Episode #142

News Items

    Interview with Yau-Man Chan

    • Yau-Man was one of the fan’s favorite contestants on Survivor – partly due to the fact that he how brains can win out over brawn. He is also a cast member on the pilot episode of The Skeptologists

    Sanskrit Incantations

    • I think that the joking and laughing about what the Tantric was saying was a little misguided. To the western ear, it does indeed sound silly; however I believe that he was speaking Sanskrit, and his audience will have been very used to hearing the language spoken as it is widely used in Eastern religious (HinduBuddhist etc.) ceremonies*.
      So even if it was just mumbo jumbo, it plays psychologically on his target audience. It’s actually a piece of clever manipulation; think what would happen to a devout catholic if his priest cursed him in Latin (IIRC catholic mass is still said in Latin) and made it known that he was cursing in Latin; you’d get a similar effect to what he was trying to do there.

      VJ
      From the SGU Boards

    Science or Fiction

    • Item #1 Science

      New research finds that naturally occurring trans-fats actually reduce risk factors for heart disease.

    • Item #2 Fiction

      New DNA analysis shows that the first humans in North America, the Clovis, were not the ancestors of later American Indians and may have come from Northern Europe.

    • Item #3 Science

      New NSF data shows that the supply of science, engineering, and health workers in the US is increasing, as are new graduates who also contain more than 50% women.

    Skeptical Quote of the Week.