Brandenburg

Beltemps · Mar 21, 2011

Touché lance...

first of all I really enjoyed the show and I really think Dr. Brandenburg is a very nice guy... so nice in fact that I would vote for him as a mascot for paracast...

Besides that I had problems separating fact from fiction... the show started very good as far as believability is concerned... but everytime Dr. Brandenburg is talking about the wonderful world of Mars and the beautiful landscape he's undermining his own credibility... Don't get me wrong... I was a huge fan of Burroughs and especially John Carter when I was a kid and I'm really looking forward to see it made into a movie... (hated Xena though!) but this kind of talk would have been more suitable in a show with let's say Tracy Tormé... (btw wouldn't be Joss Whedon an interesting guest for a future show...?)

Ok, back to credibilty... as Lance pointed out it wasn't exactly the gloriest moment when he blamed napoleon for the nose job... and that is such a pity because I think (or wanna believe) that the guy knows what he's saying and doing most of the time but I cannot tell when that exactly is the case...

Last but not least, is it just me or does his uncontrolled laughter makes him sound like a very very very nice version of Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove...???

Peace Bijan

Angel of Ioren · Mar 21, 2011

His nervous laughter is disconcerting. I'm listening to the show now, I'm sure I'll some comments once I'm done listening.
So far, to me he sounds like he clinging to a paper he wrote in 1991. The whole point of science is that when new evidence comes up, you change with it. So instead of accepting that the images showing that the "face" is not a face, he chooses to call it a cover-up.

P.S. Julie Chen is not married to Jerry Bruckheimer. She's married to Les Moonves.

Beltemps · Mar 21, 2011

I actually like the way Chris is handling guests as Gene's sidekick... Most of the time his "interrogation" technique is very effective... He's treating all guests alike, very amicably and politely until they let down their guard...

Well all right, Chris has a verrrrry soft spot for Dr. Brandenburg but tbh I like this guy too... and maybe, only maybe Dr. Brandenburgs's visions are true and mars once was home to beautiful women, exotic flaura and fauna and... a monumental face with olmecian features...

Bijan

plumbbob12 · Mar 21, 2011

Dr. John Brandenburg was an interesting guest, and although he did tend to embellish some of his findings on Mars, I found his knowledge made for a fun and interesting show. With that said, I think the guy was getting his drunk on. If you listen to the show a couple of times, (which I tend to do during the work day), you will find that he starts off very well spoken, and as the show progresses, he becomes less focused, giggles a lot, and tends to act like a guy drinking a few too many brandy’s. Of course, if this is the case, I do not hold it against him, and have no problem with drunks, as long as they don't become ass holes. I would love to sit back and throw down a few cold ones with Brandenburg, but if I were him, I wouldn't do it on talk shows anymore.

stphrz · Mar 21, 2011

Dr. Brandenburg seems to have forgotten the number one rule in science. That rule is, when you make a hypothesis you try everything in your power to FALSIFY it, not confirm it.

As Einstien said, no amount of experimentation can prove a hypothesis, but it only takes one experiment to disprove it.

Also, his comment early in the episode about finding inspiration in a rum bottle may have reavealed a bit too much.

Combine all that with with that incessant annoying laughter, I now have serious doubts about him.

stphrz · Mar 21, 2011

lancemoody said:
I thought he was horrible last time and this time he was atrocious but the co-host seemed quite eager to have back on to talk about his other new new book. This is where the Paracast is headed unfortunately.

Lance

As serious science based episodes, yeah, not so good. But as a speculation party and as entertainment, kinda fun. I'd listen to another episode with him, no problem. Just from now on, I won't take him seriously. At all.

Beltemps · Mar 21, 2011

Hm, the show is called Paracast and not Dr. Steinberg's Science Show... It's in the nature of the game that paranormal shows have primarily a speculative and not so much a dry scientific background... Same applies to the guests no matter if they are a plumber or a plasma physicist in real life... We're supposed to have fun with a grain of (scientific) truth... And Dr. Brandenburg fits the profile perfectly...

Gene Steinberg · Mar 21, 2011

Beltemps said:
Hm, the show is called Paracast and not Dr. Steinberg's Science Show... It's in the nature of the game that paranormal shows have primarily a speculative and not so much a dry scientific background... Same applies to the guests no matter if they are a plumber or a plasma physicist in real life... We're supposed to have fun with a grain of (scientific) truth... And Dr. Brandenburg fits the profile perfectly...

We hope that a guest is offering serious information and serious theories. But if you expect proof of any particular theory, you're not going to find it here. If a theory is intriguing, and seems to have some logic and supporting evidence, we'll let it be presented. But this isn't the Science channel. We are looking into the mysteries that science hasn't explained and, in large part, refuses even to consider seriously.

