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iTunes LinkEpisode 36 (BONUS): GAPs Young-Earth Creationists Must Believe or Ignore (Geology, Astronomy, and Physics) Live Talk
Stuart gave a live, half-hour talk about geology, astronomy, and physics that young-Earth creationists have to believe or ignore in order to be young-Earth creationists. This was given at the Denver, Colorado Skepticamp in May 2012. This is a live recording.
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Episode 35: Photography Claims of the Apollo Moon Hoax, Part 2
In this Part 2 of a two+ -part series, I go over four alleged anomalies related to crosshairs and shadows made by Apollo Moon Hoax proponents. I also introduce a new segment, "New News" related to previous episodes.
Puzzler: What was the first spacecraft to orbit the Moon after Apollo that would have been able to photograph and resolve the Apollo landing sites?
Episode 34: The Giza Pyramid / Orion Correlation
Robert Bauval originated "The Orion Correlation Theory" in the late 1980s that claims the three main stars in the belt of the Orion constellation align with the three main Giza necropolis pyramids. This has been criticized by some, praised by others -- what's the real story?
Episode 33: Flat Earth
It might be a parody these days, but there are websites out there that claim Earth is flat. Learn some "do-it-yourself" ways to figure out that it's round.
Puzzler: Can two different objects, when illuminated by a single distant light source, ever cast non-parallel shadows? If you can take a photo to support your answer, that would be best.
Episode 32: Interview About the Billy Meier UFO Case with Derek Bartholomaus
Derek Bartholomaus explains the basics of the Billy Meier claimed ongoing UFO contact case. From the beginnings to photographs, to videos, to metal, sound, and prophecies, we touch on several of the major components of the scenario and discuss how they can either be easily explained by Earthly means or are misquotes, misrepresentations, or mistakes.
Episode 31: Photography Claims of the Apollo Moon Hoax, Part 1
In this Part 1 of a two-part series (to be continued in a month or so), I go over the basic claims made for why the astronauts could not have taken the photographs. Part 2 will focus on what's actually in the photographs.
Puzzler: Figure out how to take a photograph of the moon so you can see detail. Then figure out how to take a photograph of the stars - they don't have to be sharp or not show trails - just so that you can actually see them. Then use the settings on the camera you used for the moon and see if you can see stars with that setting, and then use the settings you used for stars to take a photo of the moon. To get "full credit" on this, you'll need to provide the four photographs which I will post with your name or handle to the show notes for Episode 33 when we go over this.
Episode 30: Was the Asteroid Belt a Planet? Part 2
Last episode was on mainstream evidence - or lack thereof - for the asteroid belt having been a planet. This episode gets to one of the pseudoscientific ideas, from Tom Van Flandern, of Mars being a moon of one of the planets that supposedly exploded to make the asteroid belt.
Episode 29: Was the Asteroid Belt a Planet? Part 1
A discussion on the history of the asteroid belt's discovery and four solid ways of showing that the asteroid belt could not have been a single planet that broke up or exploded. Stay tuned for next episode on the "Exploded Planet Hypothesis."
Puzzler: One supposition of exploding planet people is that Mars was a moon of this hypothetical Planet V. An observation they point to to support this is that half of Mars is heavily cratered, which was the side facing Planet V when it exploded 65 million years ago. What is one of the many lines of actual scientific understanding about Mars that this is not correct?
Episode 28: The Fake Story of Planet X, Part 2 (Gilbert Eriksen's Wormwood)
In the second of at least four episodes on different ideas about Planet X, this time we go into Gilbert Eriksen's ideas about the rusty-red star/planet that is presently causing earthquakes and tsunamis, the likes of which we have never before seen.
Episode 27: Stellar Scams
Teachers tell students to "reach for the stars," but some companies out there offer to sell them and land on other planets to you. I give a recap of some of the legal issues involved and what's really going on.
Fact or Fake?
Item 1: From a dark sky site, there are around 10,000 stars visible to the unaided eye.
Item 2: There is documentation as far back as the 1800s with people claiming ownership rights to the moon, though not necessarily to try to sell it to other people for profit.
Item 3: After Galileo discovered the four largest moons of Jupiter, he gave all the rights to their surface to his local funding source, the Medici family.
Episode 26: Richard C. Hoagland, Part 1 - 19.5°
One aspect of Richard Hoagland's view of the universe has to do with a hyperdimensional number, 19.5° where everything energetic on all objects in the solar system is supposed to manifest. Hogland points to many features on many planets that do. This is an in-depth look at them and this claim.
Episode 25: The Magnetic Pole Shift
We've discussed the geographic pole shift on this podcast, now we address the other kind - could Earth's magnetic pole shift, flip, or have something bad happen to it in 2012?
Puzzler: Let's say you're an architect in a reasonable part of the world that is poleward of the Tropics. You're designing a patio for a client, and the client wants the sun on the patio from the autumnal equinox through the spring equinox, but because it's hot in, say, Florida, during the summer, they want the roof or awning to block the sun from the spring through autumnal equinoxes. A typical patio in this area is 4 meters on a side and the awning or roof is three meters from the floor. The question is, how far should the roof extend from the poleward side of the edge of the patio? Include latitude as a variable in your solution.
