Edinburgh Skeptics Presents...
156 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 4 years ago - ★★★ - 2 ratingsWelcome to the Edinburgh Skeptics Society podcast. We'll be bringing you talks from our guest speakers on a variety of topics in our Skeptics in the Pub podcast. There'll be talks from areas such as science, social issues, politics, and lots more, all with a view to promoting reason and critical thinking.
You'll also be able to see what makes our guest speakers tick with our 10 Questions segment, plus there'll be bonus content along the way that doesn't fit anywhere else.
Do make sure you rate or review us, and get in touch and let us know what we're doing right (or wrong!). Email us at [email protected]
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Episodes
Special: SciFest 2017 Lineup!
March 01, 2017 21:40 - 14 minutes - 5.14 MBThis week on the podcast we're bringing you details of our lineup of talks run under the banner of the 2017 Edinburgh International Science Festival. Join Mark Pentler and science festival curator for this year Heather Pentler as they take you night-by-night through the lineup. This year the theme is The Science of Crime. Expect lots of dead bodies and some truly remarkable techniques on display as we learn how science is being used to both secure and overturn convictions. Our science fest...
10 Questions: Prof. Peter Sandercock
February 22, 2017 21:44 - 13 minutes - 4.64 MBBefore he gave us his experience of modern medical trials Prof. Peter Sandercock sat down with Mark Pentler to talk about the challenges of keeping up with current research, who is at fault for people's misunderstanding of trial results, and what can be done about it. We also delve into Peter's journey into skepticism. Professor Peter Sandercock (Emeritus Professor of Neurology, University of Edinburgh) set up and ran the first International Stroke Trial (IST-1), the first ‘mega-trial’ in ...
Special: Clinical Trials: Medical Truth and Medical Fiction
February 22, 2017 21:30 - 24 minutes - 8.32 MBAs part of our effort to reach out to more people in Edinburgh and the surrounding area, we recently partnered with the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh for the first of what we hope will be a much-repeated event in the future. Two fantastic skeptical talks for an audience of people who had never really heard of us, and we're able to bring you one of those talks on the podcast this week. The College were incredibly gracious hosts and special mention must go to Iain Milne & Daisy Cuny...
SotF 2016: Amanda Drake Interview
February 14, 2017 21:00 - 10 minutes - 3.69 MBYes, this one's early too! Claudia Schaffner sits down with this week's speaker - Dr Amanda Drake - to discuss the issues raised in her talk about the potential for environmental factors to affect our lives. We learn more about Dr Drake's work and her motivations for entering this field of research. Dr Drake studied medicine at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and then undertook initial training in Paediatrics in Bristol, before moving to Edinburgh to undertake a PhD funded by the Br...
SotF 2016: How the Environment in Early Life Shapes Who We Are
February 14, 2017 20:56 - 41 minutes - 14.1 MBA whole day earlier than normal (ahahah, what the hell? - Ed.), it's the Edinburgh Skeptics Podcast! This week we're going back to the 2016 Fringe to hear from Dr Amanda Drake, from right here in Edinburgh. In this talk Dr Drake will discuss the evidence for environmental factors having an effect on our body and the potential mechanisms which might link experiences in early life with later health outcomes, including changes in chemical marks on genes – so called ‘epigenetic modifications’. F...
SotF 2016: James Mollard Interview
February 08, 2017 21:00 - 13 minutes - 4.53 MBFor our trip back to the Fringe this week we're hearing about the problems of communicating science (especially climate science) with James Mollard. Afterwards he spoke to our own Ewan Leeming in what became an uncooperatively noisy pub. You can find more from James at https://diaryofaclimatescientist.wordpress.com/ or by following him on twitter @mollyman90
SotF 2016: Wake up Sheeple!: Communicating Climate Science
February 08, 2017 20:58 - 44 minutes - 15.2 MBWhy is there a significant difference between what the public believe about climate change, and what climate scientists are writing about? James Mollard discusses where mistakes have been made in both science and climate science communication to the public. It will include a discussion on why uncertainties can be the bane of science communication, explore the damage that has been done to climate science through the years, and will explain how scientists are altering their methods of communic...
SotF 2016: Keir Liddle Interview
February 01, 2017 20:56 - 12 minutes - 4.29 MBDespite Mark Pentler clumsily saying this is the last episode of our Fringe 2016 podcasts while forgetting that he often releases them out of order, it definitely isn't... Recorded just before our Fringe edition of Devil's Advocate - EdSkeptics one-time regular-ish skeptical comedy panel show - EdSkeptics founder Keir Liddle joins current chair Mark Pentler to talk about the society, kids playing video games that are too young for them and whether video games will ever be taken seriously a...
