“There's a host of scams that are evolving all the time.”

—  Steven Novella

SGU, Podcast #72 – December 6th, 2006 http://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcast/sgu/72 <br class="br">The Skeptics&#x27; Guide to the Universe, Podcast, 2000s

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Steven Novella20
American neurologist, skepticist 1964

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“Let me tell you the story of the most successful organism of all time: this is the story of the parasite. … Early on, evolution branched into two distinct paths: independent organisms—those that exist on their own in the natural world—and parasites—organisms that live on other organisms. And it was, by far, the parasites that proved the more successful of the two branches. Today, for every independent organism in nature, there exist three parasites. … These two strains of evolution have been locked in a primordial arms race, constantly evolving to best each other for supremacy of this planet. As parasites evolve to perfect their systems against a species of host, the host evolves to evade their attack. Scientists call this theory of an eternal genetic struggle the Red Queen Hypothesis—a name taken from Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass.”

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“The secret of a good scam is not to get greedy.”

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“The money's the same, whether you earn it or scam it.”

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Misc.

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“I'll tell you why it's not a scam, in my opinion, all right? Tide goes in, tide goes out, never a miscommunication. You can't explain that.”

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“The genomes of long-term obligate symbionts often undergo irreversible gene loss and deterioration even as hosts evolve dependence on them. In some cases, animal genomes may have acquired genes from symbionts, mirroring the gene uptake from mitochondrial and plastid genomes. Multiple symbionts often coexist in the same host, resulting in coadaptation among several phylogenetically distant genomes.”

Nancy A. Moran (1954) American biologist

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“If cryonics were a scam it would have far better marketing and be far more popular.”

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A comment on reddit (2009) http://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/comments/7g5ea/if_you_dont_believe_in_god_or_an_afterlife_would/c06ktil

“Look up and below and all round and see the wonderful creations of God, not only our earth but the whole host of celestial worlds, planets, constellations etc. – many still unknown to us. See with what minute precision and order they move and are regulated. Only God could have created them. Ev all the accumulated genius of Mankind from the time of Creation through eons and eons of time and even to the end of existence, were all pooled together, yet it would not be able to evolve even a fraction of this order. God only could do so, and without him it would be utter chaos.”

Peter de Noronha (1897–1970) Indian businessman

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“My theme is memory, that winged host that soared about me one grey morning of war-time.”

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