All Episodes
Previous Next
Plain Text
Dec. 26, 2023 - Skeptoid
20:09
Skeptoid #916: Ask Me Anything, 2023 Edition, Part 2

Skeptoid rapid fires a bunch of mini-episodes in answer to your questions. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcriber: nvidia/parakeet-tdt-0.6b-v2, sat-12l-sm, and large-v3-turbo
|

Time Text
Radiation Hormesis Explained 00:15:28
There are over 900 Skeptoid episodes as I'm writing this, and there's still no remote danger of running out of subjects that need our skeptical eye.
And I have evidence of that.
Today, we've got questions that many of you have sent in for part two of our year-end Ask Me Anything.
Topics that people couldn't wait for a full episode on.
And that's coming up next 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.
Ask Me Anything 2023 edition, part two.
Welcome to the show that separates fact from fiction, science from pseudoscience, real history from fake history, and helps us all make better life decisions by knowing what's real and what's not.
Today, we have part two of our year-end Ask Me Anything series, where listeners send in their questions about anything they want to ask, and I answer them right here on the show.
Last week was general questions about me and about the show, and today we have specific questions about particular pseudosciences.
We've got a lot of them, so without any further ado, let's dive right in.
Let's get started with an old favorite subject.
Hello, Brian.
This is Stephen here.
Thank you for another great year of Skeptoid.
I was just wondering, as an archaeology student and someone with a keen interest in pseudo-archaeology and pseudo-history, I was wondering if you've noticed other skeptics taking pseudo-archaeology and pseudo-history more seriously.
So I want to thank you for devoting more episodes to this area of fringe beliefs.
Thank you very much.
I don't know that skeptics take pseudoarchaeology more seriously, and the reason is simply limited resources.
It's true that the rise of the internet and of TV networks like History Channel have promoted pseudo-archaeology more aggressively and to more people.
It used to be that you'd have to go out and buy chariots of the gods.
But this is also the case with nearly every pseudoscience out there.
It spreads more easily, and marketers have learned they can make lots of money off of it.
For skeptics to make a proportionate response, we'd have to step up our educational efforts on every pseudoscience, including pseudo-archaeology.
And that's just not possible without more of us.
I did ask a friend, Dr. Kenny Fader, an emeritus professor of archaeology and author of books on pseudo-archaeology.
He confirms more students are aware of pseudo-archaeology claims these days because of TikTok et al., and professors are more concerned about it than in the past.
But again, this is the case with every pseudoscience.
We can recognize that the risk to students is greater, but it's just not possible to step up our efforts because we've already been going 100%.
Next, a very important question from Tyler.
Please tell me the truth.
Is there a large undiscovered primate living in the vast Pacific Northwest?
Well, Tyler, the philosopher Bertrand Russell once gave an analogy now called Russell's Teapot, where he said there's a teapot in orbit between the Earth and Mars.
Where's the burden of proof?
Is it on him to prove that it exists?
Or are the rest of us required to disprove it?
It's a preposterous claim, so we should consider it false unless he comes up with the proof.
There is no proof that Bigfoot exists, and it's an even more preposterous claim than Russell's teapot.
If the teapot were real, it would still be very hard for us to spot it way out there in space.
But it would be very easy for us to spot Bigfoot.
He's right here.
A large, sustainable population of giant hairy monsters right in our backyards.
And yet, not one has ever left a poop, a hair, a body, or any kind of tangible testable evidence at all.
All animals that do exist leave all of those things.
So I think you'll probably be safe on your next camping trip.
Next, we have a question from John.
Do nuclear explosions generate distinctive signals such that we could detect them on other planets?
If so, what might be the farthest away we might detect them, and ours might be detectable?
They would presumably be a sign of technically advanced civilizations, and SETI facilities could be on the lookout for them.
It's a good idea, but it almost certainly wouldn't work.
The highest energy radiation, basically X-rays and gamma rays, are what you might hope to see.
Radiation follows the inverse square law, meaning its intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source.
It drops off very fast, and over such extreme distances as interstellar, there isn't really any left to be detected.
Here's one example, and thanks to UC for the math, which I won't repeat here.
A 100-megaton bomb that's twice as big as the largest ever detonated has about 5% of its energy released in the form of X-rays and gamma rays.
