Learn about how the color of pills influences how well they’ll work on you; the weird things scientists are learning about a substance that made up the early universe; and the science behind why CEOs make time for hobbies. 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 Color of Pills Influences How Well They'll Work on You — https://curiosity.im/2GA7FBw Quark-Gluon Plasma Made Up the Early Universe, and Scientists Can Recreate It — https://curiosity.im/2GzLnQC Why Do CEOs Make Time for Hobbies? — https://curiosity.im/2GA7MwW 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 how the color of pills influences how well they’ll work on you; the weird things scientists are learning about a substance that made up the early universe; and the science behind why CEOs make time for hobbies.
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/pill-colors-influence-their-effectiveness-bizarre-quark-gluon-plasma-traits-and-ceo-hobbies
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 the color of pills influences how well they’ll work on you; the weird things scientists are learning about a substance that made up the early universe; and the science behind why CEOs make time for hobbies.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
The Color of Pills Influences How Well They'll Work on You — https://curiosity.im/2GA7FBw (Cody)
Here’s something interesting if you’ve ever taken medication for something: the color pills influences how well they’ll work on you. It’s true! Imagine you have two identical anti-itch creams, but one is white and the other is red. Which would you reach for? [ad lib]
CODY: You already know about the placebo effect. That’s when you feel like a drug or treatment cured you when it really had no medical reason to do so. If you believe a drug-less little sugar pill will erase your throbbing headache, it really can. Turns out the brain is a powerful organ. And the placebo effect can influence how well real medication works, too. In a 1996 study, green and blue pills had more sedative effects than other colors. Red and orange, on the other hand, gave more stimulant effects. A 1970 study suggested that yellow pills make the most effective antidepressants, and a study from 1982 said that green medicine can do a better job of getting rid of anxiety, and that white stuff will soothe your pain. If you had to choose an anti-itch cream, you’d probably choose white over red, right? Exactly. Oh, and brand names can have an impact, too — as in, brand names literally printed on the pill. According to a 1981 study, a white aspirin with the name stamped into it can dupe your brain into being more effective than the anonymous-looking unstamped one. Anyway, there’s a reason for all this: our brains take cues from colors to set up certain expectations about the world around us. Basically, whether you think you do or not, your brain cares about color. That’s why green ketchup didn’t work out for Heinz, and why you don’t see Burger King's black burgers or clear Crystal Pepsi these days. Relating back to medication, people generally perceive yellow to be cheery like sunshine, and blue to be calming like a placid lake. It's then no wonder a bright yellow antidepressant, and not a grayish blue one, will get you thinking happy thoughts before you ever pop it in your mouth.
Quark-Gluon Plasma Made Up the Early Universe, and Scientists Can Recreate It — https://curiosity.im/2GzLnQC (Ashley)
Researchers are trying to learn more about the early universe, and part of their research centers around a thing called quark-gluon plasma. It’s a substance that came into existence a millionth of a second after the Big Bang, it was so hot that protons and neutrons couldn’t even form yet. Well, scientists have been hard at work creating it in giant particle accelerators. And what they’ve learned about it is beyond bizarre. So… wanna learn about it? [ad lib]
ASHLEY: The elementary particles that made up the early stuff of the universe are quarks and gluons. Quarks are the building blocks of protons, and gluons are the particles responsible for the strong force, which holds those quarks together. Together, they make up quark-gluon plasma, which is hundreds of thousands of times hotter than the sun. Physicists have described as a nearly perfect fluid. It's exotic and fleeting and you know those physicists want to play with it. In 2005, they got their first chance and created quark-gluon plasma for a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a second. Researchers sent gold nuclei careening through a 2.4 mile ring at nearly the speed of light until they smashed into each another. In those collisions, the nuclei heated up and broke apart into their elementary particles, which formed the quark-gluon plasma. I wasn’t joking when I said that plasma didn’t stick around, though: it lasted for ten-to-the-negative-twenty-third seconds before it cooled, leaving behind particles that bear the evidence of what once was — but that's enough for scientists to make some pretty cool observations. The first thing scientists learned about quark-gluon plasma was very surprising: It behaves like a liquid. That’s weird because plasma is usually described as an ionized gas. And quark-gluon plasma doesn’t just behave like ANY old liquid: It's nearly frictionless. It has near-zero viscosity. If you think water flows faster than honey, then that’s nothing compared to how quickly this plasma flows. Its particles take coordinated paths and move together with an ease that we’ve never seen in any other material. And 2017, physicists discovered something else amazing about this exotic substance: in addition to being the least viscous fluid ever, it also has the highest vorticity — basically, swirl speed. Its spin is faster than the cores of super-cell tornadoes, the churn of Jupiter's Great Red Spot, and the swirl of superfluid helium, which has the fastest spin on record. Physicists aren't done studying this strange substance, and they're confident it has more secrets up its sleeve. We’ll keep you posted if they find anything worth talking about.
