The Cost of Being Iron Man

Greetings loyal readers of the Skeptical Samurai Blog!

Oh how I have missed you!

It has been a busy couple of weeks on the Skeptical Samurai front!  Just in the process of wrapping up some of the finishing touches on our new home so that we can actually begin the process of physically moving into our new accommodations.  Exciting!

Also of note, I officially started medical school this week.  Technically, I started last week, but it was all orientation so no actual lectures/classes.  This week marked the official start of classes and diving into the course material.

Suffice to say (as I am sure some of you have noticed) the blog has suffered a bit (in that there have not been as many posts).  Don’t worry; I have not forgotten about you or the blog, it is just that there are only so many hours in a day!

Sadly I have no ground breaking investigations for you this week, but fear not, as I am hard at work on another segment of “The Skeptical Samurai’s guide to Comic Books”.  I will give you a little hint…

Additionally I am also hard at work at converting the blog into a full-fledged podcast!

So free not dear readers…there is still much to be expected from your good friend the Skeptical Samurai

In the mean time I thought that you might find the following link interesting.  I really enjoyed it and I thought that it would make a nice addendum to the “Skeptical Samurai guide to comic books: Iron Man edition” that I did a while back (here is a link to the original blog posts:  https://theskepticalsamurai.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/the-skeptical-samurais-guide-to-comic-books-iron-man-part-4/).  This serves as a “real world” cost analysis of what it would actually take to be Iron Man.  Granted this article goes into both Iron Man and Tony Stark (and his life style) but I certainly does a bring an element of realism to the notion of what it would cost to become an Iron Man type super-hero.

Enjoy! (click to enlarge)

This has been the skeptical samurai

Working to serve…

Through the process of inquiry…

The Skeptical Samurai’s Guide to Comic Books: Iron Man: Part 3

Time for another installment of…

The Skeptical Samurai’s Guide to Comic Books!  Featuring: Iron Man (Part 3)

Alright, so we have hashed out the inspiration for this segment of the blog and we have begun the process of determining whether or not Iron Man could potentially exist in the real world.  To catch up on all of the action check out the original blog post here:

https://theskepticalsamurai.wordpress.com/2011/11/19/the-skeptical-samurais-guide-to-comic-books-iron-man/

And also check out Part #2 here:

https://theskepticalsamurai.wordpress.com/2012/01/07/the-skeptical-samurais-guid-to-comic-books-iron-man-part-2/

But we are far from done dear reader, so buckle up!  It is going to be an exciting ride!

Alright, so we have managed to get power to our Iron Man suit and get it up and running, but how are we going to move the darn thing!?

Even if we use an insanely light metal the Iron Man armor is still going to be VERY heavy.  Consequently, it is not realistic to think that we are simply going to strap it on and wear it like a set of hockey equipment.  This actually raises and interesting point, the Iron Man armor is not simply armor.  Although the name would have you believe it, you cannot simply just expect the user to strap it on and utilize his/her own strength in order to operate it.  Instead, the Iron Man armor will require a complex set of internal components in order for it to enhance the abilities of its user.  With this in mind, the Iron Man armor can more correctly be thought of as an exo-skeleton (but for the sake of this post we will continue to refer to it as armor).

Let us compare the skeletal system of the human body to the Iron Man armor.  Similar to the plates of armor that make of the Iron Man suit, the skeleton is responsible for providing protection and structure.  The skeleton however is not responsible for movement and articulation.  Instead this is the responsibility of muscles, tendons and ligaments.  These are the structures that allow the human body to perform both fine and gross motors skills.  With this in mind, we will require some sort of complex internal mechanisms in order to give our Iron Man armor the ability to move as well as perform both fine and gross motor skills.  Surprisingly, we do not require anything amazingly fancy in order to make this happen.  A complex system of gears and hydraulics would more then fit the bill.

However, when we take in account how complex the operation of such a system would be, that raises the obvious question, how on earth can we expect the user to run all of these systems?  Is the user going to be expected to operate each and every little gear in order to make the armor function?

The answer to that question, dear reader is a resounding, no.

Well then who is going to run all of these complex internal structures!? 

