Segment #1. News Items: Bosnian pyramids, Toxic
Cruise
Segment #2. Your E-mails: Bubble Universes,
Iridology, Black holes, and the Origin of life
Segment #3. Name That Logical Fallacy
Segment #4. Discussion: The Scope of Skepticism
Segment #1. News Items
News Item #1 – Bosnian
Pyramids
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12402157/
http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/osmanagic/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4912040.stm
http://www.alternativnahistorija.com/WMmain.htm
News Item #2 – Toxic
Cruises
Bob reports on his experience with toxins aboard a cruise
ship
Segment #2. Your E-mails
E-mail #1 - Bubble Universes
I Have A Couple Questions Which I Would Love To Hear You
Guys Discuss.
Whats YOur View On Michio Kaku's
View Of The Universe As A Mutliverse that we are
nothing but a "bubble in a
ANd If there is an infinite amount of universes or multiverse's theres an infinte amount of civilizations, but what michio kaku argues That most of
the universes are dead because for example maybe one universe the atom is not
stable or the stronger nuclear force makes suns burn out to quick and dna cannot form, but mayb in
other universe its a completely different story with different particles and
laws of nature maybe planets are square instead of spheres and everythings made up of completely different Everythings, other lifeforms can
use up different types of Genetic code to survive and different Gases that we
will never see in this universe...... I can go on and on so i
was just hoping if you guys can discuss this and open up the minds of people Sorrry if its to long thanks!!! ;)
Elias Luna
E-mail #2 - Black Holes
Is there a limit to the amount of Mass that a Black Hole can consume? Why don't
the super-massive black holes in the center of galaxies gobble up all the
surrounding highly dense stars/gases etc.
Thanks
Dan Hansch
CA
E-mail#3 – Origin of Life
I've recently discovered your podcast and just got
caught up to your most recent episode. I'm disappointed that now I have to wait
for you to release a new one, but you guys put on a great show very interesting
and entertaining.
In one of you podcast and in your article The Starchild Project you referred to a point that Carl Sagan made that said that it would be incredibly unlikely
that human and alien DNA would be compatible because it would come from 2
completely different evolutionary genetic code seqences(I'm
not really sure I'm using the correct terminology). I agree
with that line of thinking but it got me thinking about a related question that
maybe you could shed some light on.
If I understand correctly we share a genetic code with every other known form of
life on earth. Therefore we assume that an alien life form would have a genetic
code from its planet of origin. What prevented multiple starting points for
life on earth? I mean why is there only one set of genetic code, why on a
planet as hospitible to life as earth wouldn't life
have started from multiple Points? Why doesn't life spark even now to create a
new random microbe with different code to start a new evolutionary chain?
I would like to know if scientest have attempted to
answer this in the past and what the conclusions or theory's were. Without an
answer to that question, and no evidence (That I have seen anyway) that shows
that this has happened and the life died out, the likelyhood
of life on other planets decreases dramatically, at least in my mind.
I'm not ready to go the creationist route, but without a good answer its really bugging me.
Thanks for your time,
Jeremy Freeman
E-mail#4 – Iridology
Please talk more about alternative
medicine on your podcasts. I know that's one of
your primary interests and I am dying to learn more since I know so little
about it. I have a coworker who believes very strongly in diagnosing
people's ailments by reading...
the iris of the eye (?)...I believe it is the iris, yes - iridology I think he
calls it. Do you know anything about that? I had thyroid cancer and
he told me he could "see" it a mile away in my eyes. I thought
he meant I looked sad or something and was stunned when he explained what he
meant. Nice of him to tell me after the fact! :)
Thanks again,
Kim
Segment #3. Name That Logical Fallacy
Iridology will not show or name a specific disease but provides information
about the body tissues which indicate tendencies toward conditions of "dis-ease", often before symptoms appear. Iridology
will not reveal surgery performed under anesthesia as nerve impulses are
discontinued. Iridology cannot locate parasites, gallstones, or germ life, but
will indicate the presence of inflammation and toxic conditions which are a
refuge for their development. It will not show pregnancy, as that is a normal
function of the female body.
From: http://www.healingfeats.com/whatis.htm
Segment #4. Discussion: The Scope of Skepticism
We have received a few
e-mails (see below) recently that touch upon the question of what is the scope
of this podcast, and related to that, what is the
scope of skepticism. So we thought we should discuss our philosophy on this
topic.
I listened to a recent
podcast in which you discussed science and religion
and what separates the two. I believe "the paranormal" was also
included in that discussion.
A point I would like to hear made about that, or the language I would like to
hear used on it is: Science deals with things that can be measured because only
measurable things are real. THERE IS NO MAGIC. I am so tired of the phrase: Theres a lot science cant explain.
No there isnt. There is only a lot science hasnt explained.
If God is real and can answer prayers, or punish sinners, She
must do so within the bounds of physics, so divine intervention should be
measurable. Same goes for the paranormal; if ESP, telekinetics,
remote viewing, and so on are real, then they work through the laws of physics,
and can be measured and explained.
There is only physics and psychology. There is no magic.
Sincerely yours,
Curt Nelson
Message: Dear skeptics,
I'm a Dutch fan of your podcast. I've found your show
very entertainig and enjoyable. It's always great to
hear skeptics debunk the latest mumbo-jumbo claims made by the supernaturally
inclined.
There is, however, one question I have for your panel as well as for most other
skeptics I encounter on the Web:
Why do you limit yourselves to claims in the areas of the supernatural and the
pseudoscientific?
It seems to me that there are many areas of public life that are just as much,
if not more, in need of a critical, skeptical approach.
Two such areas that immediately spring to mind are politics and advertising.
Both of these frequently employ rhetorical tricks, logical fallacies, and
"common sense" to convince the gullible. What's more, both
politicians and advertisers are far more powerful and far more effective than
(most of) the woo-woo crowd.
You might argue that journalists are to be the critics of these groups, but as
you have repeatedly shown, journalists often lack the skeptical skills to
handle them.
Did you make a conscious choice to focus only on the supernatural and
pseudoscientific issues, and if so, why? Please enlighten a fellow critical
mind.
Thanks for your time and keep up the great podcast,
Mathijs Panhuijsen
Segment #5. Science or
Fiction
Each week our host will come up with three science news items or facts, two genuine, one fictitious. He will challenge our panel of skeptics to sniff out the fake – and you can play along.
Theme for this week is common science misconceptions. One of the following statements is true, the other two are common misconceptions.
Item#1: Reentering spacecraft are heated primarily due to friction with the atmosphere.
Item #2: The sky is blue because air is blue
Item #3: The Earth’s magnetic poles lie just beneath the surface near the north and south geographic poles.
Answer:
Item #1: Fiction –
Spacecraft are primarily heated by compressing the air in front of the craft,
not through friction
Item #2: Science – just
as with water, small amounts of air are clear but when looking through an ocean
of air is it blue.
Item #3: Fiction – the
magnetic poles actually lie deep within the earth’s core
From: http://www.amasci.com/miscon/miscon4.html#blu