The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #482 September 29th, 2014
Segment #1. This Day in Skepticism
October 4, 1906 Happy birthday to Alice Stewart http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Stewart
Segment #2. News Items
News Item #1 – Bending iPhones http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2469381,00.asp
News Item #2 – Martial Arts Nonsense http://www.theskepticsguide.org/more-martial-arts-nonsense-this-time-from-russia
News Item #3 – Doubting Black Holes http://www.theskepticsguide.org/not-black-holes-do-not-exist
News Item #4 – Organic Molecules in Space http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2014/09/new-molecule-found-space-connotes-life-origins
News Item #5 – Recognizing Faces http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/how-our-brains-respond-to-ambiguous-images/
Segment #3. Who's That Noisy
Answer to last week: Tom Cruise
Segment #4. Your Questions and E-mails
Question #1: 432 Hz I'm a software engineer who writes music as a hobby. Recently I have bumped into the topic of 432 Hz tuning in music. You can find a lot of "information" about this all over the internet. The basic premise here that once upon a time, musical instruments were all tuned so that the note A4's frequency was 432 Hz, which is "said to be mathematically consistent with the patterns of the universe". Then Nazi Germany came along and deliberately changed the standard to 440 Hz which is the most common tuning today, "after conducting scientific researches to determine which range of frequencies best induce fear and aggression". I was pretty saddened to find out that there are musicians who actually believe all of this. The "advocates" of this even go as far as claiming that listening to music tuned to 432 Hz can cure cancer and other medical conditions. I believe that this topic might be an interesting one for you guys to discuss in the podcast. Please feel free to contact me if you need more information on this subject. Best Regards, Nissim
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: Biology Textbooks
#1) Frankenstein pieced together the parts of dead bodies. Finally he brought a creature to life. But Frankenstein's creation was an eight-foot monster. Eventually the monster destroyed the biologist.
#2) The regular consumption of meat in the diets of adolescents and young adults can result in an early onset of necrosis, a form of cell injury caused by toxins and infections.
#3) Several centuries ago, some 'very light skinned' people were shipwrecked on a tropical island. After 'many years under the tropical sun', this light skinned population became 'dark-skinned'.
Segment #7. Skeptical Quote of the Week
"Hope lies in dreams, in imagination and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality."
Jonas Salk
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SGU Down Under Tour
November 22, 2014 Saturday 2:30-4:00 Fremont, California - Ohlone College (43600 Mission Blvd., Jackson Theater) SGU-Geo Skeptical Extravaganza Hosted by the Ohlone Psychology Club and The Bay Area Skeptics. Tickets: http://www.ohlone.edu/instr/psychology/speakerseries/ $15 general, $10 students
November 25, 2014 Tuesday Evening Canberra, Australia Evening with the SGU and George Hrab
November 26, 2014 Wednesday Evening Sydney, Australia Sponsor Dinner Contact: [email protected]
November 28, 2014 Friday Evening Sydney, Australia SGU-Geo Skeptical Extravaganza Details Pending
November 29-30, 2014 Sydney Australia Australia National Skeptical Conference SGU Live Show Saturday and Sunday SGU Private Show Saturday Night Information: http://lanyrd.com/2014/auskepcon/
December 1, 2014 Monday 7:30 pm Wellington, New Zealand Private dinner with SGU and Geo Information: http://conference.skeptics.org.nz/
December 5, 2014 Friday 7-11pm Auckland, New Zealand Shadows Bar, 34 Princes St, University of Auckland SGU-Geo Skeptical Extravaganza Information: http://conference.skeptics.org.nz/
December 6-7, 2014 Auckland, New Zealand New Zealand Skeptics Conference 2014 SGU Live Show Sunday 9:00am – 10:30am SGU Private Recording Saturday Night 10pm-12am, Rationalist House, 64 Symonds Street. Information: http://conference.skeptics.org.nz/