Learn about the Goldbach conjecture, a simple math problem that’s never been solved; why researchers studied the cutest age for a puppy; and why extroverted leaders can have too much of a good thing. 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 Goldbach Conjecture Is a Simple Problem That's Never Been Solved — https://curiosity.im/2JV5kUT Science Has Determined That This Is the Cutest Age for a Puppy — https://curiosity.im/2YIsNf8 Extroverted Leaders Can Have Too Much of a Good Thing — https://curiosity.im/2QD1JLE 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 Goldbach conjecture, a simple math problem that’s never been solved; why researchers studied the cutest age for a puppy; and why extroverted leaders can have too much of a good thing.
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/leaders-can-be-too-extroverted-the-cutest-age-for-a-puppy-and-goldbachs-conjecture
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 a simple math problem that’s never been solved; why researchers studied the cutest age for a puppy; and why extroverted leaders can have too much of a good thing.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
The Goldbach Conjecture Is a Simple Problem That's Never Been Solved — https://curiosity.im/2JV5kUT (from Sunday) (Cody)
Some people run away the second they hear the phrase “math problem,” but I promise, the story I’m about to tell you is pretty easy to wrap your head around. I’ll admit that it DOES come from the world of mathematics, but how could you not be curious about a simple problem that’s never been solved? I’m talking about the Goldbach conjecture, and it’s one of the oldest and best-known unsolved problems in all of mathematics. It’s also a great example of something being deceptively simple. Here’s the story. In June of 1742, a Prussian mathematician named Christian Goldbach wrote a letter to another mathematician, Leonhard Euler [OY-lah]. Yes, “that” Leonard the guy the irrational number “e” is named after. But that’s another story. Anyway, in his letter, Goldbach laid out his famous conjecture. It was refined a bit over the years, but as of now, it says this: All even whole numbers greater than two are the sum of two prime numbers. Or basically, you can get any even number above two by adding up two prime numbers. If you’re really rusty on your math terminology, a prime number is a number that can only be divided by 1 and itself, like 3, 5, 7, 11, etc. So let’s try Goldbach’s conjecture on an even number like 28. You can add a couple prime numbers to get to 28, like 5 plus 23, or 11 plus 17. Seems innocent, right? Mathematicians have run the numbers, as it were, and you can actually do this with lots of even numbers. There’s even a Goldbach calculator you can find online, where you can put in a ridiculously huge even number, and it’ll find some prime number to add up to it. But just because every number you try works doesn't mean Goldbach's conjecture will hold up for every even number in the universe. For the problem to be solved, a mathematician has to come up with a way to prove that there will NEVER be an even number that doesn't work. Just checking numbers is never enough: you have to show that something will always, undoubtedly work. That’s known as a proof in the world of mathematics, and you haven’t truly finished a problem until that proof has been found. Anyway, what are you waiting for? You’ve got until 2042 if you want to solve this problem before its 300th birthday! [ad lib]
Science Has Determined That This Is the Cutest Age for a Puppy — https://curiosity.im/2YIsNf8 (Ashley)
Science has determined the cutest age for a puppy. Well, at least according to one study. Listen up if you’re curious about the PRIME TIME to put your puppy pics on Instagram for maximum like-ability. [ad lib]
ASHLEY: For this study, researchers from the University of Florida recruited 51 participants to assign cuteness scores to photos of puppies. The photos featured pups from their earliest weeks of life up through young adulthood, across lots of different breeds. And whether they were looking at Jack Russell terriers, cane corsos, or white shepherds, the puppies with the highest cuteness scores were consistently the ones in roughly their eighth week of life. People ranked newborn dogs as the least cute, with adorability gradually increasing over several weeks until it finally hit that sweet spot. After that point, cuteness tends to decline slightly, and then level out in adulthood. Sure, this study might seem a little silly. But it was actually in line with the researchers' hypothesis that optimal cuteness was tied to the age when female dogs start to kick their pups out of the den. Yes, when we think dogs are at their cutest, their mothers are feeling like it's time they leave the nest. And this study tell us about more than just how to get more likes on social media: it also tells us about canine evolution. You see, one big difference between dogs and wolves is that dogs might start pushing their puppies away at just eight weeks, right around the time they're weaned; meanwhile, their wild cousins are willing to put up with their pups for up to two years. To the researchers, this close correlation of the puppies' time of greatest need and their humans' time of greatest squee was likely a result of the domestication process. Think about it this way: especially in the early days of dog domestication, humans would’ve gravitated toward training dogs when they were still puppies — and it’s likely that the cuter the puppy, the better it was treated, and the more likely it was to be bred. Those pups that reached peak cuteness right when they were ready to leave Mom and go to puppy-training school were more likely to breed later in life — and therefore produce more eight-week cuties. Who said science can’t be cute?
[ARM & HAMMER]
CODY: No matter how you feel about puppies, you’re gonna want to listen up if you’re a cat owner. Because today’s episode is sponsored by Arm & Hammer.
ASHLEY:
ASHLEY: 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: So what happens in the litter box STAYS in the litter box.
CODY: Sounds like a cat-owner’s best friend!
ASHLEY: It’s definitely worth checking out. New Cloud Control Cat Litter by Arm & Hammer. More Power to You.
Extroverted Leaders Can Have Too Much of a Good Thing — https://curiosity.im/2QD1JLE (Cody)
CODY: According to a new study, an extremely extroverted leader can turn people off just as much as an overly introverted one. Turns out leaders can have too much of a good thing, so listen up before you get carried away with being too outgoing. First off, remember that extraversion is one of the Big Five Personality Traits we talk about on this show pretty regularly. Those are the dimensions modern psychologists use to measure human personalities. The whole concept of introversion and extroversion came from psychologist Carl Jung, who said the core difference between introverts and extroverts is in how they recharge their brains: Extroverts socialize, and introverts prefer to spend time alone. There are some other differences, including that a lot of people see extroverts as better leaders — they're “people people,” after all. But that's not exactly what a recent study in the Journal of Applied Psychology found. For the study, researchers sorted people into teams, from students in a business class — and, in a related experiment, employees at a Chinese communications company. After they finished their assigned projects, the researchers asked the students and employees who they saw as a leader on their team. Then, they looked at how that meshed with the self-reported personalities of the participants. The results showed that people correlated two dimensions of extroversion with perceived leadership, and those dimensions were warmth and assertiveness. But that correlation only checked out up to a point. Too much warmth OR too much assertiveness actually hurt people's leadership scores. Overly assertive people came off as domineering, and overly warm people also turned off their collaborators, who felt pressured to muster similar levels of enthusiasm and chattiness. Jung said there's no such thing as a pure extrovert — but even approaching pure extroversion makes other people feel uncomfortable. If you’re an extreme extrovert, then don’t worry: the study found that extreme extroverts could be seen as stronger leaders when it was clear they were motivated by helping others, rather than just pursuing their own self-interest. “Pushiness for a cause,” as it were. But overall, it seems that compelling leadership isn't about extreme personalities. It's more about a balanced persona, capable of a variety of things: networking with colleagues, reflecting on your own, and smiling — not grimacing — at passersby in the hall.
ASHLEY: Read about today’s stories and more on curiosity-dot-com!
CODY: Join us again tomorrow for the award-winning Curiosity Daily and learn something new in just a few minutes. I’m [NAME] and I’m [NAME]. Stay curious!