy this headgear "just to be on the safe side" but I object to doing things for no clear benefit.
Can you advise on whether the data supports purchase of soccer headgear for a 13-year old female to wear during play and practices?
Many thanks for any help. Everyone is either laughing at me or acting as if I do not want my kid to be safe. I do want her safe. But not in a padded cell, kwim?
Joanna Wijntjes
Menlo Park, CA
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Segment: Science or Fiction [ Click Here to Show the Answers ]
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Segment: Skeptical Quote of the Week
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Skeptical Quote of the Week
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"It is a truly wonderful fact -- the wonder of which we are apt to overlook from familiarity -- that all animals and all plants throughout all time and space should be related to each other in group subordinate to group"
- Charles Darwin
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