That answer to that question is not “who”…

But instead “what” is going to run all of these complex internal structures.  Fear not dear reader, the answer is coming!

Okay, so keeping the suit upright is not going to be a problem, but how on earth are we going to keep the Iron Man suit stable during flight!?

Alright, let us forget about the Iron Man armor for a moment.  When you think of flying, what comes to mind?  First thing that comes to my mind is a commercial airplane.

Fixed winged aircrafts are naturally stable.  All things being equal, a commercial fixed winged aircraft (read as: a plane) is designed to fly in a reasonably straight path over a given trajectory.

Now I realize that things are actually more complicated then that, but for the sake of argument we are going to assume that a fixed winged aircraft is an inherently straight forward design.  Once we lose the fixed wings, things immediately become more complicated.  So the commercial airplane is not the best comparison for our Iron Man armor.

Thinking of aircraft on a spectrum (the commercial airplane on one end and the Iron Man armor on the other) what would come next?  I would suggest a commercial helicopter.

We have sacrificed the relative stability of the fixed wing for a rotary blade.  While obviously not impossible to fly (I mean if you look outside your window long enough you will eventually see one of these things flying by) the helicopter is inherently more difficult to control (although this is still up for debate amongst the aviation community), but makes up for this increase difficulty with increased maneuverability.  We are getting closer, but we are still a ways off for a comparison for our Iron Man armor.

What about a fighter jet!?  Say something like the F22 Raptor.

Insanely fast and capable of feats simply beyond that of a regular commercial airliner or helicopter.  The F22 Raptor has capabilities similar to those that will be required of our Iron Man armor (granted in somewhat of a bigger package).  This particular fighter jet is meant to push the limits of what an aircraft is capable of.  AH HA!  I think we have a winner!  Alright so why have I taken the time to make this comparison…keep reading and find out!

Upon closer examination of the F22 Raptor one thing immediately becomes clear.  The operator is not “in charge” of each and every aspect of the aircraft.  Now please do not misunderstand me, it as not as if the plane has become self-aware (cool example: Skynet in the Terminator franchise, bad example: the plane in the movie Stealth).  Instead the operator is in charge of things on a macroscopic level, speed, direction, etc.  The plane (or more specifically the on board computer systems) is responsible for the figurative (and sometimes literal) microscopic processes that make these things happen.   The aircraft is simply far too complex and the only way to make it function is with the assistance of on board computers.  We can assume that the Iron Man armor is going to be several orders of magnitude more complex then the F22 Raptor so we will have no choice but to utilize an on board computer system in order to optimize the armor, otherwise we are just going to have a really expensive paper weight on our hands!

So how exactly are computers going to help operate the Iron Man armor?  I mean, do we really need them?

The short answer to that question is, yes, we do need them.

The long answer to that question is…yes we really do need them!  Remember we are not talking about the original Iron Man armor that Tony Stark used to escape from his terrorist captors.  If we were trying to build that particular version of the armor we could potentially get away without an on board computer system.  Instead, we are trying to build the much more advanced Mach V through VII version.  If we want to build that, we NEED an on board computer system!

In the comics Iron Man has an insanely complex on board computer/tech system.  This on board system is what allows the Tony Stark to mobilize in the Iron Man armor as well as fly through the sky.  In the movies this on board computer system is referred to as Jarvis (to the comic book nerds amongst us, this is a tip of the hat to Tony Stark’s fictitious human butler named Jarvis who serves as Tony’s confident and partner in crime).  Jarvis is an on board/interaction computer system that is responsible for making all of the needed second to second calculations and corrections required to keep the Iron Man armor upright and mobile as well as enable it to sore through the sky.

Remember all of those internal gear pictures above.  Jarvis is going to be responsible for making all of those gears function.  What about all of those panels/flaps seen articulating over the surface of the Iron Man armor?

Similar to the fighter jet, adjustments and movements of these panels are what are going to make the Iron Man armor capable of performing fantastic feats.  In addition to these panels the Iron Man armor is also equipped with repulsors (located in the palms of the armor).

Well also capable of acting as an offensive weapon (more on that later) these repulsors can also be used as another means of controlling and stabilizing the Iron Man armor, specifically while in flight.