SotF 2016: Mind Games: The Psychology of Video Games
February 01, 2017 20:54 - 45 minutes - 15.6 MBThis week we feature a Fringe 2016 talk and an interview courtesy of one of our old friends Keir Liddle. Psychology plays an important part in video games from attract mode to risk and reward mechanics. Games are often designed around psychological principles designers sometimes take for granted. Games also are associated with a number of social issues: violence and misogyny. This talk will look at the psychology of video games and their wider impact. Keir Liddle is a PhD at the Universi...
SotF 2016: Leonard Sym Interview
January 25, 2017 21:12 - 16 minutes - 5.75 MBIn this interview recorded during the 2016 Fringe our host Kitty Johnstone talks to Leonard Sym on the subject of radiocarbon denialism and its role in debunking theories like the Earth being 6000 years old. You know, the mad one. Leonard teaches management, both commercially and in higher education. Current work includes management education at middle and senior management level within the oil industry, as well as the design and delivery of management training for a range of organisations...
SotF 2016: It's Never That Old! Science Denial and Radiocarbon Dating
January 25, 2017 21:09 - 48 minutes - 16.8 MBThis week we're going back to the 2016 Fringe to look at Radiocarbon Dating, especially when it pertains to questioning the claims of religious people that the Earth is only 6000 years old. Join Leonard Sym as he takes us through this scientific field, and looks at how the dating system works, how it is calibrated, and how its limits of measurement have been pushed back to 50,000 years BP. We also have a great interview with Leonard where he goes into more detail about the subject. L...
SotF 2016: Stephen Makin Interview
January 19, 2017 23:00 - 14 minutes - 4.94 MBIf you enjoyed our own Dr Stephen Makin's talk on how to spot medical bullshit in the press and how to read a scientific paper, then grab this interview conducted by Heather Pentler. Stephen talks about the pressures doctors face to keep up with recent knowledge as well as talking about his own entry into skepticism. Apologies for the delay on this one, technical gremlins were among us...
SotF 2016: How To Read A Scientific Paper
January 18, 2017 22:10 - 36 minutes - 12.6 MBEvery day the newspapers have stories about ‘the latest scientific breakthrough’. But how do you tell if the latest paper is novel and ground breaking, or just a load of nonsense? Critically appraising scientific papers used to be a specialist skill, but it’s something anyone can do. What is good quality evidence? What is statistically significant? Just what is a p value? Stephen is a clinical lecturer in Geriatric Medicine at Glasgow University where his role combines research into agi...
SitP: Christmas Open Mic 2016
January 11, 2017 23:32 - 1 hour - 23.8 MBFor our December Skeptics in the Pub meeting we decided to try something different: An open mic! It was specifically aimed at people who thought they wanted to have a go at doing a skeptical talk but had never done one before. We had 7 speakers all doing different skeptical topics, and our committee member and host for the evening Heather Pentler had a buzzer (from the QI board game, no less!) to let people know when their time was up. All 7 talks are presented here in their entirety for y...
Special: A Closer Look at Theta Healing (Part 2)
December 27, 2016 19:22 - 45 minutes - 15.6 MBAfter last week's look at the purely bonkers practice of Theta Healing (registered trademark) join Mark Pentler, Heather Pentler, and Claudia Schaffner as we investigate Theta Healing's thoughts on racial DNA and religion, plus how mean cults can be about your personality. If you enjoyed these two specials, do let us know either on social media or via email: [email protected] - and don't forget to leave us a review on iTunes!
Special: A Closer Look at Theta Healing (Part 1)
December 21, 2016 20:57 - 59 minutes - 20.6 MBNote: Sorry about the first twenty minutes or so. We got a new mixing desk and I rather stupidly plugged the recorder into the wrong socket. Stick with it - Mark This week we're trying something a bit different. Yes it's a round table chat. No it's not about the week's skeptical news... Over the past year our committee member Heather Pentler has been investigating all sorts of woo - including healing, alternative medicine, all that malarkey - and she's built up quite a collection. The on...
