The Skeptics Guide #1087 - May 9 2026
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What is discussed at the start of this section?
You're listening to The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe.
Your escape to reality. Hello and welcome to The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe. Today is Thursday, May 7th, 2026, 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.
Good afternoon, everyone.
So this is the first episode after May 5th, so this is technically our 21st anniversary.
We've completed 21 years.
Completed 21 years as the SGU. Wow. Wow.
Wow, 21. Lucky number.
I joined you guys in what? 2015. 11 years ago. My gosh, Cara. That's more than half then. Wow.
How does the 21st anniversary of the podcast impact the discussion?
I love it.
It must mean something.
That's right. Let me ask my numerologist.
Kara, you know what I'm noticing, Kara? You have become, I think, as integrated as you can because you reject so much of what... Yeah, I've reached my limit of nerddom with the show. But I mean that in a very positive way because you're doing things now I never thought you would do.
Yeah.
You get most of our things now.
You get it. I do. And even the ones where I don't know the provenance are still funny to me.
Correct. You have been absorbed into the collective. You have discovered that resistance is futile. Part of the hive mind. Part of the hive mind.
That's right. One of five.
We have added your distinctiveness to our own.
Oh, we're all the better for that. Oh, what an honor.
So, guys, the other day, I got a new printer, right? Like, I have to print something, like, once or twice a year. But, you know, like, when you need to print something, you need to print something.
Of course. Inventional black and white paper printer.
Staples. Go to Staples. My 20-year-old printer crept out. I was like, oh, let's get a new laser printer. Yeah, just go to Staples. i got like the basic basics printer only no three in one whatever just black and white the simple just if i whenever i need to print and sign something or whatever plug and play 21 years i mean was that a dot matrix printer no no wow it was a good printer just it was old so no having the opposite of plug and play it took me an hour to install this printer no
We can't know something's wrong. An hour. That's a total fail on their part.
Steve, with your hourly rate, you could have just bought a new one and not spent an hour that way.
But here's the thing. Seriously, it had nothing to do with me. That was just the process. That was whatever the process was to install this printer. It's not like I was fumbling or making mistakes or couldn't figure out how to do anything. It's just that's how long the whole thing took.
It went smoothly, but it was just torturously long.
At first, it's like, oh, install this app. And I thought, oh, that's great. Because usually when you have an app, it walks you through. I try not to have an app for every single piece of technology in my life. But what the hell? I install the app. But that was just the beginning of this torturous process. And part of it was that you have to enter the same information like five different times. Like there's a code. Oh, man. There's a code on the printer, which by the end of the process, I memorized the freaking thing. Right. Like why am I entering this? Like every time I went to the next step, it's like enter the code that's here on the printer. It's like why don't you remember from the last step? Why do I have to look down and read that stupid number again?
It was just maddening.
Is this some kind of trade-off for the price or something?
Like you could have paid $500 more and avoided this? No. No, I think it's all part of the new way. It's just how things work. So then I complete that process. Like, great, now you can print from your phone. If you want to print from your computer, you have to install a separate app on your computer. So then I basically had to go through the whole thing again on my computer. That's terrible. But here, you know, and again, I had this conversation with my wife. It's like, are we just getting old? Because I don't want to be that old crotchety guy who's like, these newfangled technology.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is discussed at the start of this section?
0:01–0:55
2
How does the 21st anniversary of the podcast impact the discussion?
0:55–5:07
3
What challenges did the host face while installing a new printer?
5:07–14:23
4
How do user interfaces affect technology usability?
14:23–1:07:42
5
How does fear influence relationship closeness?
1:07:42–1:09:17
6
What findings emerged from the haunted house study?
1:09:17–1:10:36
7
What potential future research directions were suggested?
1:10:36–1:12:07
8
How do experts and authority differ in science?
1:12:07–2:15:36