Now if we did not require our Iron Man armor to move smoothly or perform amazingly aerial maneuvers we could more likely leave the control of the panels and the internal gears, panels/flaps and repulsors with the operator.  However, seeing as we are going to require A LOT more out of the Iron Man armor, it is simply unrealistic to expect our operator to make all of the needed calculations and associated adjustments.  But fear not dear reader!  The dream of a real life suit of Iron Man armor is not dead yet!  Given the capabilities of modern computers (and their continued advancement) it is completely realistic to expect that a compact system could be designed and inserted into the Iron Man armor to assist the operator with operating it.  With the help of Jarvis we will be able to operate the armor and not only keep it upright, but have it perform feats previously not thought possible!

Well that is it for Part 3!

Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion to this epic Iron Man saga!

This has been the Skeptical Samurai

Working to serve…

Through the process of inquiry…

 

 

 

 

 

The Skeptical Samurai’s Guid to Comic Books: Iron Man (Part 2)

Time for another instalment of…

The Skeptical Samurai’s Guide to Comic Books!

Featuring: Iron Man (Part 2)

Alright, so in the last instalment we looked at the inspiration behind the creation of “The Skeptical Samurai’s Guide to Comic Books” and we began to exam the character Iron Man.  Specifically, we looked at the origin of Tony Stark/Iron Man and began to discuss the design elements of the Iron Man armour.  Specifically, we looked if it would actually be possible to make a real life Iron Man suit using modern technology.

Check out the original blog post here: https://theskepticalsamurai.wordpress.com/2011/11/19/the-skeptical-samurais-guide-to-comic-books-iron-man/

I apologize about the tardiness of this blog post, but this is a rather information intensive topic and it has required A LOT more research that is usually required.  I think (and hope) that you will find that the wait has been well worth it…so buckle up!  It is going to be an exciting ride!

How would one power an Iron Man suit?

We have come to what is the biggest obstacle in attempting to create a real life Iron Man suit.  Powering the darn thing!

Why is powering a suit of armour such a big deal you ask?  Well it is not like you can just strap an engine and gas tank to the back of the thing and fill it up at your local service station!  For a multitude of reasons, when looking for a power source for the Iron Man armour, an internal combustion engine simply will not work.  For starters, in order for the engine to be powerful enough to power the Iron Man armour it would have to be very large.  In fact, you would require an engine so large that it could not be properly (or safely) mounted anywhere on the Iron Man suit that would not somehow become a problem.  Even if you could somehow get past all of this, you would still have to overcome the fact that you cannot invert the engine (making any sort of aerial manoeuvres difficult if not impossible) and the internal combustion engine is an inherently inefficient design (the Iron Man suit would quickly burn through all of the available fuel leaving the suit without a power source).

So typical types of commercially available engines and fuel are out, so what does that leave us with!?  Well, sadly, not a heck of a lot!

But what about that cool “arc reactor” in Stark’s chest in the movies?

Why can’t we just throw one of those in our Iron Man armour?  Actually that is an excellent idea, except for one small little problem….although the technology presented in the Iron Man film(s) is grounded in science, it does not yet exist!  But despite this obstacle, this is still a glimmer of hope as there is actually a device that currently exists that produces energy by utilizing plasma contained within a magnetic field, it is called a Tokamak reactor.  However, current Tokamak reactors are approximately the size of your local electric/hydro/coal/nuclear power station

making it a little difficult to simply insert it in the chest piece of an exo-skeleton suit of armour.

Another issue that arises is that current Tokamak reactors do not have the ability to produce a sustained source of power.  There is nothing inherently implausible about the Tokamak reactor; it is simply of matter of technology not keeping up with conceptual theory.  The hope is that someday the Tokamak reactor (or even a “better” technology) will become a viable power source.  If and when this happens, we have a potential viable power source for our Iron Man armour!

Alright, so we have figured out a way to “power” the suit, but would we still require a fuel source?

