Dr. Steven Novella

speaker

11,445 appearances 18 recordings 2 series first heard Mar 2026 last heard 2d ago

Dr. Steven Novella’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

Trend

recordings per month · last 12 months

Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 18 in all, peaking in Aug 2026 with 5.

Appearances

newest first · ▶ plays the moment

The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe · The Skeptics Guide #1063 - Nov 22 2025 podcast

Yeah, the Talk About Bananas event. voice-verified

That's exactly what it is. voice-verified

All right. voice-verified

Thanks, Jay. voice-verified

All right, guys. voice-verified

Let's do one email. voice-verified

This one comes from Tom Buckley. voice-verified

And Tom writes, a recent paper in Science claims wolves use tools. voice-verified

A wolf apparently learned to pull up a submerged net with crabs at the bottom. voice-verified

An ethologist on Blue Sky wrote, "...this meets the most standard definition of tool use used in primatology, and it surprises me how many don't think it qualifies as tool use. voice-verified

The definition is apparently that they are using an unattached object, the net, to manipulate something else, the fish, and manipulate it and properly orient the tool, correctly angles it to pull the net out and get the fish." voice-verified

To me, this seems like a weak definition of tool because it relies on humans' awareness of whether the object is unattached to the reward. voice-verified

For example, suppose crabs had a very long, floaty tail that looked just like a net, and a wolf pulled that up and ate the crab's main body. voice-verified

Humans wouldn't call that a tool, but the wolf might not see any difference between that and the reported situation. voice-verified

What do you all reckon—love the show—best— voice-verified

So, yeah, I love these kind of questions because it has to do with definition or categorization. voice-verified

And these are always subjective, right? voice-verified

So what counts as tool use? voice-verified

And there's not going to be any right or wrong answer. voice-verified

It's going to be a continuum. voice-verified

Showing 561–580 of 11,445 · page 29 of 573