Digital Bits Skeptic

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By James Lochbaum
Article ID: 1343

For the United States, there is probably no other weapon as symbolic of today’s conflicts as the Improvised Explosive Device, or IED. Up until 2007, IEDs were responsible for 63% of U.S. casualties in Operation Iraqi Freedom (1).  They have also been implemented by belligerents in Afghanistan, a place previously devoid of these weapons.

To counter IEDs, the U.S. and other coalition forces have turned to traditional Third Generation Warfare strategies.  New Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles (or MRAPs) are designed and put into production, existing vehicles are upgraded with additional armor plating, troops are issued more ballistic vests and trauma plates, and electronic jammers are installed. While training and doctrine have been altered, the response to these devices has mainly been to field more heavily armored hardware.

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By James Lochbaum
Article ID: 1342

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is a Naval base established at the end of the Spanish-American War. It has since become a sort of frontier outpost in a country that, while not openly hostile, is certainly not friendly.  Bagram Air Base is a lifeline between the United States and its far-flung troops in the third world country of Afghanistan.  Beyond their “wild west” frontier status, these two bastions of American power abroad have something else in common.  They each incarcerate numerous so-called “suspected terrorists” away from the prying eyes of American citizens and, to some extent, the world community.

The controversy over such detention facilities has been nearly constant and comes from all corners.  Human rights groups rail against the lack of due process of law, living conditions, and prisoner abuse.  Recently, with the Obama administration’s proposal to close these facilities, new concerns have been raised.  One of the biggest is being what to do with over 200 detainees that still remain in Guantanamo Bay.  While reviews of evidence by the Justice Department has led to the release of a small number of detainees (1), it’s still realistic to assume that there will be many prisoners convicted and sentenced.  There is also the issue of securely detaining the inmates until such a time as trials can be arranged.  Therefore, these detainees must be transferred to secure facilities.

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by Jeff Kilroy
Article ID: 1341

I attempt to have rational arguments with theists about their beliefs. I really do. Unfortunately, it seems that every time I present an argument that almost makes me shout “Checkmate!”, I get the dismissive reply of “You just need faith,” or “This is just MY faith”. In most religions and even some pseudo-scientific circles, faith is touted as a necessity or virtue. But is faith really a good thing to possess? Better yet, do we really know what faith is?

One of the more commonly used definitions comes from Merriam-Webster: faith is a “Firm belief in something for which there is no proof“.

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By David Annis
Article ID: 1340

Today I heard an advertisement on the radio urging me to go back to college.  “College graduates make a million dollars more over a lifetime,” the advertisement said. It directed me to a website where I could find a college to attend.  South Dakota State University has a page that breaks out the earnings differences in great detail. We get information like, “Workers with bachelor’s degrees receive a 48 percent higher wage rate.  Those with a master’s, Ph.D., or professional degree receive the highest earnings differentials— about 70 to 96 percent higher than a high school graduate.”  Politicians and pundits use the higher earnings of college graduates to advocate education as a boost to our national economy.

Colleges use graduates’ higher earnings to convince potential students that attending will increase their income and is an investment worth making.  A University of North Texas webpage tells us “college graduates with a bachelor’s degree earn about 80 percent more per year than those who only complete high school.”  The University of Wisconsin ‘Going Back to College’ page has a section called “Value of a Degree and You”, and includes a calculator that shows how your income compares to your state average and those of people with different education levels in your state.

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By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1339

Let me tell you about an adventure my family had a few weeks ago. I should also say that I’m not a doctor, and nothing you read here is official medical advice. This is my understanding of what happened in this specific case. I have to lead with this information because, while the story starts out fun, it ends in the hospital.

My family went on vacation. Unfortunately, after just a few days, my daughter, Ally, got the flu. She’s four years old, and this was a bad flu, the kind that really wipes you out. My wife and I had to take care of her full-time. We decided to ditch the vacation and come home, but not before stopping off at the local hospital to see if Ally was okay. And she was, the doctor told us. Just a standard flu. Keep her hydrated, wait it out, and she’ll be fine soon. For controlling her fever, we also got a prescription for Motrin (that’s a brand name ibuprofin used for fever and various aches and pains).

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By Navin Kumar
Article ID: 1338

Of all the interesting, insightful models produced in the last two or three hundred years of economics existence (I’m not including the models of financial markets: those are neither interesting nor insightful) few have achieved more long-range influence than the population model of Thomas Malthus.

The model (and the idea behind it) is so simple that it can be taught to school children. Human population – says the model – increases exponentially. Assuming every couple has three children, the growth in a population with 200 people grows like this: 200, 300, 450, 675. On the other hand, growth in the field of agricultural output is arithmetic and goes like this: 200, 300, 400, 500. At this rate, the growth in population will soon outstrip growth in food.

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By Navin Kumar
Article ID: 1337

1.8 trillion US dollars. That’s the cost that Climate Change will inflict upon the United States by 2100 . But there is a problem with the 2008 NRDC report that generated this figure: it’s based on 2008 technology.

One of the oldest problems facing long-term forecasters is that no one can tell what technology is around the corner. In his 1968 book “The population bomb“, Paul Ehrlich predicted, “In the 1970s and 1980s . . . hundreds of millions of people are going to starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now.” Oddly enough, 1968 was also the year in which the phrase “Green Revolution” was coined.

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By Nicholas Covington
Article ID: 1336

“And when we say also that… [Jesus] was produced without sexual union, and that He… was crucified and died, and rose again, and ascended into heaven, we propound nothing different from what you believe regarding those whom you esteem sons of Jupiter.”

“…And if we even affirm that He was born of a virgin, accept this in common with what you accept of Perseus. And in that we say that He made whole the lame, the paralytic, and those born blind, we seem to say what is very similar to the deeds said to have been done by Æsculapius.”

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By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1335

This is it, everyone! Digital Bits Skeptic episode 100! And to start things off, I’d like to make the following point:

A 100^th episode means nothing.

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Some of you remember I had to delay last week’s episode because of illness in the family. The illness has gotten worse. I’m delaying again this week – there will be no new article or podcast this weekend. There’s a little four-year-old girl who’s in the hospital, and she’s got some problems we need to fix before doing anything else.

I can’t dedicate time to posting or podcasting until this is resolved. I’m sure you’d do the same in my case. I hope to be back soon. Stay tuned.

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