This is actually a really important concept, specifically the notion of power versus fuel.  For the sake of this discussion, power can be thought of as energy that is capable of doing work.  Fuel is essentially what creates power.  Fuel under goes a thermo dynamic reaction to create energy which gives power.  Power can be thought of as what is going to be needed to run all of the on board operating/computer systems contained within our Iron Man suit.  However we are also going to need power to operate systems such as the rocket boots.  Let us take a quick look at Iron Man’s boots.

Notice all of the smoke/exhaust that is being emitted from the sole of the boot? That is by-product of all of the fuel required in order to power the rocket boots!  This raises the obvious question, how much fuel would you require to power the Iron Man rocket boots?  Excellent question!  Let’s look at that question a little more closely using the space shuttle as an example.  More specifically, the space shuttle when it is lifting off from mission control here on earth.

Do you see that gigantic orange tank that the shuttle is perched on?  That is a gas tank filled with fuel to power the two rockets that sit on either side of it.  That is right, that entire orange tank is one HUGE gas tank!  Granted the Iron Man armour is not the size and weight of the space shuttle, but this gives us an idea of the amount of fuel we need to power a rocket.

Well, what about a commercial airliner?  I mean, last time I checked I did not see any type of huge fuel cell on one of those times, and I mean, commercial air planes are huge, weight a ton, and fly across the Pacific Ocean…And they do not seem to require a lot of fuel to fly.  Well, look again!  A commercial airliner is basically one big fuel tank with wings!

So, have we actually gotten past the issues of powering the Iron Man suit?  It appears that a scaled down version of the Tokamak reactor would power all of the on board operating systems but as we have established have will require a massive about of fuel in order to power systems such as the rocket boots…

So would the theoretical scaled down version of the Tokamak reactor be a viable option?  Turns out that it will!  As long as we configured the Tokamak reactor in such a manner that it is able to supply power to the entire suit, as opposed to just the operating systems located in close proximity to the chest piece, we should be good to go!

Okay so the Tokamak Reactor is the answer to our power and fuel problem, but it is not going to run itself.  Where are we going to get the plasma in order to run the Tokamak reaction?

We have established that the Tokamak reactor is a viable source of power and fuel, however the reactor is not a perpetual motion machine (as that would violate the laws of physics) so how are we going to run the reactor?  Well we know that the Tokamak reactor runs on plasma, so from that we can deduce that we are going to require a constant (or at least replenishable) source of plasma.  So this raises the obvious question, where are we going to get this plasma from?  Excellent question!  Let us see if we can find ourselves an answer.

The human body has approximately 5 litres of blood circulating through it at any one time (give or take depending on body size, body type, hydration status, etc).  Approximately half of blood volume is plasma, so that gives us approx 2 to 2.5 litres of plasma to work with.  This same plasma that runs through our blood vessels could be used to power our theoretical Tokamak reactor.  As long as the user is keep relatively well hydrated this would be a plausible means in which to power/fuel the Iron Man armour.  So assuming that that the Tokamak reactor can be built and then scaled down to fit in the chest piece of the Iron Man armour, as long as the user has some sort of hydration system available or stops every few hours to rehydrate this is completely feasible!

Alright folks…that is it for now, stay tuned for Part 3!

This has been the skeptical samurai

Working to serve…

Through the process of inquiry…

The Skeptical Samurai’s Guide to Comic Books: Iron Man

Time for another instalment of…

The Skeptical Samurai’s Guide to Comic Books!

Featuring: Iron Man

Well, this is actually the 1^st instalment of “The Skeptical Samurai’s Guide to Comic Books”, but I plan on making this a regular segment.

So you may be wondering to yourself, why on earth would you write a series of “skeptical” blog posts about comic books!?  I mean, comic books and the characters contain within them are fictitious right!?  What is the point of taking a skeptical look at something that does not even exist!

Well dear reader…

That is an excellent question!  Please allow me the opportunity to explain.

I have always loved comic books.  I love the art as well as the stories (or in comic book lingo, the pictures as well as the words).  I have always been fascinated by the characters and stories contained within the covers of comic books.  After getting into skepticism, that fascination took on a bit of a different approach, and I started to look at comic books in a new/different way.  Specifically, I started looking at characters and events within the books and wondering to myself, “Is there any plausibility to the characters and events in these stories?”  I also began to wonder that if some of the less then plausible characters did actually “exist”, what would they look like in the “real world”?  And with that, “The Skeptical Samurai’s Guide to Comic Books” was born!

