Learn about why we’ll probably never be able to teleport; how to set “approach goals” so you’re more likely to achieve your dreams; and how dogs can help improve kids’ reading skills. In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following story from Curiosity.com about why we'll (probably) never be able to teleport: https://curiosity.com/topics/why-well-probably-never-be-able-to-teleport-curiosity Additional sources: Goal-Setting Secrets | Positive Psychology News — https://positivepsychologynews.com/news/bridget-grenville-cleave/2012013120696 How to Overcome Your Fear of Failure | Harvard Business Review — https://hbr.org/2018/12/how-to-overcome-your-fear-of-failure Approach and Avoidance Social Motives and Goals | University of California, Los Angeles — http://www.coachingtowardhappiness.com/pdf/ApproachAndAvoidanceSocialMotives.pdf New research demonstrates dogs promote page turning | EurekAlert! — https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/uobc-usd112719.php Turning the Page for Spot: The Potential of Therapy Dogs to Support Reading Motivation Among Young Children | Anthrozoös: A multidisciplinary journal of the interactions of people and animals, Volume 32, 2019 - Issue 5 — https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08927936.2019.1645511 Amazon smart speaker users: you can listen to our podcast as part of your Amazon Alexa Flash Briefing! Just click or tap “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing.
Learn about why we’ll probably never be able to teleport; how to set “approach goals” so you’re more likely to achieve your dreams; and how dogs can help improve kids’ reading skills.
In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following story from Curiosity.com about why we'll (probably) never be able to teleport: https://curiosity.com/topics/why-well-probably-never-be-able-to-teleport-curiosity
Additional sources:
Amazon smart speaker users: you can listen to our podcast as part of your Amazon Alexa Flash Briefing! Just click or tap “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing.
Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/positive-vs-negative-goal-setting-kids-read-more-with-dogs-and-why-teleportation-is-probably-impossible
CODY: Hi! You’re about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from curiosity-dot-com. I’m Cody Gough.
ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Today, you’ll learn about why we’ll probably never be able to teleport; how to set goals so you’re more likely to achieve them; and how dogs can help improve kids’ reading skills.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
Why We'll (Probably) Never Be Able to Teleport — https://curiosity.com/topics/why-well-probably-never-be-able-to-teleport-curiosity (Ashley)
I’ve got some bad news, Star Trek fans: we’ll probably never be able to teleport. We’re coming up with cutting-edge technology all the time, so you’d think transporters would happen sooner or later. Unfortunately, this problem kinda violates the principles of fundamental physics. Today we’re gonna get into the details so you’re not too disappointed 20 or 30 years from now, when you realize you can’t just call up your friend and say “Beam me up, Scotty.”
It all comes down the fact that we can't pass particles of matter through most materials. That’s because they interact too strongly with the atoms inside. Even if you were teleporting through a void, though, you’d run into the issue of timing. You wouldn’t be able to teleport instantly, because matter can’t travel at the speed of light. Kinda makes the whole process less inviting.
Just because we can’t technically make teleporting a reality doesn’t mean scientists aren’t working on similar projects, though. Scientists are working on quantum teleportation of the “state” of a particle from one place to another, usually a photon or particle of light. This could work because when it comes to quantum mechanics, all particles of the same type are identical. Every electron is exactly the same as every other in terms of things like its mass and electric charge. So if you copy the configuration of one electron to another, it's exactly the same as teleporting it.
But electrons are simple compared to whole bodies. The average person contains around 10 atoms — to the 28th power. That’s 1 followed by 28 zeroes. The total quantum configuration of a human body includes how those atoms are arranged, from the structure of DNA up to bones and skin. That's a lot of information to try to transport. Some researchers estimate that just to encode our brain alone would require 2.6 tredicillion [tree-dih-SILL-yin] bits. That’s 2.6 times 10 to the 42nd. And that's just when it comes to copying, let alone re-assembling all the information at the end of the process.
