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Science Denial

Joe, Kevin, and Toren discuss the denial of Galileo’s look-for-yourself findings, Ebin Byers’ “Radithor” addiction, “Deutsche Physik”, yet another evil tobacco cover-up, AIDs denialist Christine Maggiore, the Flat Earth Society, climate denial and conspiracy theories.

Music: “Deniers (Demo Version)” by Information Society

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  2. Given the vast amount of weird ideas out there it’s obviously impossible to cover everything but something in particular I thought was worth mentioning in relation to AIDS-denial was the broader impact of this line of reasoning, not quite as personal (and ironic) but on a _much_ bigger scale – is the effect it has had on for example on South Africa.

    While the tragedy with regards to the individual is definitely heartbreaking, it’s still mostly a question for them and their loved ones. When it leads to (or at least adds to) dysfunction and devastation of entire communities/countries, it’s something more serious still. The same can be said for catastrophes that hasn’t yet played out (not in full anyhow) such as climate change. This stuff matters!

  3. It is clear you all are part of the conspiracy. As evidence: complete avoidance of any mention of Kevin’s role in guarding the wall at the edge of the world in Antarctica!

  4. There actually was a documentary done about eating McDonalds for a month, and only eating moderate portions. It’s called Bowling for Morgan.

    1. There’s also Fat Head, which did a similar experiment eating only the non-carb portions of McDonalds (and losing weight).

      1. I was just coming to comment about the documentary, Fat Head. It is basically the anti-Super Size Me

  7. Another thoroughly enjoyable episode. 🙂 For the record, Galileo did look directly at the sun, Kevin, or at least looked very near to it, to the extent that he actually went blind in the last couple of years of his life.

    On the denialism front, this might be a bit of a stretch, but there’s a bit of a stoush over windfarms in Australia at the moment (or there was under the previous Prime Minister, Tony Abbott), to the extent that the government has promised to set up a specific government-funded role for someone to listen to people’s complaints about windfarms and fund research to determine if there’s anything to them. Although there’s not been any evidence of harm (certainly of the types claimed) from windfarms, people claim all sorts of ailments – First Dog on the Moon provides a good comprehensive listing here: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/12/dr-onthemoons-self-diagnosis-windfarm-syndrome-check-list

    Oh, and Joe, as an alternative to “shit disturber” I offer “shit stirrer”. Much more pithy. 😉 And a little bit Aussie.

  8. Well when the global warming melts the ice walls at the edge of the world and the oceans drain away into the void that lies beyond who will be laughing then?!

    Found out this week that one of my coworkers is a conspiracy theorist after he attempted to explain to me that barack obama was in fact a surgically altered Osama Bin Laden. Rather than argue the point with him and simply started explaining how the world was flat and the secret of the antartic ice wall was jealously kept by NASA until he stared at me in dismay and confusion.

    Seriously though what are the chances of getting Kevin and Torens duel cry of Conspiracy! as a downloadable ring tone cause I dearly want my phone to declair this when I get a text.

    Oh random pop culture addition.
    Keanu Reeves in johnny mnemonic. A movie where electromagnetic hypersensitivity is real and is in fact a plague sweeping through the population dubbed “The Black Shakes” but the corperate governments deny the existence of a cure to the people as selling treatments is far more profitable.

  9. just listening now, I gotta look up the flat earth explanation on planes again, since they not only have to fly in a circle around a disc, but also upward at the same rate as the fake ‘gravity’ since the disk flies upward toward things… hmmm