Before we get into the meat of this blog post, I feel that I should point something out.  The world of comics is full of debates regarding the “real” origin of certain characters, the validity of certain story lines, how “the movies” incorrectly portray “our” beloved characters, or who would win between Superman vs. Batman (answer: Batman would win).  Although from time to time I may comment on these types of topics (again, Batman would whoop Superman’s butt!), they will not be the focus of this segment of the Skeptical Samurai blog.  If you want to “nerd out” (which I try and do at least once a day), on the details surrounding your favourite character(s) I suggest you check out any number of comic book forums.  There are plenty of heated debates going on there, and the contributors of those forums do a much better job of covering the specifics of characters then I could ever hope to do.  So with that in mind, please allow me the present to you, “The Skeptical Samurai’s Guide to Comic Books”.

This week featuring: Iron Man

Before I get started, allow me a moment to acknowledge Mr. Ryan Haupt.  He wrote an entry some time ago for Marvel Comics regarding the “science” behind Iron Man.  I got a lot of my info from his articles so Mr. Haupt, I tip my kabuto to you!  From the Marvel Website:

“Ryan holds two Bachelor’s of Science in Environmental Geology and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz and is going back to school in the fall to get a Masters in Paleontology from Vanderbilt University. Currently, he helps research a variety of topics ranging from stable isotope geochemistry, mammalian paleoecology and oceanographic paleoclimatology. He hosts the podcast “Science… sort of” with two grad student friends where they hang out while talking about science and geek culture. He occasionally fights rabid and rogue elephant seals, but only for science.”

Origins

Iron Man, better known as Anthony (Tony) Edward Stark was first introduced by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Don Heck, and Jack Kirby in 1963.  The details have changed over the years, but the origin of Tony Stark/Iron Man is essentially as follows: Tony is a billionaire/playboy/genius who owes and runs Stark Industries, a multi-national corporation that build/creates advances weapons and defence systems.  Attempting to steal his weapons technology, a group of terrorists kidnap Stark, hold him captive, and force him to construct a weapon of mass destruction.  Ever defiant, Stark instead builds a powerful suit of armour with which he defeats his captors and escapes back to Stark Industries.  He then goes on to create new and more advanced suits of armour and uses them to fight crime on a large/global scale.

Iron Man is incapable of being Iron Man without one MAJOR component…the Iron Man armour.  Iron Man’s armour has under gone many changes over the years.  From the MK 1 suit which is the suit of armour that Stark built in order to escape from his terrorist captures

 The classic MK V armour 1^st seen in the 1970s through the MK VIII versions seen to the late 90s

Extremis armour based on nano technology in the early 2000s

To the newest version which is the bleeding edge armour.

And this is just a small sampling of the armour that Tony Stark has worn over the years.  In addition to each individual model of armour, there are also a variety of different “modular” additions to many of the suits that meet the needs of specific missions/tasks.  Any attempt to try and analyze each and every version of the armour (along with accompanying “modular” attachments) would require a herculean effort that would result in enough written material to create a set of encyclopaedia volumes on the subject and although that may entertain a few, there would be a lot of repetition, and lets but honest, most of you would fall asleep at the keyboard!  But fear not dear reader, because the vast majority of the Iron Man armour is a variation on a central theme, essentially, a man inside a suit of armour.  For the purpose of this blog post we are going to focus on the “Classic Red and Gold” armour, the MK V through MK VII armour seen from the 1970’s through to the late 1990’s.  The main reason that I chose this armour is because it seems to be the most well known version of the Iron Man armour, largely in part because of the release of the “Iron Man” films.  So with that in mind, let us get to it!

Could Iron Man actually exist?

That is an extremely interesting question (at least to a nerd like me!) with somewhat of a less then straight forward answer.  The simple answer is, no, Iron Man could not exist.  Our current technology simply cannot duplicate or surpass the capabilities of the Iron Man armour as depicted in the comic books.  The less straight forward answer is that Iron Man could exist…well kind of.

