Curiosity Daily

Brain Freeze, Neural Networks, Spaced Repetition for Memory

Episode Summary

Learn about brain freeze fixes; neural networks beyond our understanding; and learning new skills with spaced repetition. The stories in this episode originally aired August 29, 2018 https://omny.fm/shows/curiosity-daily/neural-networks-why-you-get-brain-freeze-and-a-sci  Learn better with the Anki app that Ashley uses: https://apps.ankiweb.net/  Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to learn something new every day withCody Gough andAshley Hamer. Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.

Episode Notes

Learn about brain freeze fixes; neural networks beyond our understanding; and learning new skills with spaced repetition.

The stories in this episode originally aired August 29, 2018 https://omny.fm/shows/curiosity-daily/neural-networks-why-you-get-brain-freeze-and-a-sci

Learn better with the Anki app that Ashley uses: https://apps.ankiweb.net/

Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer. Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.

Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/brain-freeze-neural-networks-spaced-repetition-for-memory

Episode Transcription

CODY: Hi! You’re about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from Discovery. I’m Cody Gough.

ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Today, you’ll learn about why “brain freeze” happens — and how to fix it; how neural networks have advanced beyond our understanding; and why spaced repetition is a great technique for learning a new skill — like speaking a foreign language. We originally ran these stories on August 29, 2018, and they’re so good, we remastered them just for you.

CODY: Plus, stick around for a brand-new recap segment at the end of today’s episode to hear our fresh takes on all of today’s stories. But right now? Let’s satisfy some curiosity.

RECAP

CODY: Hey, we’re back in 2022! Let’s do a quick recap of what we learned today.

  1. ASHLEY: “Brain freeze” happens because when something ice-cold touches your soft palate, it touches nerves that are right next to important arteries, including one that feeds blood to your brain. When you eat or drink something really hot or cold, that temperature shock makes those arteries rapidly expand and contract, and your brain gets a message that you’re experiencing pain. The best way to stop brain freeze is to press your tongue or thumb to the roof of your mouth to normalize the temperature — and stop your brain’s pain response.
  2. CODY: Neural networks have actually advanced beyond our understanding. They’re complex systems of electronic quote-unquote “neurons” that power everything from lab experiments to your phone's facial-recognition software. And they kind of teach themselves how to do things over time, but we only see what they’ve learned — not how they learned it. We talked to experts on Curiosity Daily last year about why you probably shouldn’t FEAR AI and robots, so this isn’t necessarily a scary thing. It’s just pretty weird. The future is here.
    1. ASHLEY: And if you want to go back into our archive to listen to those interviews, you can search for computer scientists Michael Wooldridge, who talked to us about AI, or Ruth Aylett [AY-let], who talked to us about robots.
    2. CODY: AND fun fact I didn’t realize until after we published our interview with Ruth: Michael Wooldridge wrote one of the blurbs on the back of the new book that Ruth co-authored. Small world!
  3. ASHLEY: Spaced repetition is a great study technique. First, make flash cards. Then review them every day. And then sort them into piles based on how well you remember what you’re trying to memorize from each one. Review the ones you remember the least every day, and study the ones you’re more comfortable with less frequently. That way you’ll be focusing more on the things that need the most work! Good advice near the start of the year, with school starting back up? Plus all those New Year’s Resolutions to learn a new language, which… well… I mean, honestly, a lot of those have probably already failed by now. But maybe this will motivate you to try again!

[ad lib optional] 

CODY: Today’s writers were Trevor English, Ashley Hamer, and Joanie Faletto. 

ASHLEY: Curiosity Daily is distributed by Discovery.

CODY: [AD LIB SOMETHING FUNNY] Join us again next time to learn something new in just a few minutes.

ASHLEY: And until then, stay curious!