Learn about the optical illusion that makes stars look like UFOs; surprising facts about Fermat’s last theorem, one of math’s greatest mysteries; and why the most common form of prejudice may surprise you. 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: The Autokinetic Effect Is an Optical Illusion That Makes Stars Look Like UFOs — https://curiosity.im/2K7iVIK Fermat's Last Theorem Was Scribbled in the Margin of a Book — https://curiosity.im/2K1CPVv The Most Common Form of Prejudice May Surprise You — https://curiosity.im/2K7hz0C If you love our show and you're interested in hearing full-length interviews, then please consider supporting us on Patreon. You'll get exclusive episodes and access to our archives as soon as you become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/curiositydotcom Download the FREE 5-star Curiosity app for Android and iOS at https://curiosity.im/podcast-app. And Amazon smart speaker users: you can listen to our podcast as part of your Amazon Alexa Flash Briefing — just click “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing.
Learn about the optical illusion that makes stars look like UFOs; surprising facts about Fermat’s last theorem, one of math’s greatest mysteries; and why the most common form of prejudice may surprise you.
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:
If you love our show and you're interested in hearing full-length interviews, then please consider supporting us on Patreon. You'll get exclusive episodes and access to our archives as soon as you become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/curiositydotcom
Download the FREE 5-star Curiosity app for Android and iOS at https://curiosity.im/podcast-app. And Amazon smart speaker users: you can listen to our podcast as part of your Amazon Alexa Flash Briefing — just click “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing.
Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/fighting-the-most-common-form-of-prejudice-autokinetic-effect-and-fermats-last-theorem
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 the optical illusion that makes stars look like UFOs; surprising facts about one of math’s greatest mysteries; and why the most common form of prejudice may surprise you.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
The Autokinetic Effect Is an Optical Illusion That Makes Stars Look Like UFOs — https://curiosity.im/2K7iVIK (from Sunday) (Cody)
Did you know that if you stare at a star in the night sky long enough, it’ll start to “move”? I mean, it’s not REALLY moving. But it sure looks like it is. Same if you stare at a faraway streelight, or basically any bright, stationary point on a dark background. If you’ve ever wondered why this happens, the answer is that it’s an optical illusion called the autokinetic effect. A German astronomer named Alexander von Humboldt noticed this phenomenon at the turn of the 19th century, and it took decades for the scientific community to figure out the reason why. So let’s celebrate those decades of research by learning about their conclusions. Of course, it all goes back to how the human eye works. Your eye moves a lot throughout the day, and sometimes that movement is voluntarily, while other times it’s involuntarily. When you have a stable point of reference in your field of vision alongside a bright dot, your brain can kind of “edit out” your eye movements, meaning it removes any blurring or twitchiness in what you see. So if the dot is near something, you won’t notice little movements in your eye because your brain has a system for pretty much ignoring them. But when your entire field of vision is filled with a white dot, or even a few white dots, against a dark background, you lose that ability to tell the difference between movements of your eye and movements of the dot. So when your eye muscles start to get tired from staring and it causes slight eye movements, you mistakenly attribute the movement to whatever you're looking at. This powerful optical illusion is called the autokinetic effect because "auto" means self, and "kinetic" means motion — hence, it basically means self-created motion. And the autokinetic effect is precisely why you should be skeptical of many UFO sightings. Just because the phrase “I saw it with my own eyes” may technically be true, it doesn’t mean you should always trust what your eyes are actually “seeing.” After all: we’re only human.
