: Episode 893 - Dr. Michael Shermer joins Vinnie to discuss several interesting topics such as skeptics, religion, psychics, and a shared connection with the Badwater 508. PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS Pure Vitamin Club Villa Cappelli Green Grocer Thrive Market DR. SHERMER Does a lot of work in the sphere of morality Publisher of Skeptic magazine Has written a number of books, including The Moral Arc While he discusses a lot of morality, religion, and less tangible things, he also believes that science is incredibly important Also very into health and fitness SKEPTICS Lots of cultural elements involved with religious Finding meaning in random things Auditory, visual illusions People can make signs out of nothing The patterns, the illusions, the non-randomness all in our minds Really it is random Veganism - another thing to be skeptical about PETA doesn't care about your health, they only care about animals (and even then that's questionable) The Standard American Diet is another thing to be skeptical about Gary Taubes is a truther Psychic shows are also largely BS They only select out of 12 hours, about 45 minutes that confirms their "psychic prowess" They figure out patterns and generalities Dogs have good intuition, too Usually "spooky" things, or things that seem to good to be true, are just that DIET AND RELIGION Many people treat diet as a religion Just like old time religion, certain food is taboo, etc. People also get this attachment to food similar to some's attachment to food There is a church of food This also can make breaking bad eating habits more difficult