SotF 2016: Anna Temp Interview
December 14, 2016 22:19 - 23 minutes - 8.03 MBIn our latest Fringe 2016 podcast PhD researcher Anna Temp joined us to discuss how human beings cope with working in extreme environments, specifically the people who were the subjects of her study on the Arctic island of Svalbard. In a slightly busy pub near the University of Edinburgh Mark joins Anna to discuss the issues in more depth. She'll be talking about penguins, supermarkets, and burglary and how it all links back to the human psyche. Anna is from Hamburg, Germany. When she wa...
SotF 2016: Humans In Extreme Environments
December 14, 2016 22:18 - 32 minutes - 11.3 MBThis talk from our 2016 Fringe run focuses on the people who spent a year at the Polish Polar Station, Hornsund, Svalbard. Svalbard is where Northern Greenland is, just on top of Norway instead of next to Canada. It’s the world’s northermost settlement. Anna’s research participants spent the calendar year between July 2015 and June 2016 there. Imagine yourself being unable to go to the supermarket for a year. Unable to go to your family’s birthdays, Christmas, Easter…for the whole year. This...
10 Questions - Ali Floyd
December 07, 2016 20:51 - 13 minutes - 4.77 MBAfter dazzling us with tales of the life of the professional science communicator (both bad and good. There was definitely some bad) he sat down with our own Mark Pentler to talk some more about the art of science communication and how difficult it is in this post-truth world. Ali was born and raised in a small village on the East coast of Scotland called Edinburgh, and at 17 ran away to the bright lights of the sprawling metropolis known as Glasgow. After gaining a degree in microbiology,...
SitP: Lies, Damn Lies and Science Communicators
December 07, 2016 20:49 - 1 hour - 20.7 MBWith the rise of the science centre as an educational experience a new profession has arisen: the professional, full-time science communicator. Distinct from researchers who carry out engagement as part of their work and unwilling to be teachers, these people roam the Earth, dispensing wisdom and fun, often with a healthy dose of foam and fire. But, 15 years on from the Millennium projects that spawned them, what state is the industry in? Are they providing a clarity beyond more traditional ...
SotF 2016: Tristram Wyatt Interview
November 30, 2016 20:40 - 10 minutes - 3.46 MBIn a surprisingly challenging and skeptical interview our own Claudia Schaffner grills Tristram Wyatt about the evidence for and against human pheromones, along with how we challenge bad science in the field (and in general). Tristram is a founding fellow of Kellogg College and a senior researcher at the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford. The second edition of his single-author book Pheromones and Animal Behavior (Cambridge University Press) won the Royal Society of Biology’s pri...
SotF 2016: Sexing Up Human Pheromones
November 30, 2016 20:26 - 37 minutes - 12.7 MBA corporation interested in patenting ‘human pheromones’ for profit created a long lasting myth that has roped in many scientists as well as the general public. Tristram Wyatt will describe what went wrong and what would be needed to establish that we do have pheromones (chemical signals within a species). One of the most promising leads is communication between mothers and babies, not sex. Tristram is a founding fellow of Kellogg College and a senior researcher at the Department of Zoolog...
SotF 2016: Fran Day Interview
November 23, 2016 22:06 - 12 minutes - 4.25 MBBefore Fran Day entertained us with talk of particles, collisions and the end of the world she sat down for a natter with our own Claudia Schaffner. Fran Day is a PhD student in theoretical physics at the University of Oxford. She is searching for hints of new particles by looking at the light from galaxies and galaxy clusters. Fran is a science comedian, using comedy to tackle topics ranging from quantum field theory to women in science. Twitter: @FrancescaDay Web: https://physicsfran.w...
SotF 2016: Physics Fan Fiction
November 23, 2016 22:05 - 42 minutes - 14.7 MBWhat do theoretical physicists do all day? It’s a funny story actually… Apocalypses and politics go hand in hand as University of Oxford physicist Fran Day takes a break from studying particles that probably don’t exist to take to the stage in a stand-up comedy spectacular that is witty, irreverent and occasionally surreal. Fran gets stuck in to how physicists are searching for new particles at the Large Hadron Collider and why it’s a good idea to study made up particles, with plenty of joke...
SotF 2016: Chris French Interview
November 16, 2016 21:25 - 23 minutes - 8.22 MBChris French is a bloody good bloke, so good he was the catalyst for Edinburgh Skeptics' birth. Unfortunately, he can't remember how... But not to worry! Kitty Johnstone has plenty of other things to ask him about, including ghosts, death, and the public's belief in the paranormal in general. Kitty chatted to Chris before his talk for us during the 2016 Fringe, and you can download that talk along side this podcast. Professor Chris French is Head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Un...
