The Skeptics Guide #903 - Oct 29 2022 (Ad Free)
Added 2022-10-29 14:08:48 +0000 UTCSpecial Guest: Richard Saunders; News Items: Trust in Scientists, Reliability of World Energy, Video Games and Cognition, New Aging Technique, NASA UAP Study; What's The Word: Regression; Who's That Noisy; Science or Fiction
Comments
This storage "problem" to me seems mostly psychological, a motivation quashing meme.
Jim Sky
2022-10-30 05:01:22 +0000 UTCThere's two 'fictions' in your show notes
Steve Nerlich
2022-10-29 21:41:56 +0000 UTCOnce again, the SGU got the whole nuclear vs renewable thing wrong. This is what they are not getting: 1. The biggest problem with nuclear is the cost and time of plant construction. They are fine once built, although you need to understand that the land and materials used will become radioactive and can't be used for anything else ever. 2. The ONLY reason why we don't have enough storage for wind and solar is that we just simply haven't built it. We could build enough of it along with the production of wind and solar so that the entire grid could be powered this way, just like people like Bill Nye (who the never mention) are talking about. For example, electricity can split water into hydrogen and oxygen, and massive amounts of hydrogen can be stored indefinitely in large containers, after which they can run hydrogen gas turbines that work just like natural gas turbines - THEREFORE STORAGE CAN BE ABUNDANT AND EVERYWHERE. Why aren't we using them? There is absolutely no reason to do that when you have large amounts of stored natural gas, which we do. And, while we are building new storage, we can take advantage of existing storage we have already built, just not put to use. The total generating capacity of the Grand Coulee Dam is 6,809 megawatts and its average annual energy output is about 2,300 megawatts. The total generating capacity of the Hoover Dam is 2,080 megawatts and its average annual energy output is about 478 megawatts. By using solar and wind to pump water upstream to those two dams, we could increase their output by as much as 6,111 megawatts, with months of storage. The same is true for many other hydroelectric dams.
Ted Apelt
2022-10-29 21:34:14 +0000 UTCOn the topic of gaming and education, look up "Why Gifted Kids Are Actually Special Needs" by HealthyGamerGG. He makes the point that 'gifted' kids have special educational needs in the sense that they're not challenged enough. So many people seem to assume that 'talents' (or worse, supernatural blessings) are a replacement for skill-building. The kids start out having an easy time in early schooling, but then grow bored because the class moves at a pace that's too slow to be engaging for them. Then they often don't develop the study skills they'll eventually need when they hit harder subjects. Many of them do find video games engaging because the game offers novel challenges and progresses at whatever pace the player is able to set. Kids need some challenge to stay engaged, and they need the feeling of little progress rewards that don't also come with a load of pressure from the adults in their lives. On the topic of the anti-gaming crap: Practically every time a form of media is developed that is considered 'new', it becames the focus of some moral panic. Music, comics, the 'satanic panic' against D&D, video games, the list of entertainments which have come under fire goes on. Who is generally leading the fearful and angry mobs? The churches who don't want any more competition for your attention and money. The 'protestant work ethic' runs counter to getting work done, because it isn't 'hard' work that's fulfilling and self-motivating, it's the engagement that comes from being challenged and feeling that your efforts are meaningful.
The Illuminaughty
2022-10-29 18:51:50 +0000 UTCI am glad Cara is in Florida, who desperately needs her.
Ted Apelt
2022-10-29 17:51:40 +0000 UTC
