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The Skeptics' Guide To The Universe - Podcast 369 - 8/11/2012

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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.

Podcast 369 - August 11, 2012

This Day in Skepticism
News Items: Dino Mating, Blowing Up Asteroids, Punching for God, Occ the Skeptical Caveman
Who's That Noisy
Your Questions and E-mails: Kinesio Tape
Name That Logical Fallacy
Science or Fiction



Segment:   This Day in Skepticism     
August 11, 3114 BCE     In the Gregorian calendar was the universal creation date used by several pre-Columbian meso-American cultures like the Mayans. That is the start of the calendar that many dummies fear ends on December 20, 2012.

Segment:   News Items     
Dino Mating     http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2172128/The-joy-T-Rex-How-dinosaurs-sex-tricky-weigh-tonnes-crucial-12-feet-long.html
Blowing Up Asteroids     http://phys.org/news/2012-08-armageddon-looming-bruce-willis-bother.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXxPRHkyAvY
Punching for God     http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/05/todd-bentley-banned-from-uk_n_1744107.html
Occ the Skeptical Caveman     http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sgu/occ-the-skeptical-caveman-a-new-webseries
Quickie with Bob - Curiosity Update     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcGMDXy-Y1I

Segment:   Who's That Noisy     
Who's That Noisy     Answer to last week: Vegetable Clarinet

Segment:   Questions and Emails     
Question #1: Kinesio Tape     Hi guys, Watching the London Olympics on TV I noticed many athletes, particularly swimmers and divers wearing what looked like some kind of band-aid. After a few minutes on Google I found that it is called "Kinesio tape" It seems it was invented "In the mid-1970s, Dr. Kenzo Kase was already a well-known Japanese practitioner licensed in chiropractic and acupuncture." It supposedly " Re-educate the neuromuscular system Reduce pain Optimize performance Prevent injury Promote improved circulation and healing" http://www.kinesiotaping.com/ Seems like mostly woo to me...how much of modern sports medicine in science based? Perhaps this could be a topic for discussion. Keep up the good work! Andrew

Segment:   Name That Logical Fallacy     
Name That Logical Fallacy     Sir, In reading your comments on iridology, I noticed a lot of biased opinions. I have to ask "why does modern medicine concentrate their efforts on treating the symtoms rather than treating the root cause?" I have also noticed that during my lifetime. there seems to be a very high mortality rate from misdiagnosed diseases by those claiming to be using the best diagnosis machines available. Modern medicine is not science based at all but rather based on greed for money. That is why modern medicine practitioners make such fraudulent claims against alternative medicine. If you would not receive any monetary compensation for what you do as an MD would you still be doing it? Best regards, Gale Wollenberg

Segment:   Science or Fiction     [ Click Here to Show the Answers ]
Item #1     claptrap - A trick used to "catch" applause from the audience. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=claptrap&allowed_in_frame=0
Item #2     bogus - A machine used to make counterfeit bills or coins. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=bogus
Item #3     straw man - Refers to men who stood outside courthouses with a straw in their shoe in order to indicate their willingness to be a false witness. http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-man2.htm
Item #4     nuts - From "nuts" meaning a source of pleasure. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=nuts&searchmode=none

Segment:   Skeptical Quote of the Week     
Skeptical Quote of the Week     "One of the peculiar sins of the twentieth century which we've developed to a very high level is the sin of credulity. It has been said that when human beings stop believing in God they believe in nothing. The truth is much worse: they believe in anything." - Malcolm Muggeridge
 
 
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