Welcome, Checkers to your 384th episode of TRC! First Adam, addresses a listener’s email from last year asking whether Nikola Tesla contacted extraterrestrial life. Next, Cristina brings us up to speed with a recent FTC court settlement against Lumosity and their neuroplasticity claims. Finally, Darren looks into a viral story about a man who allegedly sues his wife for birthing an ugly baby.
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Did Nikola Tesla Contact Aliens?
Nikola Tesla quotes from The Prestige – IMDB
Talking with the Planets (1901)
TRC #308 – Crossfit + SETI + Dogs And Ice Water – The Reality Check
FTC vs Lumosity
Gizmodo: Lumosity has to pay 2 million for lying about its bullshit
Gizmodo: Lumosity brain games are bullshit
Washington Post: Lumosity didn’t have the research to back up its claims
Ugly Baby Lawsuit?
Thanks for the name-check on your Lumosity segment by the ever-improving Cristina. It’s nice to know that someone is actually reading the occasional rants I send your way. The problem with Lumosity, of course, is not that they provide a piece of entertainment but that they give misleading claims about it and put a veneer of respectability by using otherwise credible media such as NPR and various legitimate podcasts.
Anyone care to take on Cancer Treatment Centers of America now?
This chain sounds perfectly legit as they advertise heavily on NPR but as you drill down into their website you find the wormhole of “integrative services” such as naturopathy, homeopathy (which they charmingly describe as “low doses of plant extracts and minerals that gently strengthen the body’s healing and immune response”), mind-body therapy, hydrotherapy and chiropractic.
Keep up the good work
Aliens were stealing Tesla techs and inventions.