Ezechiel · Mar 21, 2011

As a whole I like the hypothesis he's proposing... it offers a testable framework that should motivate us to go there.

The early cooling of Mars (distance from sun) enabled the evolution of higher level organisms when a warmer earth was still at a basic stage of development.
The rapid loss of atmosphere may have preserved artificial structures on Mars (no erosion)
Panspermia makes us partly martian and life is pervasive in our universe.

500 million years ago an explosion on Mars (Massive eruption, collision with asteroid...e tc) may have sent spores to earth and triggered an explosion of life on earth (Burgess Shale)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallucigenia

Moving beyond an earth-centric mindset and its implications is what he's all about. Great show !!

Disfigurement of the sphynx by Napoleon .... where can I find documentation on this

Beltemps · Mar 21, 2011

Gene Steinberg said:
We hope that a guest is offering serious information and serious theories. But if you expect proof of any particular theory, you're not going to find it here. If a theory is intriguing, and seems to have some logic and supporting evidence, we'll let it be presented. But this isn't the Science channel. We are looking into the mysteries that science hasn't explained and, in large part, refuses even to consider seriously.

Exactly, Gene...

as you say it yourself it's a forum for fantastic, crazy and not so crazy and sometimes even highly scientific ideas that you probably won't hear anywhere else...

But first and foremost your show is entertainment... At least that's the reason why I am here every week...

ALPHA ROMEO UNIFORM · Mar 21, 2011

I thought the Dr Brandenburg was a very good show and if you listen carefully

he tells us of some of the insiders thoughts on the current space programs.
I have to agree he seems to be very happy maybe its the warmth environment of to great hosts.

Wonder how many here on Paracast have done his type of research?
Dr Michio Kaku is must for the Paracast and would indeed be another great interview. Wonder if Dr Michio Kaku is a sci-fi fan and wonder what is his top five movies and books are? :cool:

Apocalypto · Mar 22, 2011

<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w

unctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w

oNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w

ontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w

ontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w

ontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w

ontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--> This guy is nothing but a racist buffoon. He calls China out on their actions in Tibet while the United States has been (and still is) bombing the daylights out of Afghanistan and Iraq for almost a decade. Hey John, how about this news of a rogue tank unit murdering civilians in Afghanistan and taking photos whilst doing it?

Are you giving the U.S. a pass on that one as well? I mean, come on. Are you serious? What a joke. Why isn't China out there murdering Afghans and taking photos? Oh, I don't know, maybe because they're not complete a^%holes?

He goes on and on, railing against China, calling them out on everything from them trying to make Americans look bad by launching rockets right after shuttle disasters to trying to corner the rare earth minerals market. Right, and how has the U.S. conducted themselves in the past in these areas? Just like choir boys, right? lol

What is he smoking? (Or drinking, for that matter.) He was laughing so much I thought he was pissed out of his skull. Geez Louise. Unprofessional, to say these least.

It's amazing who they give Ph.D.s to these days. (Or are they passing them out in cereal boxes and I need to head down to Safeway and try my luck?)

Come on, Gene. Can’t you do any better than this guy?

Ezechiel · Mar 22, 2011

Apocalypto said:
What is he smoking? (Or drinking, for that matter.) He was laughing so much I thought he was pissed out of his skull. Geez Louise. Unprofessional, to say these least.

It's amazing who they give Ph.D.s to these days. (Or are they passing them out in cereal boxes and I need to head down to Safeway and try my luck?)

Come on, Gene. Can’t you do any better than this guy?

LOL, if you'd done any post graduate work you'd understand the need to relax. Presenting a thesis (an original idea) in front of your peers is not really a piece of cake. The paracast is a fun place where he decided to lower his guard.... was it a mistake ?

plumbbob12 · Mar 22, 2011

I agree with Ezechiel. The better drunks that I know come from the ivory towers. I use to meet at a local watering hole with other physics students, and do "homework", till all hours. Great times.
While I also agree with Apcalypto that this guy was kind of a flake, I do take the view point that this is entertainment. I get so burnt out on all the hard core political radio shows, and enjoy some speculation that might have some merit in science. The only real issue here is the same problem that we run into with other political radio talk shows, i.e. there are a percentage of folks that take what the host and guest say as “truth”, without doing the leg work to verify some of the outrages claims. I have come across some good resources on these shows, and also a lot of bunk, and only by doing the research yourself, and making sure that the claims are making it to real scientific journals, otherwise, we need to take it for what it is, a good time. Cheers.
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com

ffice

ffice" /><o

> </o

>

Angel of Ioren · Mar 22, 2011

plumbbob12 said:
I agree with Ezechiel. The better drunks that I know come from the ivory towers. I use to meet at a local watering hole with other physics students, and do "homework", till all hours. Great times.
While I also agree with Apcalypto that this guy was kind of a flake, I do take the view point that this is entertainment. I get so burnt out on all the hard core political radio shows, and enjoy some speculation that might have some merit in science. The only real issue here is the same problem that we run into with other political radio talk shows, i.e. there are a percentage of folks that take what the host and guest say as “truth”, without doing the leg work to verify some of the outrages claims. I have come across some good resources on these shows, and also a lot of bunk, and only by doing the research yourself, and making sure that the claims are making it to real scientific journals, otherwise, we need to take it for what it is, a good time. Cheers.
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o> </o>