Teleportation also comes up some ethical and philosophical problems, by the way. If you copy a person, is that really the same person? especially if you killed the original in the encoding process?
So, the sad truth is that unless a new discovery contradicts what we know about the cosmos, we simply can't teleport. For now, we’ll have to focus on other ways to explore the universe.
Approach goals > Avoidance goals - Kelsey (Cody)
How many times have you set a New Year’s resolution that sounds like one of these: Eat less junk food. Stop making impulse purchases. Don’t check Facebook at work. Those goals are what psychologists call “avoidance goals.” But there’s another type of goal you can set, and it turns out they’re way more effective. I’m talking about “approach goals.” And they’re based on what you want to get out of life.
Let’s take another look at those New Year’s resolutions. What if they were more like this: Eat a vegetable with every meal. Add $20 to your savings every week. Devote time after work to spend with friends, in person.
I mean, those goals sound more fun and positive to me. And that’s just the point. According to some pretty thorough research, positive approach goals are way better for your well-being than negative avoidance goals are. According to established studies, people who set approach goals feel less lonely and feel more social satisfaction. But a lot of the time, people who set goals based on what they want to avoid end up feeling lonelier, have negative social attitudes, and are insecure in their relationships. And avoidance goals are actually harder to meet than approach goals are.
Why could this be? Well, researchers think that when we’re already looking at the negative side of things, we feel unhappy. Duh. But that means that people who want to “eat less junk food” end up looking for junk food and thereby failure, everywhere. That sounds exhausting, and it makes the goal harder to achieve.
Psychologists say that avoidance goals are common in people who have experienced failure. And be careful: research shows that people who set avoidance goals at work end up twice as mentally fatigued as their approach-focused colleagues.
So next time you feel yourself setting a goal based on fear, see if you can reframe it. What do you want out of life? Focus on that. You’ll end up less tired, and more successful.
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CODY: Maybe you have an avoidance goal to wake up less cranky. Or maybe you have an approach goal to wake up more chipper and ready to take on the day. Either way, one thing is gonna get you there: get a good night’s sleep! And if you’re struggling to get a good night’s sleep, then you’ve gotta try a Purple Mattress.
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CODY: The ONLY way to get this free pillow, is to text Curious to 84-888. That’s C-U-R-I-O-U-S to 8-4-8-8-8. Message and data rates may apply.
Kids read longer in presence of dogs - Kelsey (Ashley)
Get ready for some pure heartwarming goodness that might make you give into your kids’ requests for a puppy. For a recent study, scientists had first, second, and third graders read aloud to either dogs or people. And they noticed something both adorable and educational: kids read for longer in the presence of a dog.
Scientists had been wondering about the effect of therapy dogs in school. Past research has shown that therapy dogs can help children with their reading. But for those studies, children often get to choose their own books. Here, researchers wanted to know if the dogs could help children complete tasks they found challenging or intimidating.
Could children read longer and persevere through challenging reading with dogs by their sides?
To find out, researchers tested the children’s reading level and chose stories that were just beyond what the tests showed they could do. Then, they had kids read out loud to either a human observer, a dog handler and their dog, or a dog handler without the dog.
After they read the first page, the kids were offered the option of doing a second reading task or finishing the session. Kids in the presence of a dog spent significantly more time reading than those who read with just people present. And it didn’t really matter what kind of dog it was, either. Regardless of breed or age, kids who read near dogs showed more persistence. They also reported feeling more interested and competent by the end of reading time.
All of this is good news for parents of struggling readers. The researchers hope their findings will give more kids a chance to read with furry friends. When books are especially difficult, having a dog around could help.
RECAP
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CODY: Today’s stories were written by Matthew Francis and Kelsey Donk, and edited by Ashley Hamer, who’s the managing editor for Curiosity Daily.
ASHLEY: Scriptwriting was by Cody Gough and Sonja Hodgen. Curiosity Daily is produced and edited by Cody Gough.
CODY: Join us again tomorrow to learn something new in just a few minutes.
ASHLEY: And until then, stay curious!