Episode 24: Help! The Sun (or Moon) Is Moving!
A conspiratorial or just wacky claim out there is that the sun and moon are rising and setting in different spots than they "used to." Find out why both premises in that idea are wrong.
Episode 23: The Fake Story of Planet X, Zecharia Sitchen, Part 1
In the first of many episodes on the Fake Story of Planet X, we delve into the feasibility of a planet on a 3600-year orbit that was made famous in part by the late Zecharia Sitchen.
Puzzler: The first part I already did for you: if an object were on a 3600-year orbit around the sun, what would its semi-major axis be? Second, if the closest approach to the sun were Earth, what would its farthest distance be? And finally, if its closest approach were Earth, about how much time would it spend inside the orbit of Jupiter? Please show your math for full credit!
Episode 22: Proof We Are Not Experiencing a Pole Shift, Part 2
Find out why there is no physical mechanism proposed by 2012ers that could cause a geographic pole shift, and also how to tell whether or not we have gone through one recently or are going through one now.
Episode 21: The Geographic Pole Shift, Part 1
Some people claim that Eath's geographic poles did, are, or will be moving around dramatically. Here's a look at some of their mechanisms and evidence.
Puzzler: How would we know if Earth has already experienced a geographic pole shift if you assume that the doom and gloom scenarios wouldn't happen? How could you tell?
Episode 20: Interview on Combating Creationism as a High School Student
One of the big "think tanks" for young-Earth creationism is the Institute for Creation Research (ICR), now located in Texas in the United States. Half a world away, a high school student, Peter, takes on nearly all their daily articles, blog posts, and other output. I interview Peter to learn more about what it's like taking on the ICR from his viewpoint.
Episode 19: John Lear
An accomplished arline pilot and son of the inventor of the Lear Jet, John Lear has some rather interesting ideas about the universe. Discussed in this episode are just a few: The atmosphere of Venus, atmosphere of the moon, and lunar formation. Pareidolia is also talked about in detail.
Puzzler: As with the puzzler in Episode 17, this one is going to deal with a claim I did not address in this episode: Lear claims that the surface gravity on the moon is 2/3 that of Earth, not 1/6. What's an experiment you could do with any available data that would show what the gravity on the surface of the moon is?
Episode 18: Interview on Ancient Aliens with "Dumbass"
"Parrot," AKA "Dumbass," has spent many hours on his own podcast and blog dissecting Ancient Aliens claims and evidence. In this episode, he shares some of what he's learned about the ideas, claims, and people involved.
Episode 17: Gregg Braden and Data Mining
In discussing the new-agey claims by Gregg Braden of evidence for consciousness altering the world around us, I also use this as the start of what will be an ongoing series in fallacious ways to argue: In this case, data mining.
Puzzler: One of Gregg Braden's claims is that the magnetic field put out by the heart is 5000x stronger than that of the brain. First, is this true? I'll warn you that you'll need to be very careful in defining your terms in this one. The second part of the puzzler is that Braden claims that because the heart is where we have our feelings and beliefs and that we communicate these through the magnetic field of the heart which connects to the broader fields around us. (I'm not making this up.) The second part of the puzzler here is let's say the field strength of the human heart is 10 pT at the surface of the human body. At what distance from the surface of the chest is the magnetic field of the heart equal to the field of Earth if we take the average value of Earth's magnetic field at the surface, 100 µT? And with your answer in mind, does ANY of what Braden claims here make sense?
Episode 16: What the Sky Looks Like on December 21, 2012, Part 2
What's the galactic alignment on the solstice in December, 2012, and what else in the sky is special about that date? Find out and whether it portends doom or enlightenment in this false dichotomy.
Episode 15: Galactic Alignments, Part 1
I discuss five ideas propagated by 2012ers about the Sun, Earth, and Galaxy all coming into alignment in some way to do something in 2012. Find out what's really going on ... if anything.
Puzzler: There is a widely propagated myth that you will find in many media outlets every March 21 that states the vernal equinox in the northern hemisphere is the only day out of the year that you can balance an egg on its end. Let's assume the myth is actually that you can do it on either equinox. Can you come up with an actual force that would in any way help you to balance an egg on its end on an equinox?
Episode 14: Interview on the Mayan Calendar and What the Mayans Think of 2012
Join me in an interview with Dr. Johan Normark, a Mayan scholar, to learn about the Mayan calendar, its relationship with 2012, and what the Mayans "actually said" about 2012.
Episode 13: The True Story of Planet X
As the first of my four episodes of Intro to 2012, I take a look at the true, historical story behind Planet X and delve a little into why a big planet won't swing by Earth any time soon.
Puzzler: Rather than the normal form of the puzzler, I want to ask a broad question, and I'll read some of your responses on December 16th's episode. The question is, what do you think a planet is, and why? And yes, I do realize that the international astronomical union has a definition of a planet that's out there, but almost no one actually likes it.
Episode 12 (BONUS): Conspiracy Skeptic Interview About Nazis in the Hollow Earth
"The Conspiracy Skeptic" Karl Mamer discusses, in a follow-up episode to Episode 8 on the Hollow Earth, some of the conspiracies related to Nazis currently living inside the hollow of Earth at the South Pole.
