Skeptics Guide #884

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #883 June 15th 2022 Segment #1. News Items News Item #1 – Is LaMDA AI Sentient https://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/is-lamda-sentient/ News Item #2 – AI Influencers https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25433900-800-the-rise-of-computer-generated-artificially-intelligent-influencers/ News Item #3 – Kids Get Cancer Because They Are Unhappy https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-10897045/Shaman-Durek-book-dropped-publishers-Norway-pseudoscientific-claims.html News Item #4 – Free Floating Black Hole https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220610120222.htm Segment #2. Who’s That Noisy Segment #3. Your Questions and E-mails Question #1: Gun Safety Feedback Segment #4. 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: Science Myths #1) CO2 is not the greatest cause of recent global warming, but rather shorter-lived molecules such as methane. #2) Most of the energy generated by the sun is not caused by the fusion of hydrogen into helium. #3) The heating up of a spacecraft as it reenters and descends through the atmosphere is not mostly caused by friction, which is only responsible for a small amount of heat, <5%. Segment #5. Skeptical Quote of the Week “Science is a search for basic truths about the Universe, a search which develops statements that appear to describe how the Universe works, but which are subject to correction, revision, adjustment, or even outright rejection, upon the presentation of better or conflicting evidence.” -- James Randi


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