Skeptics Guide #1032

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #1032 April 16th 2025 Segment #1. Dumbest Thing of the Week https://knewz.com/world/an-encounter-with-a-ufo-turned-russian-soldiers-into-stone-alleged-cia-report-contains-its-details/ Segment #2. News Items News Item #1 – Where Did Water Come From https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250416135918.htm News Item #2 – EPA Data on Emissions https://undark.org/2025/04/15/epa-emissions-data/ News Item #3 – Is Your Red My Red https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250416135938.htm News Item #4 – Evolution of Complex Life https://phys.org/news/2025-03-life-special-group-celled-laid.html#google_vignette News Item #5 – Crow Math Skills https://www.npr.org/2025/04/12/nx-s1-5359438/a-crows-math-skills-include-geometry Segment 3. Who’s That Noisy Segment #4. Your Questions and E-mails Question #1: Separating the Art from the Artist Been a fan of the show for a number of years now and have enjoyed learning and engaging with the community and the ideas discussed each week. I was hoping to ask your opinions on how skepticism can inform the way we view certain industries and institutions when individuals can cause conflict within core ideologies. The example I'm thinking of (and what sparked this email) is how to view Tesla in the current political landscape. For background I'm in the market for a new car to replace one that's recently hit end of life and I was hoping to get something electric. This is driven both by the impressive technology and the reduced emissions and costs, especially attractive in my state where our power is almost entirely hydro. The Tesla Model 3 is in my price range and is by all accounts a fantastic car with sound engineering behind it. I come unstuck though grappling with what I believe is a logical environmental/financial choice. The crinkle though is the ties to Musk who I would have picked as my skeptical jackass of the year. This goes back to my original subject matter of whether we can separate "art from the artist" in the technological and political landscapes. For consideration how much of current Tesla is driven by Elon and how much does that matter if the product at the end is still efficient, safe, reliable and just well designed? How should we as skeptics or individuals be tackling these decisions and should this tie weigh in strongly to the final decision? Interested in any thoughts you have on the matter or action you would consider. Thanks, Nathan Question #2: The Moon Rotates The Moon does Not Rotate on its Axis Rotation in Orbit: An object moving in a 360-degree orbit will, by the end of that orbit, have returned to its original position relative to the body it's orbiting. In that sense, its overall orientation has "rotated" 360 degrees relative to an external viewpoint. Rotation on its Axis: This requires a change in which part of the object leads its motion. A tidally locked body, by definition, maintains the same face towards the object it orbits. Therefore, the same part of the object consistently leads its motion in that relationship. The 1:1 orbital period to "rotational period" of tidally locked moons (like our Moon and 20+ others) is a consequence of their orbit and the gravitational forces involved. It results in a consistent face towards the primary body. according to the definition of Rotation on its Axis, this consistent facing means that these tidally locked moons are not rotating on their axis in the sense that different parts of them are taking the lead in their motion. The "rotation" that completes one cycle per orbit is a rotation of their orientation in space due to their orbital movement, not a spin around an internal axis that changes which part leads the way. this seems right Segment #5. 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: extinct genomes We have fully sequenced nuclear genomes from the following extinct animals: Item 1: The dodo, famous extinct bird of the Mauritius island. Item 2: The bluebuck, a blue antelope, and the first large African mammal to go extinct in modern times. Item 3: The giant moa (both north island and south island Dinornis species) of New Zealand. Item 4: Denisovans, a close relative of humans and Neanderthals. Segment #6. Skeptical Quote of the Week "The ease with which we believe things that flatter us or confirm our prejudices should always be suspect." — Christopher Hitchens


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