Skeptics Guide #789

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #789 August 19th, 2020 Segment #1. COVID-19 Update Segment #2. News Items News Item #1 – Oleandra Snake Oil https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/oleandra-the-new-covid-snake-oil/ News Item #2 – Moon Capsules https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/08/could-a-dragon-spacecraft-fly-humans-to-the-moon-its-complicated/ News Item #3 – Vision Debate http://nautil.us/blog/this-vision-experiment-resolved-a-centuries_old-philosophical-debate?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication News Item #4 – Black Dwarf Supernova https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200812113354.htm News Item #5 – Pentagon UFO Task Force https://www.space.com/ufo-sightings-pentagon-task-force.html Segment #3: Who's That Noisy Segment #4: Name That Logical Fallacy Do Your Own Research https://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/do-your-own-research/ 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: Hydrogen Fuel #1) The majority of hydrogen is produced by electrolysis from water, and is as clean as the source of electricity used in this process. #2) The global production of hydrogen is more than 70 million metric tons annually (which could theoretically produce 2.3 billon MWh of electricity – US energy production is 4.1 billion MWh annually). #3) Hydrogen is about 2.8 times as energy dense as gasoline by weight. Segment #6. Skeptical Quote of the Week “But too often, “common sense” is the safe harbor of ignorance and an excuse for intellectual laziness. They don’t need facts because they already know the truth—their common sense has spared them the effort of investigation or thought.” Randy Wayne White “Captiva” Chapter Four