There are many elements of the Iron Man armour/technology that are completely plausible and within the realm of current technology.  In fact, many of the parts of the Iron Man armour exist in isolation, but (for a variety of reasons we will get into in a bit) have not been brought together into a single suite of armour.  It is worth noting that a variety of different exo-skeleton suits have been designed by developers over the years.  While most of these suits are intended for single purpose use or are far from complete working models, this certainly leaves open the possibility for there to someday be a complete and functioning Iron Man (like) suit of armour.  So

Alright, so a suit of Iron Man armour is not currently feasible, but if it was, what would it be made of?

Well the most logical answer that comes to mind is iron.  Good guess, but you would be incorrect!

Although an extremely strong metal, iron is very dense and thus very heavy.  The density of iron is great when it comes to things such as protection, but the density (and thus the associated weight) quickly makes this material rather undesirable.  The main reason being is that excess weight means it requires more fuel to propel (which is an issue onto itself that we will get to shortly) and will make the suit more difficult to navigate.  It is also worth noting that as hard as iron is, it is not near as hard as some of its own alloys, such as steel, but Steel Man just does not have the same ring to it now does it (In reality Iron Man is named Iron Man as a tribute to the 1st Iron Man suite that Tony Stark created/wore when he escaped his terrorist captors in the original comic book series.  The original Iron Man armour was actually made of iron.  Subsequent versions of the Iron Man suite abandon the material iron, but the name was retained)!

So the Iron Man armour would not be made of iron, well then what would it be made of!?  Well it would most likely be made of a composite of a number of different materials.  The drawback of most single elements is that they are strong in some areas, while weak in others.  The benefit of a composite material is that it can be made and manufactured to maximize the benefits and minimize the drawbacks.  Alright, so we have established that Iron Man’s armour would be made of some sort of composite material, but what type specifically!?  Well there are a few potential candidates.

The 1^st candidate is a titanium nickel alloy called nitinol.

Nitinol is, for a metal, relatively light, making it an excellent material for applications such as armour that must be capable of flight.  It is also extremely strong and has a very high heat resistance, which for obvious reasons is something that you would want in your Iron Man armour.  Another perk of Nitinol that if it is somehow deformed it can easily be reshaped and repaired, this is especially handy if say you have a suit of armour that needs to with stand all sorts of abuse!  So Nitinol would be a great material to use for the skeleton/frame/shell of an Iron Man like armour.

Another material that would most likely be incorporated into the Iron Man armour is some sort of multi changed carbon composite.  Carbon is a really cool (well cool to nerds like me!) material that can completely change its properties based on the types of bonds it makes.  Made properly it can be extremely strong and stand up to EXTREME temperature (in excess of 2300° F).  The main drawback of carbon composites is that they tend to be relatively brittle and thus are subject to increase wear and tear.  Considering the pros and cons the carbon composite they would function best on the boots of the Iron Man armour and around weapons systems that would all tend to generate higher temperatures.

The final material we would most likely see on a real like Iron Man suit of armour would be a new type of material that is composed of a single-crystal titanium.  This stuff is super cutting edge, and there is really not much information out on it (at least to the public).  However, it is making its way onto/into the newest high tech military jets, so if it is good enough for a top secret military jet I am going to assume that I would be a good candidate for fictional suite of armour!

Whooaaa!  We are just getting started!  Stay tuned for Part 2!

This has been the skeptical samurai

Working to serve…

Through the process of inquiry…

 

 

 

 

The Skeptical Samurai Guide to the Movies: G.I. Jane

Time for another instalment of…

The Skeptical Samurai’s Guide to the Movies!

This week’s movie: G.I. Jane

and the trailer

G.I. Jane is a movie about a fictional character named O’Neil (played by Demi Moore).  O’Neil is selected by a U.S. government official to represent her fellow female military personal in a set of trials to establish that men and women are equals (in the
military sense of the word) and should be able to serve/function side by side in combat roles.  O’Neil soon learns that she has been selected to participate in Navy SEAL training, which arguably involves some of the most intense military combat training in the world.  What she is not aware of is that her U.S. government contact does not expect her to complete the training.  O’Neil is essentially a sacrificial lamb for her government contact.  O’Neil was not intended to finish the training.  O’Neil manages to overcome all odds and not only complete the training but carry out a successful tactical operation and save the life of her command master chief in the process.  All and all, G.I. Jane is a very inspiring movie.

