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Jan. 5, 2016 - Skeptoid
08:38
Skeptoid #500: A Little Curiosity

If you haven't yet found your curiosity in the first 500 episodes of Skeptoid, find it here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcriber: nvidia/parakeet-tdt-0.6b-v2, sat-12l-sm, and large-v3-turbo
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Time Text
A Love Song to Science 00:02:05
Today we have a very special episode of Skeptoid as it's number 500.
Today we're not debunking anything.
We're not clearing up an old mystery.
We're not really even dispensing any skeptical wisdom.
Instead, today's episode is as simple as it gets.
It is a love song to science.
And it's coming up now on Skeptoid.
Hi, I'm Alex Goldman.
You may know me as the host of Reply All, but I'm done with that.
I'm doing something else now.
I've started a new podcast called Hyperfixed.
On every episode of Hyperfixed, listeners write in with their problems and I try to solve them.
Some massive and life-altering and some so minuscule it'll boggle your mind.
No matter the problem, no matter the size, I'm here for you.
That's HyperFixed, the new podcast from Radiotopia.
Find it wherever you listen to podcasts or at hyperfixedpod.com.
You're listening to Skeptoid.
I'm Brian Dunning from Skeptoid.com.
A little curiosity.
This is the 500th episode of Skeptoid.
That's a lot of stories, a lot of history and culture and science.
We've made many visits to every continent on the globe and stopped in on every century and every millennium since our species was launched.
We've met every kind of person there is and even gone into space looking for more.
Nine years ago, there were a hundred of you as my traveling companions on these weekly adventures.
And then there were a thousand and ten thousand, then a hundred thousand.
For each of 500 weeks, we've found something new to be curious about together.
We've solved ancient mysteries like the stone spheres of Costa Rica, the Ark of the Covenant, and the Lost Colony of Roanoke.
We've learned what lay behind paranormal tales like the Black-Eyed Kids, the Sedona Vortex, Borley Rectory, and the Crystal Skulls.
Stay Curious, Teachable, Skeptical 00:04:30
We debunked conspiracy theories like the deaths of Princess Diana and JFK, the Zionist conspiracy, and the attack on the Twin Towers.
And we discovered the genesis of urban legends like the Black Knight Satellite, Polybius the video game of death, Mystery Spots, and King Tut's Curse.
A lot of the inspiration I've found has come from those who asked the same questions before me.
Who can forget the famous Truzi's principle, extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof, or Hitchens Razor, what can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.
And whenever I think I know the solution, I try to always remember, Nichols' doctrine, the person who thinks he can't be fooled has just fooled himself.
I realized I'd fooled myself a hundred times, a thousand times.
That was when I decided I wanted a really solid general science literacy.
Having that exposes a whole new dimension to every story, every claim, every pop culture fad, every myth.
That's how we're able to answer questions like whether cell phones are killing us all, or whether Project Lucifer was ever a viable theory for destroying the planet Jupiter.
Every time I learned about something new and found an answer I never would have tried before, I felt like the proverbial kid in a candy store.
I'm often reminded of Marie Curie, who famously said, Curie's cannon, a scientist in her laboratory, is not only a technician, she's also a child placed before natural phenomena which impress her like a fairy tale.
What makes a rocket ship fly?
How far are those lights in the sky?
Isn't there some way that I could go up there too?
Shermer's Essential.
Before we say something is out of this world, let's first make sure that it is not in this world.
Occam's Razor.
The explanation with the fewest new assumptions is usually the correct one.
Things I can touch must be real.
But what about feelings I feel?
So many mysteries, concealed secrets I want to know.
Hyman's categorical imperative.
Do not try to explain something until you are sure there is something to be explained.
Ebert's axiom, clear-minded people should remain two things throughout their lifetimes, curious and teachable.
A new idea, a new technique threatened to turn me into a giant.
Love the old story so full of mysty, tempting me to learn.
Feynman's maxim, there is no harm in doubt and skepticism, for it is through these that new discoveries are made.
Bergson's fundamental, the eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.
Open up, let me in, let me see the wonders you're hiding from me.
I've got a little curiosity and possibly you've got some too.
Church Hill's certitude.
The truth is incontrovertible.
Malice may attack it.
Ignorance may deride it.
But in the end, there it is.
I've got a little curiosity and possibly you got some too.
Support the Listener-Supported Program 00:01:58
I hope you've found your curiosity somewhere in these 500 episodes.
I certainly did.
Stay curious, stay teachable, and stay skeptical.
You can download A Little Curiosity as a standalone song for your favorite playlist from the transcript page at skeptoid.com.
Sultry vocals by Susan Egan, suave tunes by Lee Sanders, and words by some random podcast guy.
I hope you'll stick around for the next 500 shows.
Let's do this thing.
You're listening to Skeptoid, a listener-supported program.
I'm Brian Dunning from Skeptoid.com.
Hello, everyone.
This is Adrian Hill from Skookum Studios in Calgary, Canada, the land of maple syrup and moose.
And I'm here to ask you to consider becoming a premium member of Skeptoid for as little as $5 per month.
And that's only the cost of a couple of Tim Horton's double-doubles.
And that's Canadian for coffee with double cream and sugar.
Why support Skeptoid?
If you are like me and don't like ads, but like extended versions of each episode, Premium is for you.
If you want to support a worthwhile non-profit that combats pseudoscience, promotes critical thinking, and provides free access to teachers to use the podcast in the classroom via the Teacher's Toolkit, then sign up today.
Remember that skepticism is the best medicine.
Next to giggling, of course.
Until next time, this is Adrienne Hill.
From PRX.
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