Tuesday Night With George Noory - "Science Discoveries&

Kaztronic · Post by **Kaztronic** » 07-19-2011 10:36 AM

Looks like an interesting program tonight.

In the first hour, George will be interviewing actor Gary Sinise, who will be discussing the Gary Sinise Foundation - an organization dedicated to honoring, and serving Veterans, first responders, active military, and people in need.

Gary Sinise is a cool guy, and this sounds like an interesting project he has embarked upon. More can be read at the website for the foundation:

Gary Sinise Foundation

Moving in to the second hour, George will be interviewing Charles Seife, an excellent interview who has appeared on the program numerous times. According to the C2C website, they will be discussing the end of the space shuttle program, as well as other recent discoveries made in outer space. Also of note, they will be discussing "how manipulation of data is fueling the economic crisis" - which could make for a particularly interesting segment of tonight's program should Mr. Seife bring some interesting data to the conversation. It's the kind of topic that could make for an informative interview should George be up to the task tonight and ready to dig in to what his guest is trying to say.

Charles Seife is the author of numerous books, including "Sun In A Bottle" which I found to be particularly interesting. His latest book, "Proofiness" looks fascinating and is definitely worth checking out:

~snip~

Seife conducts a thorough investigation into why so many of us find it so easy to believe things that are patently ridiculous. Why, for example, does anyone take seriously the idea that some vaccines can cause autism, or that athletes who wear red have a competitive advantage? It’s all comes down to numbers, the author argues, and the ways they can be used to make people believe things that are not true. He introduces us to the concepts of Potemkin numbers (deliberately deceptive statistics), “disestimation” (turning a number into a falsehood by taking it too literally), fruit-packing (a variety of deceptive techniques including cherry-picking data and comparing apples to oranges), and “randumbness” (finding causality in random events). He explores the many ways we misunderstand simple mathematical terms—confusing average, for example, with typical—and our natural tendency to treat numbers as truth and to see patterns where none exist.

Amazon.com

joan roberts · Post by **joan roberts** » 07-19-2011 02:38 PM

Good to see you Kaz, moderating tonite?:)

Kaztronic · Post by **Kaztronic** » 07-19-2011 03:07 PM

Yeah, I'm trying to get in a routine of hosting twice a week, Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Being on the East Coast makes it difficult to host the ORR more often than that, but it looks like pegassus is stepping up to do some hosting as well, so perhaps we can get a 7-day schedule going soon.

Hope to see you later tonight!

joan roberts · Post by **joan roberts** » 07-19-2011 07:26 PM

Glad to hear that.....Dale must be very busy:)

Kaztronic · Post by **Kaztronic** » 07-19-2011 11:59 PM

Well, it's just about showtime

Looking forward to the interview with Charles Seife tonight, should prove to be quite interesting. I am hoping he provides some specific examples of the statistical manipulation he detailed in his book "Proofiness".

Kaztronic · Post by **Kaztronic** » 07-20-2011 12:05 AM

If you want to read up a bit on one of the topics Charles Seife will be discussing tonight; "how manipulation of data is fueling the economic crisis", Wikipedia has some good background info.

Wikipedia

Kaztronic · Post by **Kaztronic** » 07-20-2011 12:07 AM

And away we go.........

Kaztronic · Post by **Kaztronic** » 07-20-2011 12:09 AM

You know, hearing about that guy being shot over his dripping air conditioner........ people are animals. You can't help but think about how damn far we still have to go on the evolutionary path before we can honestly claim that humankind is "civilized".

Kaztronic · Post by **Kaztronic** » 07-20-2011 12:11 AM

Who the hell uses a coupon on a first date?

Is it just me, or is the idea of a guy picking up the tab on a date outdated? I mean, does that not fly in the face of the desire for real equality between Men and Women?

Kaztronic · Post by **Kaztronic** » 07-20-2011 12:15 AM

Here is some video of the "Lt. Dan Band"

Kaztronic · Post by **Kaztronic** » 07-20-2011 12:24 AM

What Gary Sinise is doing, by using his time to serve active troops, as well as Veterans is truly wonderful.

I just did a little reading up on the USO, which still has 130 centers around the world serving our troops, and their families. Of note, Hollywood seems to have changed it's tune over the years when it comes to visiting and supporting our troops. Looking at the caliber of star power during the Vietnam, and Korean wars as compared to those celebrities who travel out to entertain out troops shows a major difference in the attitude of Hollywood towards the military. The A-list is gone. The current stars are mainly sports, and country stars. Gary Sinise is a notable exception.

Kaztronic · Post by **Kaztronic** » 07-20-2011 12:44 AM

It's fascinating that the Federal government is still obsessed with marijuana, and seems intent on stepping on the decisions being made by the states on this subject.

Kaztronic · Post by **Kaztronic** » 07-20-2011 12:59 AM

OK, first hour in the books - not a bad start to the program.

I don't know about anyone else, but I find the news break at the top of the hour to be boring as hell the second time you've heard it as there are so few updates in the middle of the night, so once again for your viewing pleasure - an alternative:

Kaztronic · Post by **Kaztronic** » 07-20-2011 01:24 AM

George is absolutely right about Nasa lacking a goal.

Kaztronic · Post by **Kaztronic** » 07-20-2011 01:36 AM

Alrighty, well it seems I am on my own tonight, so going to listen to the rest of the program from bed.

Looks like an interesting show tomorrow night, so hope to see some of you then