SotF 2016: The Psychology of Ghosts and Hauntings
November 16, 2016 20:31 - 45 minutes - 15.5 MBOpinion polls repeatedly show relatively high levels of belief in ghosts even in modern Western societies. Furthermore, a sizeable minority of the population claim to have personally encountered a ghost. This talk will consider a number of factors that may lead people to claim that they have experienced a ghost even though they may not in fact have done so. Topics covered will include hoaxes, sincere misinterpretation of natural phenomena, hallucinatory experiences and pareidolia (seeing thi...
SotF 2016: Kat Arney Interview
November 10, 2016 20:05 - 11 minutes - 4.04 MBBefore her talk for us as part of the Edinburgh Fringe 2016 Dr Kat Arney chatted to host and resident biologist Claudia Schaffner about all things genetics... Dr Kat Arney is a science writer and broadcaster whose work has featured on BBC Radio 4, the Naked Scientists and more. She recently published her first book, Herding Hemingway’s Cats (Bloomsbury Sigma), about how our genes work. Twitter: @harpistkat
SotF 2016: Herding Hemmingway's Cats
November 10, 2016 20:00 - 47 minutes - 16.2 MBThe language of genes has become common in the media. We know they make your eyes blue, your hair curly or your nose straight. We’re told that genes control the risk of cancer, heart disease, alcoholism or Alzheimer’s. The cost of DNA sequencing has plummeted from billions of pounds to a few hundred, and gene-based advances in medicine hold huge promise. There are 2.2 metres of DNA inside every one of your cells, encoding roughly 20,000 genes. These are the ‘recipes’ that tell our cells ho...
Special: QED 2016 Part 2
October 26, 2016 20:37 - 52 minutes - 18.1 MBHere is part 2 of our QED 2016 podcast special for you containing four more excellent interviews with some skeptical figures from the UK and internationally. Joining us for this episode are András Pintér, Jelena Levin & Pontus Böckman from the European Skeptics Podcast (0:51) magician Paul Zenon (14:09), UK skeptic Myles Power (25:34) and Australian broadcasting legend Dr Karl Kruszelnicki (37:44). We hope you've enjoyed our QED 2016 specials and we'll be back to normal servic...
Special: QED 2016 Part 1
October 19, 2016 21:25 - 48 minutes - 16.8 MBQED 2016 has been and gone by the time you read this, but Edinburgh Skeptics were there in force to soak up the atmosphere in a very rainy Manchester. During the weekend ace reporter Mark Pentler was able to catch up with some of the speakers at the conference and find out a bit more about their QED experience, their lives, and how they're helping to promote the skeptical cause. You'll hear from YouTube superstar Captain Disillusion (01:06), Oxford-based science communicator Sally Le Pag...
SotF 2016: Touring North Korea: Beyond the Potemkin
October 12, 2016 17:12 - 50 minutes - 17.2 MBTours of North Korea are criticised for being Potemkin tours where the visitors are on a state conveyor belt to see ‘the best of the best’, and see nothing ‘real’. This illustrated talk challenges that criticism and asks what a tour can really tell us beyond the western narrative about the country. We also have an exclusive interview with Robin alongside this podcast. Robin Tudge is a writer and tour leader, specialising in North Korea where he been visiting since 2001. Originally from L...
SotF 2016: Robin Tudge Interview
October 12, 2016 17:11 - 12 minutes - 4.26 MBJoin Claudia Schaffner as she chats to Robin Tudge about his tours of North Korea, how not to be an idiot if you're there, and what the people and the country is really like. Robin Tudge is a writer and tour leader, specialising in North Korea where he been visiting since 2001. Originally from London, he has lived and worked in Chicago, Moscow, Beijing, and Hanoi, and is the author of three books. Find out more by following him on twitter @robintudge
10 Questions: Rumit Somaiya
October 05, 2016 19:56 - 15 minutes - 5.34 MBRumit Somaiya has spent the past 25 years touring casinos throughout the world with his team. Their aim is simply to overcome the ‘House Advantage’ using all cerebral methods available, in order to amass fortunes. Most people don’t understand the maths of gambling and sadly addiction is a major issue. Rumit spoke for us at our September Skeptics in the Pub event and while his massively-visual talk wasn't really podcastable (seriously, he turned the Banshee Labyrinth into a casino), we were...
