In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes: A 3D-Printed Model of Your Own Brain Could Be Coming Soon Hear the Medieval Alarm That Protected the Shogun From Potential Assassins This 3-Second Trick Will Keep You From Saying Something You'll Later Regret Need help boosting your self-reflection skills? Check out Daniel Goleman's book, "Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ." The audiobook is free with a trial of Audible. We handpick reading recommendations we think you may like. If you choose to make a purchase through that link, Curiosity will get a share of the sale. Learn more about these topics and more onCuriosity.com, and download our5-star app for Android and iOS. Then, join the conversation onFacebook,Twitter, andInstagram. Plus: Amazon smart speaker users, enable ourAlexa Flash Briefing to learn something new in just a few minutes every day!
In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes:
Need help boosting your self-reflection skills? Check out Daniel Goleman's book, "Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ." The audiobook is free with a trial of Audible. We handpick reading recommendations we think you may like. If you choose to make a purchase through that link, Curiosity will get a share of the sale.
Learn more about these topics and more on Curiosity.com, and download our 5-star app for Android and iOS. Then, join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Plus: Amazon smart speaker users, enable our Alexa Flash Briefing to learn something new in just a few minutes every day!
Full episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/a-trick-for-avoiding-regrets-3d-printing-your-brain-and-a-medieval-security-alarm
[MUSIC PLAYING] CODY GOUGH: Hi. We've got three stories from curiosity.com to help you get smarter in just a few minutes. I'm Cody Gough.
ASHLEY HAMER: And I'm Ashley Hamer. Today you'll learn a three-second trick that'll stop you from saying something you might regret later, you'll hear a medieval alarm that protected the shogun from assassins, and you'll learn the story behind 3D printed brains and why they could be a big deal in the medical world.
CODY GOUGH: Let's satisfy some curiosity. All right, Ashley. Did you ever do that thing at home where you stick to the side of the hallway just to stay quiet?
ASHLEY HAMER: I don't know what you're talking about.
CODY GOUGH: So in my parents' house upstairs, if I left my bedroom and I'm going in the hallway, if I walked in the middle of the hallway, you would hear the boards creaking-- not the boards, but the floor would kind of creak a little bit.
ASHLEY HAMER: All right.
CODY GOUGH: But if you stuck to the sides, because either they're more reinforced, or they're not walked on as often, then they would never make a noise.
ASHLEY HAMER: Interesting.
CODY GOUGH: So you never had a system like that?
ASHLEY HAMER: I don't think my floors worked that way.
CODY GOUGH: [CHUCKLES]
ASHLEY HAMER: Or if they did, I never discovered it. Wow.
CODY GOUGH: Yeah. Pro tip, stick to the side of the hallway if you're trying to sneak in or out.
ASHLEY HAMER: There you go.
CODY GOUGH: But don't do it if you're not allowed to. We don't advocate breaking rules on this show.
ASHLEY HAMER: Of course not.
CODY GOUGH: Well, today you're going to learn about a medieval security alarm that protected the shogun from potential assassins. And it works in a kind of similar way-- very different but kind of similar. In 1601, the emperor of Japan was Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. And he ruled a Japan that was unified for the first time in centuries.
So when he built his palace, his great palace in Kyoto, he installed a state of the art security system to protect against assassins. And it's called the nightingale floor. The nightingale floor is built from dried boards that are set up so the flooring nails rub against a metal jacket or clamp. So even the slightest bit of pressure makes the nails squeal, and it makes a chirping or a whistling sound which is why they call it a nightingale floor. Several temples in Kyoto have the same feature to protect against thieves, not assassins because presumably assassins weren't doing stuff in temples. Anyway, here's what it sounded like.
[SQUEAKING]
Here's the coolest part though, the palace regulars, like priests and guards and other residents, were trained to walk only in a certain pattern so they would create a specific rhythm and cadence.
ASHLEY HAMER: Wow.
CODY GOUGH: Yeah. So that meant if you heard an unfamiliar song, then you probably had an uninvited guest. And they didn't have to wait for a phone call from the security company to get someone on the scene. The last thing you want to deal with is warriors with swords.
ASHLEY HAMER: Swords are nobody's friend.
CODY GOUGH: [CHUCKLES]
ASHLEY HAMER: Cody, have you ever 3D printed something?
CODY GOUGH: No. Have you?
ASHLEY HAMER: I haven't. I've watched it happen. It's so cool. It's so futuristic. I love it. Well, today in Curiosity, we've got a story behind how the technology that came out of a recent 3D printing project could soon benefit everyone.
