The Skeptics Guide #936 - Jun 17 2023
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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, June 15th, 2023, and this is your host, Stephen Novella. Joining me this week are Bob Novella, Cara Santamaria, Jay Novella, and Evan Bernstein.
Good evening, everyone.
How is everyone doing this evening? Not bad. It's still light out and it's a quarter of nine. Yeah, I know. We're getting to the longest day of the year. Wait, it's still light out for you guys? Yeah. Oh, that's fascinating. It must be for you as well.
No, it's pitch black out. It's getting a little, it's starting to get dark. No, it's pitch black for me. It must be a latitude thing. Maybe. Because we are on the same time zone. That's fascinating.
Yeah. You're a little further east than we are, I suppose.
No, I think it's because I'm farther south, no?
Is it a south? I thought it was an east-west thing, not a north-south.
Time zones are east-west. Yeah, but if you're farther south, you should have more light. Oh, here we go. In the summer, I should have... Oh, you're right. I should have more light in the summer, less light in the winter. You're right. So why the fuck is it dark here? Maybe I am farther east than you are.
I mean, it's not blazing sun out, but I can still see features.
No, but for me, it's dark dark. I see city lights.
But there's photons.
We still have the little glow after the sun dips below the horizon, but the sky is still light.
I love this time of year.
Yeah, me too. That's gorgeous. Unfortunately, we do need to start this show with a little bit of sad news. Our very good friend Bruce Press died this week. So we knew he was sick. He had pancreatic cancer. You know, he learned about it not too long ago. You know, this is honestly faster than we thought. You know, we were, I think, hoping he would make it to the end of the year. But, you know, the disease just, the chemo didn't work out, progressed very quickly. His liver failed. You know, he was in the hospital for a week. And unfortunately, he succumbed, you know, very quickly. But just wanted everyone to know who Bruce Press was. First of all, a totally awesome guy. One of the just awesome people that we met in the script community.
Oh, my God, right?
Yeah. He was a professional photographer, and we first met him at a lot of the live events where he would do a lot of the photography at TAM and other events. He's a close friend of our other close friend, George Robin, just became part of our circle. And the thing I just wanted to point out is that we had dinner with him not too long ago. And this is obviously he knew what his prognosis was. And I was struck, I'm sure you guys were too, by just how totally he had his shit together. So here he is staring down his own mortality. What an attitude. Yeah, and he had like this, you know, and he said his skepticism really is helping him deal with this. You know, he's not having to deal with any kind of bullshit supernatural stuff.
It's just... He was just very pragmatic and accepting and just, and I hope I have my shit half as together as that if I had to face terminal diabetes. Right.
Especially, yeah.
It's interesting how much I've been seeing that in my work on my dissertation. Working with people who are approaching death, many of them are very secular and very skeptical and very just matter of fact. And they have high mortality salience. And there's something really humbling about that. about talking to them about their intentions and their experience you know i always say like dying i think is the bravest thing anybody can do because it's like the ultimate unknown right and so when you see somebody go into to it with such bravery wow it's i don't know it's humbling
I think it needs to be said that, you know, we've met so many people throughout the years making this podcast, all the live performances that we've done. You know, Bruce was a total standout, incredibly high quality person that was a classy guy. Yeah. He was so generous with his time and patience and everything.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–4:20
2
Who was Bruce Press and how did the hosts remember his life?
4:20–20:43
3
How can autoimmune encephalitis be mistaken for schizophrenia and what are the clinical implications?
20:43–1:00:39
4
What was the mysterious string of lights and how were Starlink satellites identified?
1:00:39–1:04:29
5
What is the Argument from Reason and how did C.S. Lewis formulate it?
1:04:29–1:07:53
6
How have philosophers responded — Anscombe, Plantinga and the evolution critique?
1:07:53–1:16:23
7
Which science news items were featured and how do muon navigation and groundwater affect Earth?
1:16:23–2:02:10