SotF 2016: Michael Marshall Interview
September 28, 2016 18:08 - 16 minutes - 5.83 MBWell, we did say that EdSkeptics regular Rumit Somaiya's talk would be out this week, but due to "scheduling conflicts" (heh) it will be delayed another week. We're really happy to bring you a great interview as an alternative, however, as newly-crowned committee member Heather Pentler talks to our old friend Michael Marshall about the media bring crap, weird medical claims and athletes' obsession with woo. Michael Marshall is the Project Director of the Good Thinking Society and the Vice ...
SciFest 2016: Discovering the Materials of Tomorrow...
September 21, 2016 20:40 - 1 hour - 22.3 MBOn this week's podcast we're going back to the Spring for the last talk from our Science Festival programme. How do we know that DNA is a double-helix? Why is diamond beautiful but graphite is boring, when they are both made of carbon? Why are there no room-temperature superconductors? These are all questions from the field of materials physics, and their answers are what drive our understanding of everything from flexible computer screens, advanced drug delivery, and how powerful the next g...
SotF 2016: Our Friends On The Fringe
September 14, 2016 20:45 - 45 minutes - 15.5 MBHomeopathic solutions are so dilute that there is often only 1 active molecule for every 10^60 molecules of water, or, to put it another way, if you took enough homeopathic “medicine” to equal the mass of the Earth, you would have a 1 in 5 Billion chance of getting 1 active molecule. Here at Skeptics on the Fringe we do things differently, and for our second podcast from this year's Fringe we guarantee that 100% of your time with us will be entertaining, informative, and pure, Undiluted Br...
SotF 2016: Prof. David Nutt Interview
September 07, 2016 22:40 - 12 minutes - 4.14 MBBefore wowing two full rooms of people with an impassioned defence of reason, logic and the scientific method, Prof. David Nutt sat down with our very own Claudia Schaffner for a little chat. David Nutt is a psychiatrist at Imperial College London. Here he uses a range of brain imaging techniques to explore the causes of addiction and other psychiatric disorders and to search for new treatments. He has published over 400 original research papers, a similar number of reviews and books chapt...
SotF 2016: Science & Drug and Alcohol Policy
September 07, 2016 22:31 - 36 minutes - 12.6 MBWe're back! Finally! And we have a brilliant talk for our first episode after the Fringe - Professor David Nutt! We had two full rooms (main and overspill) for this event - our most attended event in ages - and it was a treat to hear somebody of his calibre entertain and enthral us with his thoughts. His talk explores the inconsistencies and injustices that emerge from the un-scientific methods we use to control alcohol and other drugs. He explains how there are more rational and functiona...
Special: Thank You For Smoking
August 03, 2016 19:49 - 18 minutes - 6.5 MBAs we approach our busiest month we wanted to give you a parting gift until we return in September. This week we have a recording of a talk by one of our committee - David Frank - about the tricks of the trade used by massive global cigarette companies in their advertising - especially in the face of strong legislation. David delivered the talk as part of our monthly film nights in conjunction with the British Science Association before the film Thank You For Smoking. Don't forget! If you'...
SitP: Summer Skeptacular Fundraiser 2016!
July 29, 2016 21:45 - 1 hour - 21 MBIt’s time for our Summer Skeptacular Fundraiser With @AshWhiffin @stephenlingham & @gussiegrippers. We have a great line-up of comedy, poetry, insects and pelvic floor exercise for you, recorded in mid July as we prepared for the 2016 Fringe run. Ash Whiffen - who loves insects, particularly the ones that eat dead bodies - will be telling us about ‘Maggots, Murder & Museums’. Stephen Lingham – our Resident Poet - will be doing stand-up poetry which is provocative, funny, controversial and ...
SotF 2015: End of Fringe Binge!
July 21, 2016 21:41 - 41 minutes - 14.3 MBSo our sixth Skeptics on the Fringe draws to an end, and we celebrate with our now legendary last night party. Recorded on the 28th August 2015 we bring you our End of Fringe Binge! Join us when as we invite friends and Fringe performers to do 10 minute turns and the best advice we can give to the audience is to keep a tight grip and expect the unexpected. In this recording we hear from: @mmaarrow @BBWMelody @stickybiscuits @harrybakerpoet We'll be back with some recordings of our...
