Solving The Mystery Of The Somerton Man With Professor Derek Abbott - Episode 22

Derek Abbott is a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Adelaide in Australia who, along with genetic researcher Colleen Fitzpatrick, finally solved the mystery of the Somerton Man, an unidentified man found dead on a beach in Australia in 1948. He joins me to talk about his decades-long quest to find this man's identity, how the discovery was finally made, and the stunning advancement in DNA technology that has happened only in the last few years.
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[@aanchaallllllll]

0:00: 🔍 The Somerton man case has been partially solved, with the identification of the man's name, but many questions remain. 9:35: 🔍 The investigator discusses the evidence and theories surrounding the case, including the possibility of a body swap and the unsolved code in the book. 20:47: 📸 The speaker discusses the process of reconstructing the face of Charles Webb using AI and compares it to a photo of him when he was alive. 29:47: 🔍 Colleen and X worked together to build a family tree and investigate the identity of the Summerton man, finding connections to the Keen family. 39:54: 🔍 The narrator and Colleen built out the family tree, starting with the theory of a connection to the Keane family, but eventually found a match with Charles Webb and his mother's side. 51:12: 🔎 The narrator formed a scientific hypothesis based on the information available at the time, but it was later overturned. They discovered a connection between the Keen name and the tie, and found out about Charles Webb's background and career. 1:02:57: 🔍 The speaker discusses the various personal tragedies and challenges faced by Charles Webb and his family, including the deaths of his father and mother, the deaths of his nephew and brother in World War II, and the breakdown of his marriage. 1:13:20: 🔬 The speaker discovered hairs stuck in the plaster of the Summerton man's death mask and extracted them to obtain DNA. 1:28:05: 🧬 Advancements in DNA sequencing technology have allowed for the extraction of DNA from a 70-year-old hair shaft, challenging the conventional wisdom of using hair roots for DNA analysis. 1:37:02: 🔍 The speaker discusses the importance of not believing in scientific models and the need for skepticism and replication in scientific research. 1:45:15: 📚 The interviewee discusses the Voynich manuscript, including their skepticism towards its authenticity, the use of computational techniques to analyze it, and the significance of its meticulous handwriting. 1:55:29: 🎙 The host thanks the guest for the interview and promotes his merchandise store. Recap by Tammy AI

[@JSGreen24]

Such an incredible story! Glad you've kept up with all the updates as the pieces fall into place.

[@michaelgian2649]

Quite an educational experience for me. Reiteration of how science actually works was the best take from Dr. Abbott's conversation. The longer videos are pleasing.

[@ryantwombly720]

That segment as super useful. It clarifies the scientific process in general, and some of the great scientific debates in particular. I immediately thought of Einstein vs Bohr on QM.

[@HavajaFrljuckic]

Such an amazing story of this man. I feel sadness for him but am pleased to see that he has been I'd. This engineer in this interview is his name Dr. Abbott well he did a wonderful job on locating this man's identity. I do not see him as obsessed with Locating the id of the Somerton man Charles but rather a hero! If not for his persistence. Charles may have never been identified. That would have been tragic. Bravo Dr. Abbott. On a side note, I do think Charles went to the ocean and placed himself there looking out into the sea and ended his life. He seemed to have faced tragedy loosing a lot of his family members and I believe his ex wife was the rough one. Abusive does not seem to fit Charles' character as being poetic and what was briefly said about him on another site I watched wherein his new found family members showed pictures of him with his family at his youth and stated he like to joke around? Also the comment from the ex husband. Anyway I just feel sadness that Charles felt no other way out. RIP Charles.

[@seantiz]

“Persistence hunter”. Very accurate. It takes someone like him to follow every possibility until the answer is found.

[@mocko69]

the last 20 minutes is just us listening in to a random chitchat that two guys are having lol

[@drmanikandanm4880]

this was amazing

[@theg0z0n]

This was amazing. Thanks so much Joe!

[@shirleysavoury5638]

Really enjoyed this. Fascinating!

[@SaiakuNaSenshu]

Love it like almost everything you do.

[@dlerious77]

tough to get through...gotta be honest Joe...but we love ya and will watch anyways...hehe

[@billyalarie929]

THIS IS SO COOL

[@_nebulousthoughts]

Home town mystery!!!

[@DragonKingGaav]

Isdal Woman and Jennifer Fairgate next!

[@MsVanorak]

trow ghyll skeleton

[@billyalarie929]

i keep doing this in bits and pieces and chunks but i had a question why does it seem as though you are downplaying "science communicator" as if the "storyteller" part isn't EXACTLY AS IMPORTANT AS THE WORK OF THE SCIENCE ITSELF? only difference is you make it digestible. which is ARGUABLY MORE IMPORTANT, the world at large cannot understand every detail in the discoveries. you make it palatable for us. and that means comfort. :)

[@connied8507]

Corroboration up the wahzoo

[@SmilerSmilerSmiler]

They are friends

[@glenjennett]

Next project: Who was Jack the Ripper?

[@billyalarie929]

i think we should just start calling the undershirt the "Roiland"

[@dwaynezilla]

How about instead of "wifebeaters" we can do something positive like "wifepleasers"... Nevermind, forget I said anything.