Episode #338

[mazeedt]

Nice podcast!

I enjoyed hearing from Martin, as always. I just wonder why Sweden seems to be so enamoured of this particular branch of pseudo-science, whereas most of us elsewhere in the world think of Scandinavia as a particularly rational area.

Also, although we may get sick of it, I love the 'Quickie with Bob' segment  8)

Interesting how each area of the world seems to have its own favorite pseudoscience.

US: Creationism, UK: Homeopathy, Sweden: EMF sensitivity?

To be fair though EMF sensitivity isn't exactly common and it is usually made fun of. I saw a documentary about it a while ago and they did a good job of showing that these people are indeed suffering but then explaining why it was not because of what they thought it was. They also gave the other side of the story but honestly those people just seemed like sad attention needy people. And it was pretty obvious that they were faking it when they "collapsed" from the terrible radiation...

That's not to say that Sweden is necessarily more rational than any other country though. Eastern woo woo is quite common, acupuncture for example. We may be less religious but people will be people. Even if you do all you can to educate people some just wont listen and you can't shut down every stupid idea...

Funny story is, I met an "alternative medicine" practitioner at the emergency department a while back. Guess where she went for her vague ailments?
*Smug grin*

[4tune8chance]

Oral Galvanism does exist, I have had it. But the galvanic effect is only temporary.

After the aesthetic began to wear off after a routine filling, I began to experience a stabbing pain in the tooth.  The pain came in increasing intervals and intensity.  A quick return to the dentist followed.  As the Dentists was probing my teeth to see if it was indeed the same tooth just filled, she touched the filling with the metal probe, the pain was unbelievable!  She then got a plastic strip and slid it between the filling and an adjacent filling – the pain stopped immediately! I then went into mild shock, shivering uncontrollably, but walked it off.

The dentist explained it was a galvanic action caused by the curing of the new filling and conducting to a close by filling with saliva being the conductor.

Not a fun time!

After a few hours I removed the plastic strip and have never experienced pain in that (or any other tooth) again (never had it previously either).

[Citizen Skeptic]

would somebody please explain how rf sensitivity works on your body to elicit a response? please show your math! :)

ham radio operators get exposed to substantially higher levels of rf. if you get too close, you can get burned. but according to the epa and the arrl, high power antennas can safely be used with no risk with just a few precautions. also, the power levels of routers are substantially lower than amateur radio equipment.

this is just bunk.

http://www.arrl.org/table-9-2

[Jordan]

Did anybody else find the music during the "quickie" really distracting? It wasn't that it was too loud, but I just kept finding myself focusing on the music instead of the story and tuning Bob out (was that the point? :P ).

I love the idea of the segment though!

[pchemist]

I just kept finding myself focusing on the music instead of the story and tuning Bob out

You needed music to tune Bob out? It comes pretty naturally when I listen to the podcast.

(Maybe I should establish myself on the board more before being a complete tool...)

[Trinoc]

Oral Galvanism does exist, I have had it. But the galvanic effect is only temporary.

After the aesthetic began to wear off after a routine filling, I began to experience a stabbing pain in the tooth.  The pain came in increasing intervals and intensity.  A quick return to the dentist followed.  As the Dentists was probing my teeth to see if it was indeed the same tooth just filled, she touched the filling with the metal probe, the pain was unbelievable!  She then got a plastic strip and slid it between the filling and an adjacent filling – the pain stopped immediately! I then went into mild shock, shivering uncontrollably, but walked it off.

The dentist explained it was a galvanic action caused by the curing of the new filling and conducting to a close by filling with saliva being the conductor.

Not a fun time!

After a few hours I removed the plastic strip and have never experienced pain in that (or any other tooth) again (never had it previously either).

Since I first had metal fillings put in while at school, it was well known that it would be extremely painful to chew accidentally on something metal like the foil wrapper of a chocolate bar. Obviously this is the usual galvanic effect from dissimilar metals, and I don't remember ever getting the problem from two fillings in contact with each other. Maybe I just didn't have any adjacent fillings like that.

When my metal fillings were finally worn beyond repair I decided to spend the extra money to have them replaced with non-metallic ones. I know correlation is not causation, but I'm sure the chronic headaches I'd suffered from since school days got better after that. I'm not saying this was necessarily anything to do with mercury, but in these days when they don't even allow lead solder to be used in my mobile phone I'm sure nobody would design a medical prosthesis containing a toxic metal. Anyone for cadmium-plated watch straps or glasses frames? How about a beryllium hip joint replacement?

Metallic fillings may have been a great thing when there was no reasonable alternative, but surely now that we have perfectly good non-metallic alternatives it is time to phase them out.

[Anders]

Apparently quite a few members of parliament has laid proposals to safeguard the rights of the electrically hypersensitive. Not just Greens, but Social Democrats and members of the Farmers' Party as well.

[Swagomatic]

Thanks for another great year and keep up the good work.  Your show is a consistent highlight in my week.

[amysrevenge]

Definitely speeds a Monday along...  Thanks!

[Madfishmonger]

So happy to hear you guys talking about David Suzuki, yes, he did (and still does) a science show called The Nature of Things, which he's done for many years.
Perhaps you will consider promoting my most excellent plan of saving the world; make David Suzuki Emperor of Earth. If we put him in charge of EVERYTHING, he'll fix it. I am certain. Spread the word!

[Chew]

So happy to hear you guys talking about David Suzuki, yes, he did (and still does) a science show called The Nature of Things, which he's done for many years.
Perhaps you will consider promoting my most excellent plan of saving the world; make David Suzuki Emperor of Earth. If we put him in charge of EVERYTHING, he'll fix it. I am certain. Spread the word!

Great, except for that whole being a Canadian thing.

[Thameron]

It is always emotionally appealing to talk about having a free and uncensored network, but you should remember that there are some unsavory groups who would also certainly like that.  I am sure that the purveyors and consumers of child pornography would be very very happy to have such a channel. 

[Trinoc]

It is always emotionally appealing to talk about having a free and uncensored network, but you should remember that there are some unsavory groups who would also certainly like that.  I am sure that the purveyors and consumers of child pornography would be very very happy to have such a channel.

You don't solve the problem of abusive letters by closing the post office.

[Eternally Learning]

Isn't Jay's prediction (that no predictions made on the show this year will come true) subject to some kind of Godelian trap, where if it's true, then his prediction is true, which would then make his prediction untrue?
I've just finished reading Godel, Escher, Bach so I'm probably primed for this kind of thing.

I thought the same thing.  He's screwed either way.  His prediction should have just been, "This prediction will be the only one which comes true."

[Chew]

Jay's also recycling quotes. He used that Suzuki quote in a previous episode.