SotF 2015: Sticky Biscuits Interview
July 21, 2016 21:40 - 17 minutes - 6.07 MBAfter their amazing performance for us at our 2015 End of Fringe Binge, David Frank sits down with Sticky Biscuits to discuss their music, their influences and their slightly disgusting name. @stickybiscuits
Special: Fringe 2016 Lineup Announcement!
July 13, 2016 17:05 - 39 minutes - 13.7 MBThe time has come to release our 2016 Skeptics on the Fringe lineup, and we thought we'd try something a little different. Join 4 of our committee Ewan Leeming, Mark Pentler, Claudia Schaffner and Sean Slater as we preview the lineup, discuss the topics and take the piss out of Skeptics With A K a wee bit... We'll be taking a break during August to actually run the Fringe show, which takes place from 6th-28th August. Every show starts at 7:50pm at the Banshee Labyrinth on Niddry Street (ju...
10 Questions: The Philosophy of Star Trek
July 06, 2016 21:21 - 9 minutes - 3.26 MBLike science fiction in general, Star Trek is a show of ideas, with a number of episodes exploring such philosophical questions as: What is it to a person? What is it to be the same person over time and change? Dr Clio Bellenis entertained at our June monthly Skeptics in the Pub with a fantastic talk about the philosophy of Star Trek - a talk which included FAR too many clips from the show for us to be able to use without getting legal letters, sadly. She also asks if some of the characteris...
SotF 2015: Thomas Hind Interview
June 29, 2016 20:23 - 18 minutes - 6.25 MBAfter an excellent talk during our 2015 Fringe line up, we interviewed Thomas Hind a full 10 months later (!) to find out more about the physics (or not) behind all kinds of ghosts. We also find out about his father, who - remarkably - was an exorcist for the Church of England in their "Ministry of Deliverance" department. We are not making this up. Thomas Hind is a former physicist turned science communicator turned comedian. He studied Physics at the University of Glasgow and followed it...
SotF 2015: The Physics of Ghosts
June 29, 2016 20:18 - 34 minutes - 12 MBIn the most haunted pub in Edinburgh, we ask “What are ghosts made of?” and follow up by asking why do they haunt specific places? How do they move around and go through walls and throw things across rooms when nobody is looking? The obvious answer is they don’t – but what if they did? How would it work? All of these questions and more will be answered, interweaved with real life ghost stories from Thomas’ granddad’s 50 years as an exorcist with the Church of England. These will be debun...
SotF 2015: Putting Climate Change Under Pressure
June 22, 2016 19:03 - 32 minutes - 11.3 MBClimate Change is the largest challenge facing the world right now. Each year Skeptics on the Fringe has looked at different aspects of climate change, such public policy, or how to measure its impact. This year we’ve invited one of Edinburgh’s PhD students to share with us her research into an unusual approach which may help us tackle it. Under extreme conditions, such as high temperatures or pressures, materials behave differently to how they do at the conditions we experience everyday. ...
SotF 2015: Lucy Pickering Interview
June 15, 2016 21:21 - 16 minutes - 5.58 MBJoin EdSkeptics regular Kitty Johnstone as she sits down with Lucy Pickering to talk public toilets, knickers, and cottaging (yes, really). Dr Pickering is a lecturer in medical anthropology at the University of Glasgow. She first got interested in toilets during fieldwork with countercultural Americans in Hawai’i, and having to get used to using a composting toilet. She has since published on composting toilets, and on toilet use in heroin use and recovery. She has recently shifted her ...
SotF 2015: The Secret Life of the Public Toilet
June 15, 2016 21:16 - 29 minutes - 10.1 MBWhy do fringe goers spend so much time looking for a loo? Why can’t we just wee in the street? Where do homeless people wash? In seeking to answer these and other questions, Lucy explores that most mundane of objects: the toilet. Today every home has one, but they are increasingly vanishing from our streets. In their place have appeared toilets in department stores and cafes, pay-to-use toilets in stations and the like. But is a toilet in a shopping mall public? Who can easily use it? Who ca...
SotF 2015: Why is IQ So Controversial?
June 08, 2016 18:18 - 50 minutes - 17.5 MBSmart people don’t like the idea of IQ testing. Even though the tests are some of the most useful measures we have in psychology, they have a toxic reputation: mention IQ in polite company and you’ll be accused of being an elitist, or perhaps worse. This talk will first make the case that IQ scores are meaningful: we’ll discuss the evidence from a century of research in psychology, neuroscience, genetics, and medicine. Then, we’ll discuss the history of the ‘IQ controversy’. Why are these ...