Skeptics Guide

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #979 April 7th 2024 Live from Dallas With special guest Dustin Bates from Starset starset.fandom.com/wiki/Dusti... Segment #1. Science of Eclipses science.nasa.gov/eclipses/nas... Segment #2. News Items News Item #1 - AI Designed Drugs theness.com/neurologicablog/a... News Item #2 - AI Music www.shootonline.com/spw/new-s... apnews.com/article/artificial... completemusicupdate.com/icmp-... News Item #3 - Music Getting Simpler theness.com/neurologicablog/i... www.scientificamerican.com/ar... News Item #4 - Aphantasia Spectrum Exploring Aphantasia: The Mind Without a Mental Picture - Neuroscience News News Item #5 - Nova and Comet Compete with Eclipse www.bbc.com/future/article/20... www.usatoday.com/story/graphi... Segment #3. 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: Texas Item 1: Texas has the road with the highest speed limit in the US, at 85 mph. Item 2: The largest single employer in Texas is Amazon. Item 3: Six Flags amusement park gets its name from the fact that Texas has been part of six nations throughout its history. Segment #4. Skeptical Quote of the Week "As the sun eclipses the stars by his brilliancy, so the man of knowledge will eclipse the fame of others in assemblies of the people if he proposes algebraic problems, and still more if he solves them." - Brahmagupta

[@Vashro]

always the best podcast

[@nicholaicheck]

[0:52] Special Guest Dustin Bates
[1:50] Asking the important questions
[2:04] Dustin's new novel
[2:40] Dustin's band
[2:58] Asking more important questions
[3:38] The gang discusses their astronomical experiences, featuring weather
[6:47] Science of Eclipses
[10:00] News Item #1 - AI Designed Drugs
[20:45] News Item #2 - AI Music
> 38:30 Discussion gets *lively*
[46:19] News Item #3 - Music Getting Simpler
[1:02:34] News Item #4 - Aphantasia Spectrum
[1:18:31] News Item #5 - Nova and Comet Compete with Eclipse
[1:28:51] Science or Fiction
[1:43:03] Quote of the Week

[@Xen0Phanes]

Thanks for the show. 👍'd

[@milanpintar]

love this episode

[@TheMe9595]

Cara always has the based takes.
Also to George's point about Guitar Hero, GH3 basically served as my entry point into metal and I still love many of those songs today.

[@WholeCosmos]

I love the live audience shows. Classic Dr. Santa Maria self doubt and victory. Classic Bob being roused by brothers and OMG at the end. LOVE IT. Thanks for all the entertainment and science knowledge SGU. So does this mean the Coneheads are actually from Texas? "We come from France" LOL.

[@eebamxela]

This episode isn’t in my podcast app

[@Edgarbopp]

A.I. making new antibiotics is great. However it’s just as easy to train one on pathogenic viruses and have it spit out the instructions for the next pandemic. It’s frightening and amazing.

[@Gnometower]

First!

[@CultureAgent]

Reaction videos got a mention, recently a UFO guy, who happens to live in Texas y'all, did a reaction video on UA-cam to one of his reaction videos about another UFO guy's video. No I didn't watch the whole thing. 🤡

[@bodhileaf]

All music will soon be Back Street Boys level...Jay is right...but it'll evolve eventually(I hope anyway...). Many jobs are going to go away, I don't believe that's the issue. I think the issue is how do we survive without an income. Musicians or otherwise...wtf do we do...
Also...music is subjective??......talent wise, Cardi B = Mozart???????? No...music is garbage now, stop pretending like it's not. You know it in your heart, but can't admit it out loud or Gen Z(and younger)will lose their SHIT

[@4gegtyreeyuyeddffvyt]

This episode kinda sucked

[@constablebrew]

How could you not be entertained by their back and forth about AI and music?!

[@nothingcangowrongnow]

@@constablebrew I agree, I wish I could have contributed to the music discussion.