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Offline PG109

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Episode #81
« Reply #75 on: Feb 16, 2007, 08:42:20 AM »
Quote from: "Chico"
By the way, I'd really like to see the panel discussing the aspartame scare. There's so much crap I read on e-mails and hear from other people claiming that aspartame is dangerous to your health. Maybe I'll post a topic on this later.


I totally agree with this statement.  The aspartame scare is one of the most prevalent examples of people who hate or fear new technology scaremongering about something that is totally safe and basically has no drawbacks.  It's just so absurd to me that some people see something that comes out that will only either make your life easier or have no impact on your life and immediately feel that they must stop it.  But I'm sure that's what the true believers say about us when we talk about how chiropractic or acupuncture or something is bullshit.  The difference, of course, is that the kind of stuff we get excited about is stuff that has undergone intense scrutiny.
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quot;if you looat the world and think there is a God nothin make sense but if you see it fro a naturalistivc perspectiove all the shti goin on is exactly what youd expect-"  -The Always Eloquent Richard Dawkins

Offline Swagomatic

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Episode #81
« Reply #76 on: Feb 16, 2007, 04:30:16 PM »
OK, OK. OK. I think I have this nailed.  The puzzle answer is . . . the sequence of Indonesian Sen in a lot package of bills being sold on E-bay http://cgi.ebay.com/Lot-Of-5-1-5-10-25-50-Sen-INDONESIA-UNC_W0QQitemZ290082256916QQihZ019QQcategoryZ3098QQcmdZViewItem (you can paste that whole hoohaw into your browser and see it for yourself).   This is the the type of answer you come up with when your best response to a question is to "Google it".
 :D

Or, you could just click on it.  Wow, isn't techonlogy amazing.
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Offline skidoo

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Episode #81
« Reply #77 on: Feb 16, 2007, 05:03:31 PM »
Quote from: "Swagomatic"
OK, OK. OK. I think I have this nailed.  The puzzle answer is . . . the sequence of Indonesian Sen in a lot package of bills being sold on E-bay http://cgi.ebay.com/Lot-Of-5-1-5-10-25-50-Sen-INDONESIA-UNC_W0QQitemZ290082256916QQihZ019QQcategoryZ3098QQcmdZViewItem (you can paste that whole hoohaw into your browser and see it for yourself).   This is the the type of answer you come up with when your best response to a question is to "Google it".
 :D

Or, you could just click on it.  Wow, isn't techonlogy amazing.

Didn't I see those numbers on a hatch somewhere?
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Offline 6for2

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Episode #81
« Reply #78 on: Feb 21, 2007, 11:48:34 AM »
I'm a couple of episodes behind, but my oldest daughter, Ruth, is a Skeptics Guide addict.  She is 11, turning 12 in May.
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Offline jason

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Episode #81
« Reply #79 on: Feb 22, 2007, 01:17:19 AM »
Quote from: "Paul Ganssle"
The aspartame scare is one of the most prevalent examples of people who hate or fear new technology scaremongering about something that is totally safe and basically has no drawbacks.

While that may be true for most, there will always be some who could have a problem with it. In my case, eating foods sweetened with the stuff gives me a sore throat; this was affecting me for several months before I finally track down the causal agent.

So, while I entirely agree with the sentiment, I suspect nothing is "totally safe". Given our genetic diversity, pretty much everything is going to have an adverse effect on some (usually small) proportion of the population.
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Offline skidoo

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Episode #81
« Reply #80 on: Feb 22, 2007, 06:37:52 AM »
Quote from: "jason"
While that may be true for most, there will always be some who could have a problem with it. In my case, eating foods sweetened with the stuff gives me a sore throat; this was affecting me for several months before I finally track down the causal agent.

If you don't mind me asking, what aspartame-containing foodstuffs were you consuming in sufficient quantity to cause a sore throat? What specifically did you cut out of your diet to make the sore throats go away?
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Offline jason

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Episode #81
« Reply #81 on: Feb 22, 2007, 09:20:59 PM »
Quote from: "skidoo"
If you don't mind me asking, what aspartame-containing foodstuffs were you consuming in sufficient quantity to cause a sore throat? What specifically did you cut out of your diet to make the sore throats go away?

The specific food that caused the heaviest reaction was an artificially-sweetened jelly that I'd started eating. I had a similar (though milder) reaction in some other cases. The common denominator turned out to be the aspartame. The labelling laws in Australia are strict with respect to identifying all additives, which makes it practical to identify the potential causes of such reactions.
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quot;Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." - Philip K. Dick
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Offline PG109

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Episode #81
« Reply #82 on: Feb 22, 2007, 10:07:17 PM »
Quote from: "jason"
Quote from: "Paul Ganssle"
The aspartame scare is one of the most prevalent examples of people who hate or fear new technology scaremongering about something that is totally safe and basically has no drawbacks.

While that may be true for most, there will always be some who could have a problem with it. In my case, eating foods sweetened with the stuff gives me a sore throat; this was affecting me for several months before I finally track down the causal agent.

So, while I entirely agree with the sentiment, I suspect nothing is "totally safe". Given our genetic diversity, pretty much everything is going to have an adverse effect on some (usually small) proportion of the population.


Oh, yeah, I was basically exaggerating when I said "totally safe".  I mean, even water isn't "totally safe".  But in the same way most people would say that peanuts are totally safe (even though many people are allergic to them), I would say that aspartame is totally safe.
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quot;if you looat the world and think there is a God nothin make sense but if you see it fro a naturalistivc perspectiove all the shti goin on is exactly what youd expect-"  -The Always Eloquent Richard Dawkins

Offline Chico

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Episode #81
« Reply #83 on: Feb 23, 2007, 12:04:07 AM »
I've just posted a topic on aspartame to encourage a discussion by the panel:

http://www.skepchick.org/skepticsguide/viewtopic.php?p=24781#24781
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Offline penanggalen

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Chimps making tools!
« Reply #84 on: Feb 23, 2007, 07:54:31 AM »
Remember the science or fiction where Rebecca and Steve argued over whether chimps could modify or make tools?  Well, here they're making spears by chewing on the ends of sticks to sharpen them, and to hunt!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070223/ap_on_sc/chimpanzee_hunting;_ylt=AnTqTzvQD9gCbd6SXXb57WdxieAA

Course, this is now and not thousands of years ago, but it's still news.

Cheers,

Justin[/code]
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Offline mindme

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Episode #81
« Reply #85 on: Feb 23, 2007, 08:21:32 AM »
Technically it was about crafting stone tools.
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Offline skidoo

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Episode #81
« Reply #86 on: Feb 23, 2007, 08:46:25 PM »
Sounds as if Adam Savage is actually serious about trying to prove Natural Selection on Mythbusters. Huh.
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Offline Winick88

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Episode #81
« Reply #87 on: Feb 23, 2007, 09:31:19 PM »
I never cared for that show.
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Offline Kerry Maxwell

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Episode #81
« Reply #88 on: Feb 23, 2007, 09:43:47 PM »
As much as I personally consider anyone actually enjoys *diet* soft drinks an aberrant freak, it turns out I married into, and sired members of this population. I was also a card carrying member of the Aspartame Alarmist Squad for years. This is somewhat ironic considering both my grandfather and father were diabetics. As I've mentioned before on this forum, sugar can kill you much deader than any artificial sweetener, if you are diabetic.

Kerry M
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Offline Kerry Maxwell

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Episode #81
« Reply #89 on: Feb 23, 2007, 09:50:56 PM »
Quote from: "Winick88"
I never cared for that show.



Skepticality or Mythbusters?

One I can forgive :lol: …

Kerry M
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