Episode 11: Dust and Rock Claims of the Apollo Moon Hoax
Something as boring as rocks and dust has fueled many peoples' conspiratorial ideas relating to American's manned moon landings. Find out if they are well grounded.
Puzzler: One hoax claim that said there shouldn't be any dust on the moon at all. But there's another that states the dust is so deep that the astronauts should have sunk down to over their heads in it. In reality, we know that the depth of the lunar regolith does vary across the surface. Why isn't it uniform? After all, it's not like there's seasonal rain in some parts to wash it away.
Episode 10 (BONUS): Interview About Mike Bara's The Choice
A year ago tonight, Mike Bara presented "The Choice" to over 10 million people. One man called him out on his numerous, basic, fundamental mistakes relating to astronomy. I interview that man in this episode.
Episode 9: Earth's Decaying Magnetic Field
It's a fact that Earth's magnetic field strength is decreasing. Young-Earth creationists use this to argue Earth is only a few thousand years old. Is this plausible?
Puzzler: Let's say that you are at Earth's magnetic north pole - where it is on the surface. You have a compass needle suspended by a thin thread, so it can move in any direction. How would it be aligned? And, would your answer be different if you were at the magnetic south pole, and if so, how; if not, why?
Episode 8: The Hollow Earth
The idea of a hollow planet - specifically Earth - has been around for a long time. And though it's rare, there are people who still believe Earth and the other planets and moons are hollow. I go through some of these ideas and give you no less than four independent methods to determine that Earth is indeed solid.
Puzzler: Let's say that you have a solid shell with compressible material inside it. You are able to rotate this shell very quickly about an axis through it. Does a cavity form? And if it does, what kind of shape would that cavity take on, and why?
Episode 7 (BONUS): Live "Apollo Moon Hoax" Talk at Skepticamp
Stuart gave a live, one-hour talk about the Apollo Moon "Hoax" at the Colorado Springs Skepticamp in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in August 2011. This is the live recording. It has some explicit language.
Episode 6: Astrology Basics and a (Non-?)Changing Sky
Astrology is an ancient science about the predictive power of the heavens. But put under a modern light, what are its inherent contradictions, observational problems, and what do statistical studies show?
Puzzler: An astrologer claims, "Venus will make a rare planetary loop above the Orion [constellation]." What is she talking about?
Episode 5: Heat and Radiation Claims of the Apollo Moon Hoax
Two classes of claims about why Apollo astronauts never landed on the moon deal with heat and radiation. Find out why your common-Earth-sense doesn't help you on the moon, and why these claims aren't worth the energy.
Puzzler: In this scenario, you only have an hour or two before you have to make your dinner and have to thaw chicken breasts from the freezer. You have the following options available to you: (1) Put it in the refrigerator; (2) Put it on the kitchen counter; (3) put it in a container of cold water; or (4) run a tiny stream of cold water over it. Of those options, what is best and fastest mechanism to thaw the chicken?
Episode 4 (BONUS): Comet Elenin Special
For some odd reason, there are a lot of crazy claims out there about Comet Elenin. In recognition of its closest approach to the sun on September 10, this bonus episode addresses many of the common claims out there about the comet including an exposé into Richard Hoagland's magical numerology that apparently proves it's a spaceship.
Episode 3: Young-Earth Creationist Claims About Comets
A mainstay of young-Earth creationist arguments is that comets prove the solar system cannot be more than 10,000 years old. Listen in and find out why this claim ignores science.
Puzzler: Asteroids tend to have, overall, pretty circular orbits and they generally orbit within the rest of the plane of the solar system. Comets, though, generally have highly elliptical orbits and are generally on more inclined orbits to the planets. Why?
Episode 2: You Can't Know the Distance, Size, and Speed of UFOs
Often you will hear "expert" witnesses proudly and with certitude declaring the distance, size, and enormous speeds of UFOs (where "UFO" despite its actual meaning is taken to be an alien craft). I discuss why this is simply not possible based on a visual observation.
Puzzler: In searching for extrasolar planets, one of the most favorable scenarios is where a planet passes directly in front of their star as seen from Earth, so we see it transiting (hence why it's called the "transit" method). Let's say an Earth-sized planet transits in front of a Sun-like star, and a Jupiter-like planet also transits in front of that star. They are very slightly offset so that they don't overlap as seen from Earth. First, does it matter how close either planet is to the star to how much light it will block? Second, does it matter how far away we are (assuming we're at least several light-years) as observers to how much light each will block? You can assume that the system is many light-years away from us.
Episode 1: Introduction and the "Dark Side" of the Moon Misconception
In this episode, I gave an overview of what the podcast is going to be like as well as my own background in astronomy and public outreach. I then briefly discussed the misconception of a "dark side" to the moon, when there really is no side of the moon in permanent shadow.
Puzzler: Imagine that the moon were a perfect white cube. It still orbits around Earth the same way as it does now with its orbit tidally locked. Would a cuboidal moon show any different phases to Earth, and if it did, what would they be?