A one-square meter detector one light-year away would, on average, receive about one single photon of energy from that nuclear blast.
The nearest exoplanet, Proxima Centauri B, is more than four times that far away.
And we've still never built a nuclear device anywhere near as powerful as the one in UC's example.
Stars give off incalculably more energy than nuclear explosions.
Even a star's light reflected from a planet is exponentially greater.
So nuclear explosions just aren't the beacon we might hope they could be.
Here's a question from Harold.
There is much online about radiation hormesis.
Basically, this refers to the fact that low levels of radiation may be beneficial as opposed to high levels of radiation, which can be deadly.
In view of the fact that there are many proponents for the use of nuclear energy generation of electricity, including a popular documentary by Oliver Stone titled Nuclear Now, do you believe that the basis of radiation hormesis is valid or pseudoscience?
Radiation hormesis is a very interesting topic, and if you want a deep dive, check out the full skeptoid episode on it, number 539 from 2016.
It's the idea that very small doses of radiation can challenge your body just enough to toughen it up against larger doses, similar to the concept of how vaccines work.
In the episode, we go into the various models that governments use to establish radiation safety limits using dose response curves and a lot of other stuff.
But I can summarize the conclusions for you right here.
Radiation hormesis is not entirely implausible.
However, any beneficial effect that extremely low doses of radiation might have would be below the noise threshold in the data.
So a lot of articles will say hormesis does happen, but criticism of those articles always points out that the effect is too small to be distinguishable from noise.
The second part of the answer has to do with the fact, and it is indeed a real fact, that workers at nuclear power plants tend to have lower mortality and morbidity rates than the general population.
Some authors have attempted to attribute this to hormesis and to portray it as evidence that the low doses of radiation received by nuclear plant workers has a prophylactic effect, protecting them from cancer.
This, however, is absolutely false.
Their lower mortality is actually due to something called the healthy worker effect, and it applies to all workers, not just those at nuclear power plants.
People with good jobs tend to have better health care, a higher standard of living, and all the other things that correlate with improved overall health.
In a world that can feel overwhelming, spreading thoughtful, evidence-based content is one of the best ways to make a positive impact.
Ask your local public radio station to air the Skeptoid files, a 30-minute radio-friendly version of Skeptoid that pairs two related episodes promoting real science, true history, and critical thinking.
And in these challenging times for public media, we're offering these broadcasts for free to radio stations, available on the PRX Exchange or directly from Skeptoid Media.
It's an easy ask.
Just send a quick message to your station's programming director.
By helping to bring the Skeptoid files to the airwaves, you'll help promote the essential skills we all need to tell fact from fiction.
Just go to your local station's website, find the programming director's email address, or just their general email address.
You can even use the telephone.
I know that might sound crazy.
It's an old legacy device that allows real-time voice communication.
I know that's weird, but hey, it's an option.
The world can feel chaotic, but you're not powerless.
When you promote critical thinking, you can help your community tell fact from fiction.
And that's how we shape a better future.
In uncertain times, spreading good ideas can make you feel helpful, not helpless.
Let's stand up for reason, truth, and understanding together.
Get them to air the Skeptoid files from Skeptoid Media, available on the PRX Exchange, and they'll know what that is.
Here's a question from Ray.
Hi, Brian.
My son insists that I go on a cruise with him and his family in a few months, and I am terrified of getting seasick.
I have been inundated with ads for a product like a watch that you wear on your wrist, and it gives your medial nerve on your wrist a little shock, and it's supposed to prevent seasickness.
I'm very skeptical of this, and I wonder if it's just a giant placebo effect or if there's something real going on there.
Insights appreciated.
Man, this led me into a research rabbit hole.
There are a ton of publications claiming efficacy beyond placebo for wristbands, of which there are two basic kinds, acupressure and acuestimulation, which is the one you're describing.
Both target a hypothetical acupuncture point on the wrist, traditionally believed to be associated with nausea, called P6.
There are also plenty of papers testing both against placebo and finding no difference between them.
Most studies look at pregnancy, chemotherapy, or post-operative-related nausea rather than motion sickness.
But anyway, here's a really quick synthesis of all that's out there.
If you have no prior history of motion sickness, risk is low, and the side effects of drug treatments are probably not worth it.
In this case, it is recommended to go ahead and try the alternative therapies.
