The Bogosity Forum

General Bogosity => The Podcast => Topic started by: MrBogosity on November 15, 2015, 06:00:34 PM

Title: Podcast for 16 November 2015
Post by: MrBogosity on November 15, 2015, 06:00:34 PM
[mp3]http://podcast.bogosity.tv/mp3s/BogosityPodcast-2015-11-16.mp3[/mp3]


Co-Host: Chris Hangartner

News of the Bogus:
27:53 - Biggest Bogon Emitter: Hillary Clinton https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/11/08/hillary-clinton-most-charter-schools-dont-take-the-hardest-to-teach-kids-or-if-they-do-they-dont-keep-them/
40:36 - Idiot Extraordinaire: The TSA http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article44080464.html

This Week's Quote: "More people are killed every year by pigs than by sharks, which shows you how good we are at evaluating risk." —Bruce Schneier
Title: Re: Podcast for 16 November 2015
Post by: Dallas Wildman on November 16, 2015, 01:44:02 AM
The defendant in the Texas case was Cameron Todd Willingham (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameron_Todd_Willingham), it's too bad the Attorney General deserves to be fired but won't be.
At the time what little we knew (or perhaps just Texas) about fire back then it was easier to believe that it was arson.  It was only until 2009 after being reviewed by the Texas Forensic Science Commision, and fire investigators did the evidence become unconvincing.  It's almost if Mr Willingham himself was convicted like a alleged "witch" during the Salem witch trials.
Title: Re: Podcast for 16 November 2015
Post by: MrBogosity on November 16, 2015, 05:44:10 AM
Quote from: Dallas Wildman on November 16, 2015, 01:44:02 AM
The defendant in the Texas case was Cameron Todd Willingham (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameron_Todd_Willingham), it's too bad the Attorney General deserves to be fired but won't be.
At the time what little we knew (or perhaps just Texas) about fire back then it was easier to believe that it was arson.  It was only until 2009 after being reviewed by the Texas Forensic Science Commision, and fire investigators did the evidence become unconvincing.  It's almost if Mr Willingham himself was convicted like a alleged "witch" during the Salem witch trials.

That's the guy! Although from what I remember the experts said that the techniques the investigators used to determine it was arson amounted to "folklore" and was never accepted science.
Title: Re: Podcast for 16 November 2015
Post by: evensgrey on November 16, 2015, 09:27:27 PM
Quote from: MrBogosity on November 16, 2015, 05:44:10 AM
That's the guy! Although from what I remember the experts said that the techniques the investigators used to determine it was arson amounted to "folklore" and was never accepted science.

That certainly fits with at least Texas having a poor understanding of fire at the time.

Incidentally, I think your quote this week kind of misses it's own point.  It isn't that pigs are more dangerous than sharks that results in them killing more people every year than sharks, but that there are vastly more interactions between pigs and people than potentially dangerous sharks and people.  (There are probably a lot more people killed every year by jellyfish than sharks, but most of those are probably missed as jellyfish kills because it's hard to detect even if it's looked for and most jurisdictions don't.)
Title: Re: Podcast for 16 November 2015
Post by: MrBogosity on November 17, 2015, 07:01:33 AM
Quote from: evensgrey on November 16, 2015, 09:27:27 PM
That certainly fits with at least Texas having a poor understanding of fire at the time.

Incidentally, I think your quote this week kind of misses it's own point.  It isn't that pigs are more dangerous than sharks that results in them killing more people every year than sharks, but that there are vastly more interactions between pigs and people than potentially dangerous sharks and people.  (There are probably a lot more people killed every year by jellyfish than sharks, but most of those are probably missed as jellyfish kills because it's hard to detect even if it's looked for and most jurisdictions don't.)

The point is, we're very bad at evaluating risk. As the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis has consistently shown for decades, people overestimate smaller risks and underestimate bigger risks. Your risk of dying in a car crash is MUCH bigger than your risk of dying from a gunman, but look at the political discourse!
Title: Re: Podcast for 16 November 2015
Post by: MrBogosity on November 17, 2015, 07:02:31 AM
I'm reminded of that show with those stupid women (don't remember which one) where John Stossel told them more Americans would die from deer than from Ebola. They made fun of him for saying it, but he was right!
Title: Re: Podcast for 16 November 2015
Post by: evensgrey on November 23, 2015, 11:28:49 AM
Quote from: MrBogosity on November 17, 2015, 07:02:31 AM
I'm reminded of that show with those stupid women (don't remember which one) where John Stossel told them more Americans would die from deer than from Ebola. They made fun of him for saying it, but he was right!

Sounds like the sort of thing the kind of idiots they have on The View would say.
Title: Re: Podcast for 16 November 2015
Post by: MrBogosity on November 23, 2015, 02:14:24 PM
Quote from: evensgrey on November 23, 2015, 11:28:49 AM
Sounds like the sort of thing the kind of idiots they have on The View would say.

It was either that show or one of its imitators.