I listen to podcasts as entertainment as well, including the Paracast, but I'm sure that many of the guests take their flaky ideas extremely seriously. I mean Brandenburg's Cydonia article was published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. So it was serious when he wrote it 20 years ago. Unfortunately, he is clinging to a hypothesis that was proven wrong by subsequent missions to Mars. That's when it becomes entertainment.

pixelsmith · Mar 22, 2011

Has the paracast become "The Onion" of the paranormal world?

plumbbob12 · Mar 22, 2011

Lancemoody et al.
I don't know if I would go as far as to say it is all "bull-shit". I am reminded of Rumi's statement that goes something like: "The only reason there is fool’s gold, is because real gold exist". This is a good way of saying that sometimes in all that weird “bull-shit” we find nuggets of real truth. One of the reasons that I go to the MUFON web site a couple times a week is not because I enjoy going through all the insane rants, and hoaxes on their UFO report map, but because every once in a while, I stumble on something that is very interesting. Probably 1 out of 100 reports are worth anything, but those that are, make it worthwhile.
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com

ffice

ffice" /><o

> </o

>

stphrz · Mar 22, 2011

As I stated in my last post, I don't mind listening to Paracast shows for entertainment value. I think that is a good thing for the most part. I realize the show is not a hard science exercise.

However, Dr. Brandenburg is being introduced as a real scientist. He has had a long career and has authored several peer reviewed works. Look him up.

Call me crazy, fussy or pendantic but when a guest is framed or presented in such a fashion, I don't think it's out of line to expect more from them. I don't think it's too much to hold them to a higher standard than other guests. I don't think it's a bad thing to call them out for making statements that are false like lance did.

Hotkafka · Mar 22, 2011

lancemoody said:
The false statements were just the beginning. There were hundreds of unsupported statements and more than a couple of batshit insane ones.
And when this is called out, the "this is not a science show, it's entertainment" card gets played.

Maybe "Separating signal from noise" is an ill-advised motto.
How about, "Just like Coast to Coast, with even more insane commercials"?

Lance

I have yet to listen to this show, and I'd have to admit I've got exactly zero interest in consuming the type of research Bradenburg is peddling. As usual, I find the reactions infinitely more entertaining. Especially the pot-shots and outright befuddlement surrounding the fact that an (ahem) academic/scholar has had the audacity to let a few bats out of the belfry, and on, of all places (gasp!), a paranormal broadcast. I.e. the dismissive references to the occasional wonky unsupported idea being sandwiched between an occasional "bat-shit" insane idea. Batshitanity, I'll call it.

Having had the privileged to study, work, endure a relationship and (more than) occasionally party with such denizens of the Ivory Tower, I should tell you, despite the trappings and stereotypes that seem to follow those whom have navigated such success; success in this realm as well as others tend to belong to those whom walk the razor's edge, if you know what I mean. And this type of behavior, (especially in those orbiting the higher end of the IQ spectrum) tends to follow creativity. I'd suggest, it's part of the process.

To say the least, finding a way to cope/reign in this dangerous cocktail of personality traits has for years been a unique problem of sorts for all institutes of higher learning, especially those tasked with recruiting the next Nobel laureate, but even more-so for those that have been fortunately (or unfortunately, depends on how you look at it..) labled with the burden of being a"prestigious" institute. ....Anyway, I'm getting off track here. I guess the point is you shouldn't be anymore shocked by having witnessed Batshitanity in a scholar as you should a vacuum cleaner salesman. Actually, I'd argue the reverse. The less quotient of Batshitanity in your scholar, the higher degree of suspicion one should hold. (I think this actually is part of the intake procedure at Yale, i.e. rating one's degree of Batshitanity. Those under-performing in this category get sent to Princeton, Brown, or worse, Dartmouth.) That's my take anyway, and it is based on some exposure.

Loosen up people.

Brandenburg

Free episodes:

Skeptic

Paranormal Novice

Friendly Skeptic

Paranormal Novice

Skilled Investigator

Stuffed Tiger

Stuffed Tiger

Paranormal Novice

Forum Super Hero

Paranormal Adept

Paranormal Novice

Whittingham

Paranormal Maven

Paranormal Adept

Skilled Investigator

Friendly Skeptic

pixelsmith

Guest

Skilled Investigator

Stuffed Tiger

Sanity is a default