The Skeptics Guide #1007 - Oct 26 2024

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The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe 1h 40m 5 speakers 3 chapters transcribed 2 months ago
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What personal updates and host introductions kick off the episode?

Unknown 0:00
You're listening to The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe, your escape to reality.
Dr. Steven (Steve) Novella 0:10
Hello and welcome to The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe. Today is Tuesday, October 22nd, 2024, and this is your host, Stephen Novella. Joining me this week are Bob Novella. Hey, everybody. Cara Santamaria. Howdy. Jay Novella. Hey, guys. And Evan Bernstein. Hey, guys.
Evan Bernstein 0:25
Good evening, folks. How's everyone doing?
Dr. Steven (Steve) Novella 0:28
Cara, happy belated birthday.
Cara Santa Maria 0:31
Thank you.
Dr. Steven (Steve) Novella 0:32
Would it be inappropriate for me to ask you how old you are?
Cara Santa Maria 0:34
No, not at all. So I'm very public with my age. I had my 41st birthday, and I've been polling a lot of my friends about this. 40 was a nothing burger. 41 was the worst existential crisis. What? It's such a weird thing. It doesn't make sense. It's like once you're in the decade. I think because we tell ourselves the year before, we're like amping ourselves. Like, I'm going to be 40. I'm going to be 40. I'm ready to be 40. I'm going to be 40. But then nobody's ready to be 40. 41. And then after that, you're almost 50 and then you're almost 60. And that's just how it goes from there.
Dr. Steven (Steve) Novella 1:11
The only thing I experienced like that was when my, when my older daughter went to college, which is my first kid going away to college, right? The first year, you know, we drive her down there, she gets set up, she goes away and that's it. And you know, we dealt with it emotionally very well. The second year driving or leaving her at college, the second year was some, for some reason, so much worse because,
Cara Santa Maria 1:34
Harder. It's like also when you get a tattoo. Your first tattoo, you're so freaked out about it that you get it and you go, oh, that wasn't that bad. And then your second tattoo, you have this false sense of security that it won't be that bad. And then you're like, oh, my God, that really hurt. I don't know. There's something about it.
Evan Bernstein 1:51
So we psych ourselves up to a certain degree at the initial – For something big. Yeah.
Cara Santa Maria 1:57
And then the next thing is just as big, but we don't expect it to be. It even feels bigger. But I will say I had a great weekend. I had a lovely dinner. I spent time with a lot of friends. I hosted a poker game at my house, which was really fun. And then on Sunday – I went for the first time in 20 years. No, I did not. I went to my new church, which is adult gymnastics. Oh, cool. Oh, wow. I thought I was going to be – well, I was really out of shape. I'm very sore still. We're recording this on a Wednesday and I'm in a lot of pain. Tuesday. But you're right. It's Tuesday. That makes me feel a little better. We usually record on Wednesdays.
Bob Novella 2:38
Gymnastics at 41?
Cara Santa Maria 2:39
Yes, gymnastics at 41. I thought I wasn't going to be able to do anything. Like I told the coach at the beginning, I don't think I can do a cartwheel anymore. My legs are going to be bent. I'm probably going to pull my groin. Like I'm so out of shape. But not only did I do cartwheels, back walkovers, a round off back handspring. I mean with a spot, but it comes back. Yeah.
Bob Novella 3:00
Wow.
Cara Santa Maria 3:01
It's kind of amazing. I'm not in shape like I used to be. I don't have the upper body. Well, you're 41, Cara. Yeah, but I actually think it might come back if I just keep doing this. Why wouldn't it? Right?
Bob Novella 3:13
Absolutely. Good for you. I remember in my early 40s doing my last handstand and thinking, I'm never doing that again.
Cara Santa Maria 3:22
But you can. You can. And that's the thing. The conditioning courses, the stretching courses that they offer, and then they have beginner, immediate, and advanced gymnastics, all for adults. A lot of people who are older, the way they stay in shape is they engage in sports or different things that are, I don't know, fun. You have to make your workouts fun. If they're not fun, you don't do it.
Bob Novella 3:45
Oh, yeah. You got to enjoy it.
Cara Santa Maria 3:46
And I've struggled with that a lot in my older years because looking back, the thing that was really fun for me... was like stunting and gymnastics and cheerleading. And I think I just thought that you can't do it as an adult, but you can. Just do it a little differently, but yeah.
Dr. Steven (Steve) Novella 4:00
So we started giving each other, like in our family, experience gifts. Oh, I love that.

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