[FIRST ALERT]
CODY: Today’s episode is sponsored by First Alert.
ASHLEY: There are three things every homeowner wants their home to be: smarter, safer, and more fun. What if I told you OneLink by First Alert can accomplish all three of those things?
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ASHLEY: One more time, that’s one-link-dot-first-alert-dot-com.
Why Do CEOs Make Time for Hobbies? — https://curiosity.im/2GA7MwW (Cody)
Researchers have found 4 reasons why successful CEOs make time for hobbies. And today you’ll learn what those reasons are, in case you feel like you might want to be a CEO some day. When I say “hobbies,” I’m talking about stuff like how the CEO of Goldman Sachs is a DJ in his spare time (in fact, he’s been a DJ longer than he’s been a CEO). According to a study published in Harvard Business Review in October 2018 that looked at CEOs of S&P 500 companies, he’s just one of 56 CEOs who have a hobby they’re quite serious about, and commited to long-term. Now, I know what you’re thinking: this all has to do with the Temin effect that we talked about on a previous episode, right? That’s named after Nobel Prize winner Howard Temin, and it basically says that you’re better at your job or hobby when you have outside interests. Sure, that’s a thing, but it turns out that hobbies offer lots of professional benefits, even for people in leadership roles who you might imagine work all the time. So here goes. First off, hobbies help CEOs stay humble. CEOs who consider themselves infallible make bad decisions. It’s easy to be the boss when... you’re the boss… but pursuing another interest is a great reminder that you’re only human, and you have room to grow. Second, it lets them switch off their work brain. When you have a high-intensity job, relaxation can kinda stop being relaxing, ironically. I mean, think about it: even if you’re watching TV or sitting on the beach, your mind can wander back to work. If your hobby takes active concentration, though, then your mind is taken COMPLETELY off work to help you recharge. The third perk: hobbies help CEOs get to know their subordinates. Not a bad idea to get past the “yes boss, whatever you say” dynamic. And finally: having a hobby lets a CEO work solo, rather than, you know… working for a whole company. Hobbies give CEOs the rare opportunity to succeed and fail all on their own. The takeaway? Get a hobby! It’ll be good for you, AND — maybe — your career. [ad lib]
ASHLEY: That’s all for today, but you can keep learning all weekend on curiosity-dot-com. This weekend, you’ll learn about how stories with happy endings might change your politics;
Research that suggests you might be able to reverse lactose intolerance by changing your microbiome;
Why we may be floating in the middle of the largest known void in the observable universe.
And more!
CODY: If there’s something ELSE you’re curious about, send us your question! You can find our contact info and links to everything we do on our podcast website, curiosity-daily-dot-com.
ASHLEY: Come hang out with us again Sunday on the award-winning Curiosity Daily and learn something new in just a few minutes. I’m Ashley Hamer.
CODY: And I’m Cody Gough. Have a great weekend!
ASHLEY: And stay curious!