CODY GOUGH: Ooh.
ASHLEY HAMER: I really love this story. So in 2007, a guy named Steven Keating participated in a research study that involved an MRI brain scan. Keating was a curious guy, so he asked for a copy of the scan's raw data. That data showed a slight abnormality near his brain's smell center. And he was advised to get it re-evaluated in a few years.
The new scan he got in 2010 didn't show a change. But in 2014, Keating started experiencing a phantom smell of vinegar for about half an hour every day. By then, he was a PhD student at MIT. But he remembered those brain scans and asked MIT Medical to scan him a third time, and that abnormality had grown into a baseball-sized tumor that needed to be removed as soon as possible.
CODY GOUGH: Oh, no.
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah. I mean, Keating was at MIT, right? So he had surgery within a month. And within a week, he was back on campus.
CODY GOUGH: Nice.
ASHLEY HAMER: But he was still curious about those scans. See, Keating's PhD research centered on 3D printing, specifically printing 3D models of living organisms. But even though he had all the data he needed to 3D print his brain, it just didn't work right. The problem was in the level of detail provided by the brain scans.
Well, Keating found a solution and published it in an article in the journal 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing just this month. It was such a massive undertaking. A total of 18 different authors worked on it.
CODY GOUGH: Wow.
ASHLEY HAMER: You can read about all the technical details today in our full article. But basically, they came up with a way for a 3D printer to print a super complex biological image using two different materials in just the right amount of detail. That method let them create models of Keating's brain that, according to the press release, quote, "faithfully preserved all of the gradations of detail present in the raw MRI data down to a resolution that's on par with what the human eye can distinguish from about 9 to 10 inches away," unquote.
CODY GOUGH: Wow.
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah. These are the same approach to print a model of a human heart valve, along with a model of a human foot, complete with bones, tendons, muscles, and skin. And that's all from a scan. The researchers hope that their method will help make 3D printing a more viable tool for routine exams and diagnoses, patient education, and understanding the human body. I mean, can you imagine the next time you go in for an MRI or a CAT scan, instead of showing you the scan, they can just print a little model of your body right there and show you what's going on with you.
CODY GOUGH: That'll be pretty solid.
ASHLEY HAMER: That would be amazing.
CODY GOUGH: We're going to wrap up today with a simple three-second trick that can stop you from seeing something you might regret later. Any time you think you might be about to say something you're going to regret later, ask yourself three questions. One, does this need to be said? Two, does this need to be said by me? And three, does this need to be said by me now? That's it.
Comedian Craig Ferguson mentioned this trick in a 2011 stand-up special. But his special had a lot of explicit language, so we decided that Curiosity should bring you this great advice here for the whole family to enjoy.
ASHLEY HAMER: [CHUCKLES]
CODY GOUGH: These three questions work because they're basically an exercise in self-reflection, which research has shown to be very beneficial. You can read more about the benefits of self-reflection and how to get the most from it today on curiosity.com and on the Curiosity app for Android and iOS.
ASHLEY HAMER: OK. So does this need to be said? Does this need to be said by me? And does this need to be said by me now? Cool.
CODY GOUGH: Yeah. The answer is usually no--
ASHLEY HAMER: [CHUCKLES] Usually no.
CODY GOUGH: --when I ask this. If you're on Facebook, spoiler alert, the answer is almost always no. The first one is usually just where I stop. Does it need to be said? No, it really doesn't. Mm-hmm. Well, that's all for today, but Curiosity has big plans for the weekend. What can you learn about this weekend, Ashley?
ASHLEY HAMER: Well, this weekend, you'll learn about Einstein's Blackboard, why do you get butterflies when you're nervous, the psychopath capital of the US, the dirtiest spot in the airport-- and spoiler alert, it's not the bathroom-- and more.
CODY GOUGH: And also some weird image of a bacteria arm thing reaching up. You were trying--
ASHLEY HAMER: It's so cool.
CODY GOUGH: You tried to describe it to me.
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah. it, like, harpoons DNA. It's the little guy. It's great.
CODY GOUGH: Well, keep an eye on curiosity.com this weekend. And hey, you can email us about whatever you're curious about, and Ashley might answer your question on our Sunday show or on another show next week. Send over your question at podcast@curiosity.com.
ASHLEY HAMER: That's podcast@curiosity.com. Join us again Sunday to learn something new in just a few minutes. I am Ashley Hamer.
CODY GOUGH: And I'm Cody Gough. Have a great weekend.
ASHLEY HAMER: And stay curious.
NARRATOR: On the Westwood One Podcast Network.
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