Learn about how introverts can be happier by tapping into the powers of extroverts; how something can produce Cherenkov radiation by going faster than the speed of light; and, how the language you speak changes your perception of time. Please support today’s sponsor, Skura! Visit https://skurastyle.com to get sponges delivered right to your door, and enter promo code CURIOSITY to get your first month FREE! 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: Are Introverts Happier When They Pretend to Be Extroverts? — https://curiosity.im/2LSTaLM Cherenkov Radiation Is a Sonic Boom for Light, and It's Beautiful — https://curiosity.im/2n1TvC5 The Language You Speak Changes Your Perception of Time — https://curiosity.im/2mWPPBq Please nominate Curiosity Daily for Best Technology & Science Podcast in the 2019 Discover Pods Awards! It's free and only takes a minute. Thanks so much! https://awards.discoverpods.com/nominations/
Learn about how introverts can be happier by tapping into the powers of extroverts; how something can produce Cherenkov radiation by going faster than the speed of light; and, how the language you speak changes your perception of time.
Please support today’s sponsor, Skura! Visit https://skurastyle.com to get sponges delivered right to your door, and enter promo code CURIOSITY to get your first month FREE!
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:
Please nominate Curiosity Daily for Best Technology & Science Podcast in the 2019 Discover Pods Awards! It's free and only takes a minute. Thanks so much! https://awards.discoverpods.com/nominations/
Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/cherenkov-radiation-how-to-be-more-extroverted-and-changing-your-perception-of-time
CODY: Hi! We’re here from curiosity-dot-com to help you get smarter in just a few minutes. I’m Cody Gough.
ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Today, you’ll learn about how introverts can be happier by tapping into the powers of extroverts; what happens when something goes faster than the speed of light; and, how the language you speak changes your perception of time.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
Are Introverts Happier When They Pretend to Be Extroverts? — https://curiosity.im/2LSTaLM (from Saturday 10/19) (Cody)
If you or someone close to you is an introvert, then listen up. Because new research suggests there are ways for you to tap into the power of extroverts to be happier. And this research raises some interesting questions about human behavior. See, humans are social creatures, which might be why research has shown that extroverts are generally happier than introverts. Even doing extraverted things like talking to strangers on their commutes usually makes people happier, which we’ve talked about on this podcast before. And that kinda begs the question: could an introvert be happier by pretending to be an extravert? Before this reseach came out, the answer was “maybe not.” For a study from the Melbourne School of Psychological Science, introverts pretended to simply “act extroverted;” afterwards, they did say they felt mildly happier, but they also felt more tired and less authentic. They felt happier when they did extraverted stuff that felt natural, like hang out with friends they already knew, but the rest of the time, it just didn’t quite work. But for a new study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, researchers asked a group of college students to take on specific traits for a couple weeks. So instead of just being like, “hey, act extroverted,” they said to take on specific traits, like “act talkative or asservite or spontaneous.” Others in the study took on introverted traits, like deliberate, quiet, or reserved. And everyone involved in the study was told that the traits had all been found to be beneficial for college students, so that way nobody felt a stigma around the introverted traits. Participants were also randomly assigned one week being extroverted and one week being introverted, to measure both sides. And after two weeks, all participants had increases in well-being and felt more connected with other people after acting extroverted. The results imply that you can get a positive impact from the way you think about how you’re acting; it might feel fake to say “I’m gonna act extraverted this week,” but if you try something that’s not tied to your introverted identity, like “being more talkative,” then you might have better luck. At the same time, the researchers admit they don’t know exactly which specific behaviors made the study participants happier. Well-being decreased in those who were asked to behave in an introverted way, BUT WAS THAT BECAUSE THEY were acting deliberate, quiet, or reserved? Or a combination? So maybe try TAKING ON AN EXTRAVERTED TRAIT and see if it helps.
Cherenkov Radiation Is a Sonic Boom for Light, and It's Beautiful — https://curiosity.im/2n1TvC5 (Ashley)
When something goes faster than the speed of sound, you hear a loud sonic boom. Right? Well check this out: there’s a sonic boom for light, too. As in, when something goes faster than the speed of light, there's a "luminal boom,” and it appears as a pretty blue glow known as Cherenkov radiation.
But wait a sec: nothing can go faster than the speed of light, right? Well, technically yes, but here’s the catch.
Nothing can go faster than the speed of light in a vacuum. In another medium, like water or glass, the particles of light, or photons, slow down, since they interact with the atoms they come in contact with. But photons aren’t the only particles out there. For example, electrons don't interact with their environment the same way photons do. That means that if you have electrons traveling in another medium rather than a vacuum, they can go faster than the speed of light.
That's just what happens in the Advanced Test Reactor at the Idaho National Laboratory. The reactor is submerged in water to help keep it cool, and while light travels through water 30 percent slower than it does in a vacuum, electrons travel a bit faster than that. When electrons win this photonic footrace, it results in the "luminal boom,” called Cherenkov radiation. It shows up as a beautiful blue glow — way more attractive than the deafening thunder of a sonic boom if you ask us. And, as always, you can see that beauty in pictures we’ve got on our full write-up on this, which you can find a link to in today’s show notes.
[SKURA]
ASHLEY: Today’s episode is sponsored by Skura Style, which provides subscription plans to get sponges delivered right to your door.
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The Language You Speak Changes Your Perception of Time — https://curiosity.im/2mWPPBq (Ashley)
Research has shown that the language you speak can have a small impact on the way you think about the world. For example, when we talk about time in English, we refer to it by length: life is short, that was a long day. Swedish does this too. But in Spanish, people refer to time by size or volume: there is “much time,” “mucho tiempo,” or “little time,” “poco tiempo.” And that can have an effect on the speaker’s perception of time. In a 2017 study, researchers asked Swedish speakers and Spanish speakers to watch two videos and estimate how much time had passed after watching them. One video was of a container filling up with liquid. The other was of a line growing longer. Each speaker read the instructions and answered the questions in their native language.
When they watched the container fill up, Swedish speakers had no problem estimating how much time it took, but Spanish speakers estimated that it had taken more time than it actually did. For the line, the opposite was true: Spanish speakers didn’t have an issue, but Swedish speakers thought it took longer. The researchers repeated the experiment with people who spoke both languages, and the same thing happened depending on which language they used to take the test. The language you speak really can change your perception of time.
This is a fascinating look into how the language we use affects our perception. It also highlights the role bilingualism can play in making you aware of different perspectives. Study co-author Panos Athanasopoulos noted how this idea had been explored in the 2016 film, Arrival, about a linguist (played by Amy Adams) who deciphers an alien language that talks about time in a way that gives them the superpower of seeing into the future.
Maybe it's a good idea to take those language lessons after all, eh? You might not see into the future, but you could see the world in a whole new way.
ASHLEY: And now, let’s recap what we learned today. Today we learned that you can be happier by taking on specific traits of extraverts — although WHICH traits are still up in the air.
CODY: And that when electrons go faster than the speed of light, it creates a “luminal boom” that creates a beautiful blue Cherenkov radiation.
ASHLEY: And that
[ad lib optional]
CODY: Join us again tomorrow to learn something new in just a few minutes. I’m Cody Gough.
ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Stay curious!