After viewing the film, one is left to wonder…

Could a female in today’s armed forces become a Navy SEAL?

After viewing the movie, one is left with the impression that it is entirely possible for a female to become a Navy SEAL.  One would assume that in today’s modern world that any individual could apply to become a Navy SEAL as long as he or she was able to meet the requirements as set forth by the Navy SEAL program.

A quick review of the Navy Seal website reveals that this is simply not the case.

Taken directly from the requirements section of the Navy SEAL website (under the category “other”): http://www.sealswcc.com/navy-seals-general-requirements.aspx

It is clearly stated that you must be male to apply to the Navy SEALs

This raises the obvious question…

After completing the required training, why can’t a woman become a Navy SEAL?

Taken from the Navy SEALs blog: http://blog.usnavyseals.com/2008/10/women-in-seals-could-real-gi-jane-exist.html

“Sure, the women of today have been a lot tougher than before. There are many women who have excelled in fields that used to be dominated by men. In terms of physical capabilities, many women can endure the toughest obstacle courses ever made.  Women can also be great snipers.  However, SEAL authorities have given out a number of reasons why women can’t be allowed to join the training. First, men and women cannot stay in a single house together.  Another point is that women have special needs on hygiene, especially during their menstrual period, and fighters might have to stay and hide in a foxhole for a week during battles. Basically, a woman’s physiology proves inappropriate for battle conditions.

Many say that women can’t be in the battlefield, but there is surely a role in the SEAL operations that would be ideal for them. If the United States is to stay as the world’s most competent and powerful military force, we should find the best person for every job, regardless of gender. “

So there you have it.

Despite what Hollywood would have you believe, regardless of whether or not it seems just, G.I. Jane (or someone like her) simply cannot (currently) exist.

This has been the skeptical samurai

Working to serve…

Through the process of inquiry…

Homeopathy works…

Well, not really…

You see, propagators of homeopathy would have you believe that preparations made utilizing the “Law of Similars” (which is not a law at all.  It is simply a flawed concept created by the creator of homeopathy) contain active ingredients that can have a physiological effect on the body.  However, what you often do not hear from propagators of homeopathy, is that many homeopathic preparations are prepared/diluted to such an extent that only a few (if any) active molecules remain in a preparation.  Take the infamous 30c preparation.  As noted on the skeptical website Quack Watch (http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/homeo.html)

“The least amount of a substance in a solution is one molecule, a 30C solution would have to have at least one molecule of the original substance dissolved in a minimum of 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 molecules of water. This would require a container more than 30,000,000,000 times the size of the Earth.”

So essentially, if you consume a homeopathic preparation, you are just consuming water.

You read that right. 

Homeopathic remedies are simply nothing more than water.

With that in mind, a fellow skeptic has suggested the only plausible application of a homeopathic preparation.

This has been the skeptical samurai

Working to serve…

Through the process of inquiry…

The Skeptical Syndicate: Brian Dunning

The purpose of “The Skeptical Syndicate” is to feature a known (or not so known) individual within the skeptical community, and highlight that individual’s contributions to skepticism.  This episode we feature, Brian Dunning

Simpson’s picture:

Or as he is more commonly seen…

Real Picture:

Brian Dunning is best known for his podcast, titled Skeptoid (http://skeptoid.com/), which he writes/hosts/runs.

Mr. Dunning also (somewhat) recently released “Here be Dragons”, a 40 minute educational video that serves as an introduction to critical thinking.  It is a great in introduction to critical thinking/skepticism or a great review for the card carrying skeptic.  Here is a link to the video where you can watch the movie for free:

http://www.openfilm.com/videos/here_be_dragons/

The popularity of the Skeptoid podcast has spawned a sister podcast titled “InFact…With Brian Dunning” (http://infactvideo.com/).  This is a video podcast that riffs on some of the most popular Skeptoid episodes and provides the same great Skeptoid content in a shorter video format.

