TheESP – Ep. #422 – Surrounded by lies

A bit of a correction first, regarding earthquakes. Then we get some Vatican news with speculation about a Swedish ‘papabile’, plus idiotic statements about genders. In TWISH we hear about Paolo Frisi, an Italian seminary dropout who in the 18th century went on to become a polymath. Then we have a look at the news:

• EUROPE: Whooping cough on the rise – due to covid
• BELGIUM: Alternative medicine and god hindering willingness to vaccinate?
• FRANCE: Didier Raoult and his unethical research

Long time charlatan Thomas Erikson finally gets his dues when he receives a Really Wrong Award as his latest book on nonsense personality types is published.

Enjoy!

Segments: Intro; Greetings; TWISH; News; Really Wrong; Quote and Farewell; Outro; Out-Takes

0:00:27 INTRO

0:00:51 GREETINGS

• Correction: The notion that small earthquake shocks could release energy to avoid a bigger quake is a myth
  • USGS: https://www.usgs.gov/programs/earthquake-hazards/earthquake-magnitude-energy-release-and-shaking-intensity
• Swedish Cardinal Arborelius one of three “papabile” according to Le Figaro
  • Svd: https://www.svd.se/a/5BmoeK/vem-ar-pavekandidaten-anders-arborelius
• The Infinite stupidity of the Vatican
  • the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/08/vatican-infinite-dignity-declaration-gender-fluidity-surrogacy

0:12:20 TWISH – THIS WEEK IN SKEPTICAL HISTORY

• 13 April 1728: Italian mathematician Paolo Frisi was born
  • MacTutor: https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Frisi/

0:18:19 NEWS

• EUROPE: Whooping cough on the rise – due to covid
  • Politico: https://www.politico.eu/article/whooping-cough-back-europe-covid-fault/
• BELGIUM: Alternative medicine and god hindering willingness to vaccinate?
  • UC Louvain: https://perso.uclouvain.be/vincent.yzerbyt/Van%20Oost%20et%20al.%20EJSP%202024.pdf
• FRANCE: Didier Raoult and his unethical research
  • Retraction Watch: https://retractionwatch.com/2024/04/03/embattled-researcher-didier-raoult-earns-dozens-more-expressions-of-concern-and-another-retraction/

0:29:16 REALLY WRONG

• Really Wrong: Surrounded by lies – Thomas Erikson strikes again
  • Arbetet: https://arbetet.se/2024/04/10/forfattaren-till-omgiven-av-idioter-har-skrivit-en-granslost-puckad-bok/

0:41:31 QUOTE AND FAREWELL

1. “

Educated guesswork’ is what science is. You form hypotheses, test them against the evidence, and if they fit the evidence, you can assume you’ve got close to the truth.

1. “

 

1. /

Alice Roberts

(19 May 1973 – ), English academic, TV presenter, author and former president of Humanists UK. /

0:43:24 OUTRO

0:44:39 OUT-TAKES