Basically, either wrist band, there's definitely no reason to get the electrical one over the acupressure one, or ginger tablet supplementation, pre-treating with one to two grams.
If you do have a history of motion sickness, then definitely go for the drug treatments, unless you can't tolerate them, of course.
The gold standard is the scopolamine patch, pre-treating at least four hours and swapping it out after three days.
Or use the over-the-counter antihistamine drugs, bonine or dramamine, both of which are as effective as scopolamine, but give most people worse drowsiness.
Non-sedating antihistamines such as claritin and alovert are not effective against motion sickness.
Now, here's a question from Robert.
Hi, Brian.
You said anything, so here you go.
Does low-power red laser light therapy, often connected with chiropractic treatment, have any validity?
And if so, how does it work?
Nope, it does nothing at all.
At least, nothing that's supported by either evidence or plausible theory.
Although it's often called laser therapy, it's just red light, usually just LEDs.
The easiest warning sign to spot is that when something is claimed to treat everything, that usually means it treats nothing.
And here is a list of alleged benefits I found on just two chiropractors' websites.
Diminishes age spots, stimulates collagen production, increases blood circulation, reduces joint pain, reduces inflammation, speeds the healing of wounds, boosts muscle recovery, increases testosterone production, eases joint stiffness, eases chiropractic adjustments, stimulates cells, causes cells to produce more ATP and to regenerate faster, increases production of nitric oxide,
reduces high blood pressure, minimizes the appearance of pores, lines, and wrinkles, regulates your immune system, fights infection, stimulates hair growth, reduces bruising and swelling, protects against cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, and strokes, prevents cell damage, treats acne, improves post-exercise recovery, releases endorphins, protects skin from UV damage, repairs skin from UV damage,
improves mitochondrial health and function, and, best of all, it has no side effects, except to perform what doctors call a wallet extraction.
Interesting that when you use it for one thing, and it does 97 other things, to still say that it has no side effects.
Why Aliens Haven't Visited Us 00:02:07
Hey, Brian, John Ordover from Brooklyn here.
A lot of people suggest the galaxy could be colonized by sending out a probe that when it lands on a planet, uses the planet's resources to build a copy of itself and then launch itself again into the galaxy.
Thank you.
You're basically describing one popular theory, not for colonizing the universe, but as an explanation for why Earth does not appear to have ever been visited by aliens.
This idea was advanced in a famous 1975 paper in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society.
It posits that the universe is so vast that if life has developed anywhere, it will therefore have developed on a massive number of planets, and thus every possible way to explore space must therefore have been tried many, many times.
Your proposal with self-replicating robots would necessarily eventually take over their entire galaxy by at least some of the countless civilizations to have tried it.
So the theory states that since we don't have alien robots self-replicating themselves all over the Earth, that means that nobody anywhere has ever tried this.
And the only way that could be possible is that there is no life anywhere, except here on Earth.
The reason I don't personally find this theory compelling is that it assumes the problems of interstellar flight, even for robots, are solvable.
The energy requirements for traveling such incredible distances are enormous, even for robots that are as dormant as possible.
Thermodynamics shows that they always have to be expending some energy.
I find the problems of interstellar travel to be a better explanation for our lack of alien visitors.
But anyway, within a few decades, we'll have eyes on enough exoplanetary spectra to probably know for sure.
Support Skeptoid Premium 00:02:30
And with that, we close out this Ask Me Anything episode.
And along with it, we close out another calendar year.
Next time we do one of these, I'll email a call for questions to all the premium members.
So if you're not one already, that's another benefit in joining.
And remember, anytime you encounter some new product or claim that seems to violate what we know about the way the world works, or that offers a magically easy solution to a complicated problem, you should always be skeptical.
We continue with a question I decided not to answer in the ad-free and extended premium feed.
To access it, become a supporter at skeptoid.com slash go premium.
A great big Skeptoid shout out to Skeptoid's premium members, including Andres Ortiz, Nathan Branch, Aaron the Freak, and Stephen Bavaro.
Thank you so much for making Skeptoid possible and for another year.
You're listening to Skeptoid, a listener-supported program.
I'm Brian Dunning from Skeptoid.com.
Hello, everyone.
This is Adrian Hill from Skookam 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 nonprofit 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.
Export Selection