The Skeptics Guide #908 - Dec 03 2022 (Ad Free)
Added 2022-12-03 16:23:27 +0000 UTCQuickie with Bob: Milky Way Stellar halo; News Items: Plan to Occupy Moon, Cannabis for Pain, Acupuncture for Backpain, New SI Units, 911 Call Analysis; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Science or Fiction Protocol; Science or Fiction
Comments
You're supposed to specifically say you need an ambulance when you call 911? I've always just assumed you tell them the situation, and the professionals answering the call know what to do about it. Oh no, I must be on so many watch lists right now.
Mikah Woodward
2022-12-04 01:32:30 +0000 UTCRegarding police tactics: A decade ago, here in the UK, there was an investigative report on child abuse cases. Doctors were advised to look for signs of abuse (there were numerous infamous child abuse cases in the news). When "discovered" they would call the police and Child Protective Services. The parents, oblivious of the call, would be greeted with people flooding the doctor's office, told they were child abusers and their child was being taken off them. This resulted in these cases being sent to a special, secret court (for the child's protection, of course). This star chamber, which exists outside the normal legal channels, had a single "expert" (whose identity was kept secret) that testified that child abuse was the only possible cause of "injuries." (I don't recall if the parents were allowed a lawyer.) In one instance, the parents were accused of abusing the middle child only, but the authorities didn't take the other two children from the parents. One father said that after being questioned over and over, he spent so much time trying to think how he might have "abused" his child (authorities are saying over and over they have proof of abuse) that he eventually believed he had even if he couldn't recall how. In a different case, the parents were able to prove that the mother was vitamin D deficient and passed that deficiency on through breastfeeding, and the child had rickets. Rickets didn't (at that time) show up in x-rays. Rickets was "defeated" a few decades ago through exposure to sunlight, since then, people increased their use of sunblock to protect from UV, which is preventing the natural production of Vit D. Almost nothing here is fortified the way it is in the US. The court took children off their parents, allowed an annual supervised visit until the child was adopted, and in cases where mistakes were made (at least acknowledged), the courts refused to return the children to their natural parents deeming that taking them from the adoptive home would be too traumatic for them. Having a very young child at the time, this was scary. I made sure to buy fortified milk.
Asymetra
2022-12-03 22:51:06 +0000 UTCAnecdote: Having watched Penn & Teller's BS series, they did an episode on cannabis. They interviewed a father whose son suffered from (and died of) leukemia (if memory serves). Given the difference between being drugged up with morphine and using cannabis, his son experienced a greater quality of life at the end with the latter. I suspect, like a lot of things, people are affected differently. Cannabis shouldn't be ruled out, but "self-medicating" is probably more from the dopamine hit/addiction than anything else.
Asymetra
2022-12-03 21:48:07 +0000 UTC