A detailed and informative bio on Mr. Dunning (written by the man himself) can be found on the Skeptoid website (reposted here for your convenience):

A few years ago, I began searching for interesting and unusual phenomena in Internet forums and mailing lists. More than once, I tried to open a discourse offering alternate, more reasonable explanations for the reported phenomena, as diplomatically and respectfully as I could. Nevertheless, the most insightful replies I got were:

Warning: skeptoid alert!

and

Another debunkatron rears its ugly head.

OK, fine, I understand that it’s their forum, that I’m just a guest, and if they are not open to critical examination, that’s their right and they’re under no obligation to me. But I marveled that they felt that way, in light of the forum’s stated purpose: “Discussion of Fortean phenomena.” That their only response was to make up patronizing and dismissive nicknames for me shows that their true interest is certainly not open discussion. In fact, the next time I tried to log in, I found that my account had been banned.

This happened on three different Fortean Phenomena forums, and I’m being completely honest when I say that my posts were respectful and in no way inflammatory. They were much worse than that: they were skeptical.

So, in the interest of improved public relations, I’m going with the flow. If rationally examining pseudoscientific claims makes me an evil skeptoid debunkatron, so be it. I’ll even help out by so identifying myself up front.

Thus was born the Skeptoid.

By profession I am a computer scientist, both as a Silicon Valley CTO and as a consulting engineer. My only academic credential that bears any scrutiny is in Writing for Film and Television from University of California, Los Angeles. I also have a credential that doesn’t bear any scrutiny — and you’ll find it at Thunderwood College.

I’ve written a few books and numerous technical articles. I decided to put this experience to good use, and created the Skeptoid podcast. I’m also one of the featured bloggers on SkepticBlog, the official blog of the upcoming TV series The Skeptologists which I host. Here is a blurb about me from CBS Radio’s Sound*Bytes with Jan Ziff, and here’s my appearance on CNNfn from my previous career as a CTO.

I have a great wife, two terrific kids who are smarter than me, a cat who’s dumber than me, and some assorted koi who haven’t yet been evaluated. We all live happily on the beautiful and sunny southern California coast.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a huge fan of Mr. Dunning and his podcasts!

Alright, with that out of the way…

Mr. Dunning tackles a different topic during each Skeptoid episode.  One of the things that make Skeptoid unique, in my humble opinion, is the diverse topics covered on the podcast.  Topics range from common skeptical topics such as UFOs, cryptozoology, and the paranormal, to more mainstream topics such as genetically modified foods, organic food crops and Mozart.  Each episode is extensively researched, and even the most knowledgeable individual can expect to learn something.  Another extremely positive/accessible aspect of the podcast is the tone/role that Mr. Dunning takes.  Allow me to explain further, some personalities within the Skeptical community have taken it upon themselves to act as the authoritative debunker.  While this approach has its place, it can also be extremely off putting too some.  In contrast to this approach, Mr Dunning comes across as accessible and well informed and takes on the role of an educator.  But not just any educator, with this unique style Mr. Dunning manages to channel the spirit of your favourite teacher/professor/instructor that you remember so fondly.  You know what I am talking about, that archetype teacher/professor/instructor that challenged you and helped you to become a better person.  Mr. Dunning challenges you to look at claims with a skeptical eye and pushes you to develop your critical thinking skills; skills that will serve you in all aspects of your life.  He manages to do all of this while unapologetically fighting against pseudo-science and misinformation, and totally succeeds.

As of this posting he is currently up to episode # 2–.  Pretty impressive!  With such a huge back catalogue of episodes/topics, one might worry that Mr. Dunning may soon run out of content.  Fear not dear reader, by his own account Mr. Dunning has approx 200 individual show ideas banked, with no less than 20 currently being researched and prepared for upcoming episodes. 

Brian Dunning, for your efforts in the struggle against misinformation and pseudo-science, the Skeptical Samurai takes his kabuto off to you!

This has been the Skeptical Samurai

Working to serve…

Through the process of inquiry…