Science Monkey

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, Science Monkey is once more brought to you from a distance, with Graham and Raywat recording from the comforts of their own homes. This is also our second ever video episode, which you can watch on YouTube. Or you can listen to audio version right here. In this episode, we answer more viewer questions, all about this wretched disease.

Science Monkey is back with a very special episode, from deep within the doldrums of pandemic quarantine. This is also our very first video podcast, which you can watch on YouTube. The audio was rendered from that Zoom video call so it is, shall we say, less than ideal. In the episode, we answer several questions about COVID-19 (the disease caused by the new coronavirus) that were sent in by listeners.

Science Monkey is back! We took a lengthy sabbatical to mourn the passing of our mascot, Ouie the magical wonderdog, whose pawsteps are audible in this particular episode, which of course was recorded before his passing. On today’s show, we are joined by the erudite Dr Aparna Halpé for a session of The Facts and the Furious, during which we cover topics as diverse as: * How many elephants does a cloud weigh? * How many moonunits can the longest Lego tower be? * When does the horniest rodent in Australia stop rutting? * And what’s a reasonable number of vaginas? As always, if you’d like us to cover any topics, or if you have feedback about the show, please feel free to comment below or send us an email.

The government puts fluoride in our drinking water. What is the evidence that this is safe? We examine two studies that purport to show a connection between fluoride in our water and both thyroid disease and lower IQ. We also learn a little about so-called “ecological” studies, some stuff about statistics, and whose name is the earliest in recorded history. So let’s get our learn on, people. Links from today’s episode: * The full clip from Dr Strangelove * Are fluoride levels in drinking water associated with hypothyroidism prevalence in England? A large observational study of GP practice data and fluoride levels in drinking water * Developmental Fluoride Neurotoxicity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis * Flawed study overstates link between fluoride and ill health: experts * Water fluoridation and hypothyroidism: results of this study need much more cautious interpretation * Debunking Unreliable Claims: The “Harvard study” * The Birth of Writing: The Kushim Tablet  

We go back to our roots and actually talk about the rigors (or lack thereof) of a scientific study. A famous JAMA paper suggested that slightly overweight people are healthier than “normal weight” people. Is that study rigorous…. or just ridiculous? We also learn where not to get stung by a bee, and why you probably shouldn’t insult a krav maga instructor. Links from today’s episode: * Association of All-Cause Mortality With Overweight and Obesity Using Standard Body Mass Index Categories * Harvard researchers challenge results of obesity analysis * The Obesity Paradox – and commentary on the Flegal JAMA Study * The Worst Places To Get Stung By A Bee

Recorded outside (hence the sound of passing airplanes) and with Graham annoyingly smacking the microphone (he’s learning, people, he’s learning), today’s episode features our second session of rapid-fire facts, and just the facts (ma’am). You’ll never believe what Alfred Kinsey put into his urethra, or what gas Henry Ford kept in a vial, or which animal we describe as a living surveillance camera. Links from today’s episode: * Sperm Quality & Quantity Declining, Mounting Evidence Suggests

In celebration of Pride Week, today’s episode tackles the question of whether female sexual fluidity has evolutionary origins, based on a controversial article by Satoshi Kanazawa (link below). We recorded this outside, so you will hear sounds of actual nature –squirrels and birds– and the occasional airplane and siren… as well as Graham frequently banging the table for emphasis, which causes a weird warbling noise on the microphone. This episode is brought to you by Chekd and by our books.  Links from today’s episode: * Possible evolutionary origins of human female sexual fluidity, by Kanazawa * Evolutionary Theory On Sexual Fluidity: Why Women Are More Likely To Have Same-Sex Hookups Than Men * What do women want? * What Do We Really Mean When We Say Women Are Sexually “Fluid”? * Women Aren’t The Only Ones Who Are Sexually Fluid—Men Have A Pretty “Flexible” Sexuality Too * Just How Different are Female and Male Sexual Orientation? * “Sexual Fluidity: Understanding Women’s Love and Desire”, by Lisa Diamond

Once again, a listener (Mary Ellen) asks us via Twitter to tackle a big topic: is there such a thing as free will? Graham and Ray examine this question from the perspectives of quantum physics, neurology, multiverse theory, semantics, and sociology. That’s an easy topic for a 30 minute podcast featuring two slightly tipsy professors, right? This episode is brought to you by Chekd and by our books sold on Amazon. Some of the things we talk about are: * Pierre Bourdieu and his theory of habitus * Are all the ants as heavy as all the humans? * The Physics of Free Will * Do we have free will – a physicist’s perspective

Once more, the whiskey has begun to flow. In this episode, Graham and Ray tackle the question of how many published studies are likely invalid or not reproducible. We learn about Type I and Type II statistical errors, publication bias, the Proteus Phenomenon and the Winner’s Curse.  As well, the wrath of Almighty Zod rains down in the form of thunder, eliciting a visit from Graham’s adorable dog Ouie. And we learn that Ray’s Wikipedia page has been taken down. (Hey, he never created it in the first place, so nothing lost, right?) Links from today’s show: * Why Selective Publication of Statistically Significant Results Can Be Effective * Why Most Published Research Findings Are False * When science isn’t science-based: In class with Dr. John Ioannidis * Scientific Regress * The Cold Fusion claims of Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann * The Complete Works Of Chuang Tzu (chapter 2)

Graham & Ray answer listener questions (yes, we have listeners now), including one from a dog who is very concerned about how dependent human civilization is on the existence of the sun. (Dogs are deep, man). We also answer that critical question currently plaguing the Internet: is 2016 a cursed year for celebrity mortality? Links from today’s show * Prince dead: Is the celebrity death curse of 2016 really a thing? * The Curse of 2016, The Worst Year on Record for Celebrity Deaths * Aaron Ramsey Can’t Stop Killing Famous People * Is 2016 cursed for celebrities? * Here’s what would happen if the sun disappeared right now * If the sun disappeared, when would we know about it? * An Exultation of Larks

Graham and Ray are once more deep into the grown-up juice (i.e., whiskey), so much so that they confuse Willy Nelson with John Denver, Bob Denver, Bob Dylan, Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, and Cat Stevens. But they do eventually answer a question from a Twitter follower who asks, “Do we have too many friends?” This leads to discussion of Satoshi Kanazawa’s “Savannah Principle“, the ideas behind “knowledge mobilization“, and even an introduction to the science of bibliometrics. Links from today’s show: * Why smart people are better off with fewer friends * Country roads, take me home… to my friends: How intelligence, population density, and friendship affect modern happiness  

Graham and Ray are deep into the whiskey, and are mumbling their way through this episode, which is ostensibly about whether an artificial computer intelligence can be …wait for it… artistic. Be forewarned: there was a weird hum when we did the recording, but it was removed in post-production. As a result, the audio quality might be a bit less than optimal. In this episode, we return to our regular “Facts & The Furious” and “The Celestial Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge” segments. Also, Graham spoils the ending to the movie, Her, because that’s what he does; and Ray plugs the great science-fiction novel, Spin. Links from today’s show: * “A novel written by AI passes the first round in a Japanese literary competition” * “Meet Nadine, the ’emotionally intelligent’ companion robot” * “Google’s AI Can Dream, and Here’s What it Looks Like” * “These Abstract Portraits Were Painted By An Artificial Intelligence Program” * “Trump Deep Nightmare: Google’s Deep Dream AI run against a Donald Trump speech”