Fermat's Last Theorem Was Scribbled in the Margin of a Book — https://curiosity.im/2K1CPVv (Ashley) [Fer-MAH]
You’ve probably heard of Fermat’s last theorem, the mathematical principle that took more than 300 years to solve. But do you know the full story of where it came from, and how it was solved? Because it’s a great story, and that’s why you’re about to hear it. Mathematician Pierre de Fermat came up with the theorem before his death in 1665, and it seemed simple enough: prove that there are no whole-number solutions for the equation x-to-the-nth power plus y-to-the-nth power equals z-to-the-nth power, when n is greater than 2. Even more simple than the theorem itself, though, was where the theorem was found. After Fermat passed away, his son Clement-Samuel found his copy of “Arithmetic,” which was a math book written by the third-century mathematician Diophantus [DYE-oh-FAN-tus] of Alexandria. And inside that book, he found the theorem — scribbled in the margin, originally in Latin, and concluding with the brag, “I have discovered a truly marvelous demonstration of this proposition that this margin is too narrow to contain.” This wasn’t the only brilliant idea Fermat had scribbled in the margins of a page, either — he'd written down plenty of claims like it, and mathematicians soon began working out these so-called proofs for themselves. Most were met with successful proofs, except for that puzzle that became known as Fermat's last theorem. The problem wasn’t solved until May of 1995, more than 330 years after Fermat’s death. The mathematician who solved it was Andrew Wiles, who first found the problem in 1963 when he was just 10 years old. To solve it, Wiles used advanced mathematics that hadn’t been invented until long after Fermat’s death. That’s interesting because in his note in the margins, Fermat had written, quote, “I have discovered a truly marvelous demonstration of this proposition that this margin is too narrow to contain,” unquote. Whether Fermat actually had a "truly marvelous" solution or not, it definitely wasn't this one — at least, unless he was several decades or centuries ahead of his time when it came to mathematical principles. But regardless of his true aims, remember that the note Fermat wrote in the margin of an old book set the world of mathematics ablaze for centuries. Not all heroes wear capes, and not all good ideas are published in scholarly journals.
[ARM & HAMMER]
CODY: Today’s episode is sponsored by Arm & Hammer, and their new Cloud Control Cat Litter.
ASHLEY: Listen up, cat lovers. You love your cat, but you don’t love cleaning up your cat’s litter box, right? Well this cat litter can make your life a little easier, so you can enjoy your favorite things about your cat. Like, for me, I love that my cat [ad lib]
ASHLEY: [It’s such a great thing / It really is hard not to love my cat], but again, clean-up isn’t always fun. Which is why Arm & Hammer created new Cloud Control litter. There's no cloud of nasties when I scoop ... it is 100% dust-free, free of heavy perfumes, and helps reduce airborne dander from scooping:
CODY: So what happens in the litter box STAYS in the litter box.
ASHLEY: Exactly. New Cloud Control Cat Litter by Arm & Hammer. More Power to You.
The Most Common Form of Prejudice May Surprise You — https://curiosity.im/2K7hz0C (from Saturday) (Cody)
The most common form of prejudice may surprise you. And it’s important to recognize just how prevalent it is, so maybe you can avoid contributing to it. So let’s get into it. First off, I think we can all agree that all types of prejudice are bad. We should all be nice to people. But last month, researchers published a review of the current research we do have on this particular type of prejudice, and they concluded that it’s so common and widespread, we don’t even recognize how impactful it is. I’m talking about ageism, and it has very negative effects. For example, a 2001 survey found that more than 77 percent of older people reported being the target of ageist behaviors, which ranged from being told ageist jokes to being mistreated by doctors. What's more, young people with negative ageist views can grow up to be old people with negative ageist views, and those internalized beliefs can take a toll. A 2002 study from Yale found that older people who have a negative view of aging are likely to live 7-and-a-half years less on average than those who viewed aging in a more positive light. Part of the problem may be the fact that ageism is not only tolerated, but it often goes completely unnoticed. That results in lots of different forms of ageism to be considered normal. As Laura A. Robbins writes for the American Society on Aging, quote, "We can't imagine 'anti-women' or 'anti-black' products, yet we buy into ads for billions of dollars worth of 'anti-aging' creams and cosmetic products," unquote. Robbins also points out that even the simple definition of "older adults" could be considered ageist. Older adulthood covers about forty or more years, from age 60 to ages 100 and older. Our society would never lump together a 10-year-old with a 50-year-old, but we seem to have no problem lumping older adults together, assuming a 60-year-old is the same as a 100-year-old. Luckily, there's work being done to fight this trend. In 2012, eight major aging organizations joined together to discuss the best ways to combat ageism. Since then, they've been working diligently to reframe a lot of the questions and unchecked beliefs surrounding aging and ageism. But for this effort to take hold, people need to do what they can on an individual level. Try to remember that everyone is valuable, and when you unquestioningly hold beliefs about older people, you might discount their very real contributions to society. [ad lib]
CODY: That’s all for today, but you can keep learning all weekend on curiosity-dot-com.
ASHLEY: And tomorrow, keep an eye out for a special Saturday episode of Curiosity Daily. It’s part of our sponsored miniseries on how science and technology are being applied to drive innovation and change the world.
CODY: We’ll be back with our regularly scheduled programming on Sunday, but I invite you to join us every day for the award-winning Curiosity Daily to learn something new in just a few minutes. And have a great weekend! I’m Cody Gough.
ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Stay curious!