Bill Nye explains why you should be excited about the Perseverance Rover and the Mars 2020 mission. Plus: learn about why old tech is better than new tech when it comes to connecting during COVID and a 5-minute trick for falling asleep faster.
Bill Nye explains why you should be excited about the Perseverance Rover and the Mars 2020 mission. Plus: learn about why old tech is better than new tech when it comes to connecting during COVID and a 5-minute trick for falling asleep faster.
When it comes to connecting during COVID, old tech outranks new tech by Kelsey Donk
Additional resources from Bill Nye:
This 5-Minute Trick Can Help You Fall Asleep Faster originally aired October 2, 2018 https://omny.fm/shows/curiosity-daily/plants-that-light-up-when-attacked-a-5-minute-tric
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Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/bill-nye-on-why-mars-2020-is-so-exciting
CODY: Hi! You’re about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from curiosity-dot-com. I’m Cody Gough.
ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Today, you’ll learn why old tech is better than new tech when it comes to connecting during COVID. Then, our very special guest Bill Nye will explain why you should be excited about the Perseverance Rover and the Mars 2020 mission, featuring the Perseverance Rover. You’ll also learn about a 5-minute trick for falling asleep faster.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
It’s been more than a year now that our social interactions have been dominated by technology. From happy hours on Zoom to Animal Crossing sessions to livetweeting awards shows to Twitch weddings to the rise of Clubhouse, we have been Very Online. A group of researchers wanted to figure out how all of this communication tech had affected us in the past year. Their findings suggest that when it comes to connecting with loved ones, old-school tech like phone calls might actually outshine all that new technology.
In May 2020 — which was almost a full year ago, believe it or not — the researchers surveyed around 2,000 Americans. They chose a broad swath of people across age, geographic, racial, educational, and socioeconomic demographics. The people shared how they’d been using communication technology to maintain their social relationships at the height of lockdown orders. They also talked about how their use of technology was affecting their relationships with people they lived with and people they were trying to connect with outside the home.
The study’s big finding was that relatively older technologies like phone calls and emails were better at reducing the stress and loneliness of the pandemic than newer options like video chats, collaborative video games, and social media. While talking on the phone lowered people’s stress and loneliness and made it easier to maintain relationships, video chats actually made people more stressed and lonely, and put a wrench in their relationships.
And just forget about social media. Using social media platforms had the biggest link to stress of any technology.
Based on their findings, the researchers make a pretty convincing pitch for the old-fashioned telephone call. While video calls are great, they also take a lot of attention. But a phone call lets you move around and multitask with the added bonus of hearing someone’s voice.
The researchers also shared one finding that we can feel hopeful about as vaccination rates increase. Across the board, the researchers found that people who could see each other face-to-face, in person, were the least stressed out and lonely. We’ll cross our fingers that one day, soon, we might be able to meet in person again and be our most relaxed, thriving selves. Until then, at least there’s the telephone.
Did you know we have a rover driving around Mars right now? It’s pretty awesome. And as the CEO of the Planetary Society, Bill Nye finds is ESPECIALLY awesome. Yes, Bill Nye, “the science guy” — who happens to be our guest today. Everybody loves talking about Mars, so we figured: why not get his thoughts on the latest and greatest stuff we’re doing on the red planet?
[CLIP 5:05]
Could you imagine finding out that our ancestors were Martians? Yeah, I’ll pay the price of a cup of coffee EVERY FEW YEARS for that. Go ahead, TAKE MY MONEY! Again, that was Bill Nye, CEO of The Planetary Society, and — oh yeah — the science guy! You can find links to pick up his latest book, and to check out his podcast “Science Rules,” in today’s show notes. Bill Nye will be back tomorrow and Friday to talk about Earth Day, the process of science, and more!
CODY: I’ve been pretty open about my sleep troubles on this podcast. I just have a hard time falling asleep. I don’t want anyone else to have this problem. So we found a story from 2018 that COULD help you, if you’ve found yourself tossing and turning at night. Take a listen.
ASHLEY: [1:28 story audio clip]
Let’s recap the main things we learned today
[ad lib optional]
CODY: Today’s first story was written by Kelsey Donk, and edited by Ashley Hamer, who’s the managing editor for Curiosity Daily.
ASHLEY: Today’s episode was produced and edited by Cody Gough.
CODY: Join us again tomorrow — for less than the price of a cup of coffee! — to learn something new in just a few minutes.
ASHLEY: And until then, stay curious!