Scott Douglas Jacobsen: So, four studies often come up in the discussion on the inefficacy of intercessory prayer. In some cases, prayer not only fails to help, but even backfires. When people found out they were being prayed for, their stress levels went up — likely due to performance anxiety about recovery. That stress may …
Rick Rosner: So, Carole doesn’t want me tweeting about Trump anymore. She doesn’t want me doing Lance versus Rick anymore either, because she saw a report today involving the U.S. Attorney General and the head of the FBI — Pam Bondi and Kash Patel — going after people. Now, the deal with the Attorney General …
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: So, I tapped the bar. Rick Rosner: I said, “Go to okay.” Jacobsen: You said, “Go to okay,” and the first thing that popped into my mind was Billy Connolly. I think this was even well before he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Basically, the joke was that, as you get older, …
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: I've got an idea—we will discuss quantum mechanics misinterpretations. Rick Rosner: I'm down. I just cracked open the book again, and it was so dusty that it triggered a sneeze. Jacobsen: And I'm not talking about mistakes professionals make—I'm talking about the New Age-y, crystal-alignment, "quantum healing" stuff. Rosner: Yeah. All right. Jacobsen: So what do you …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 1348: Debunking Quantum Myths: Misused Science in Pop Culture
Rick Rosner: So, I took out my old quantum mechanics textbook—which, honestly, I never got all the way through. I made it partway, I guess. I don’t even remember if I passed the course that used this book. But I’ve been thinking—there’s still a ton I don’t know about quantum mechanics. And, as you know, …
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Okay, so, panpsychism. The opening question is: what foundational definition does panpsychism propose? So, panpsychism posits that consciousness is a fundamental and ubiquitous feature of the physical world. In this view, all forms of matter—from elementary particles to complex organisms—possess some form of consciousness or proto-consciousness. There are six major philosophical arguments …
Rick Rosner: Look at the population curve. It is not heading toward zero anytime in the next 800 years. If we have that long to adapt, it is not a crisis—or at least not an existential one. You asked whether we’ll see more healthy single-parent families, adopted kids, and similar setups—especially with the rise of …
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Is all this panic around marriage rates, the political divergence of young men and women, and lower birth and coupling rates a crisis? You’ve been talking about what you would call a coupling crisis—lower coupling, lower birthrates, the political and social divergence between men and women, growing feminist versus anti-feminist polarization, delayed …
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: You’ve worn a dress on a show before—yeah? With Lance. Would you rather fight with Lance half-naked, quarter-naked, or in a dress? Rick Rosner: Fighting Lance naked would be funnier, but we decided against it—where would we even show that? I guess I’d be fine either way. I’ve got this older, skinny …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 1343: Why Cleaning Horse Poo Is Easier Than Dealing with Horse Farts
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Boxers or briefs? Rick Rosner: Boxer briefs. Old-school boxers were baggy—your balls could go anywhere, stick to your leg. If you're older and your balls hang lower, you could accidentally sit on them and hurt yourself—or worse. Briefs keep everything tucked up, protecting you from injury. They also create a fabric layer between your …
Rick Rosner 