Learn about a simple way to explain quantum physics, with a special guest, astrophysicisist George Greenstein. You’ll also learn about how to survive falling without a parachute, and how to avoid “speed-dating mistakes” when adopting a dog. Please support our sponsors! Get two months of unlimited access to over 25,000 classes on Skillshare — for free. To sign up, go to skillshare.com/curiosity 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: How to Survive Falling Without a Parachute — https://curiosity.im/2LH2t1P Here's How to Avoid 'Speed-Dating Mistakes' When Adopting a Dog — https://curiosity.im/2LtJGal More from George Greenstein: “Quantum Strangeness: Wrestling with Bell's Theorem and the Ultimate Nature of Reality” — https://amazon.com Other publications from George Greenstein on Amazon — https://amazon.com Website — http://www3.amherst.edu/~gsgreenstein/ Amherst College bio — https://www.amherst.edu/people/facstaff/gsgreenstein Want to support our show?Register for the 2019 Podcast Awards and nominate Curiosity Daily to win for People’s Choice, Education, and Science & Medicine. After you register, simply select Curiosity Daily from the drop-down menus (no need to pick nominees in every category): https://curiosity.im/podcast-awards-2019 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 a simple way to explain quantum physics, with a special guest, astrophysicisist George Greenstein. You’ll also learn about how to survive falling without a parachute, and how to avoid “speed-dating mistakes” when adopting a dog.
Please support our sponsors! Get two months of unlimited access to over 25,000 classes on Skillshare — for free. To sign up, go to skillshare.com/curiosity
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:
More from George Greenstein:
Want to support our show? Register for the 2019 Podcast Awards and nominate Curiosity Daily to win for People’s Choice, Education, and Science & Medicine. After you register, simply select Curiosity Daily from the drop-down menus (no need to pick nominees in every category): https://curiosity.im/podcast-awards-2019
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/simple-quantum-physics-w-george-greenstein-parachute-less-falling-and-dog-adoption
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 way to explain quantum physics, with a special guest, astrophysicisist George Greenstein. You’ll also learn about how to survive falling without a parachute, and how to avoid “speed-dating mistakes” when adopting a dog.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
George Greenstein #2 - What is quantum physics, exactly? (Both)
CODY: We cover a lot of stories about quantum mechanics on this show, and we think we do a pretty good job of making it easy to understand. But let’s be honest: it’s a branch of science that’s not exactly a walk in the park to figure out. Fortunately, George Greenstein has spent decades thinking about it, so we’re welcoming him back for the second part of our conversation on this show. He’s the author of the new book “Quantum Strangeness: Wrestling with Bell's Theorem and the Ultimate Nature of Reality,” and he’s about to get into what Ashley says is one of the best explanations of quantum mechanics she’s ever heard. [ad lib]
ASHLEY: Let’s start with George summarizing some of the major challenges of quantum theory in general.
[CLIP 0:36]
ASHLEY: “Incomplete” is the word Einstein used, and as we heard yesterday, he and Neils Bohr never really settled on the best way to approach it. So we asked George: does this mean that quantum physics explains the way things actually are, and classical physics just shows us the things we can perceive and measure? He said, not so much. Here’s how he explained the difference.
[CLIP 1:38]
CODY: Even though quantum physics might not make a whole lot of quote-unquote “sense,” George Greenstein does an amazing job of explaining how you can better understand it in his new book. You can find a link to pick up “Quantum Strangeness: Wrestling with Bell's Theorem and the Ultimate Nature of Reality” in today’s show notes. Don’t let the word “quantum” scare you off, because it’s a very accessible read, and we hope it — and today’s interview — help you understand the quantum world a little better.
How to Survive Falling Without a Parachute — https://curiosity.im/2LH2t1P (Ashley) [FREELANCER]
Here’s a life skill you’ll HOPEFULLY never need. In the extremely unlikely chance that you find yourself hurtling out of an airplane without a parachute, here’s what you need to know to survive. Because, it IS possible to survive. In fact, it's been done before. Skydiver Michael Holmes, who fell from 15,000 feet, is one of the few who lived to tell the tale. He said he felt "almost at peace" during his fall, so remember the first rule: don’t panic. Easier said than done, right?
Depending on how high you are, you won't have more than a few minutes before you hit the ground. That first minute or two may not even count, because you’ll probably pass out from a lack of oxygen. When you wake up at around 18,000 feet, plan to immediately start looking for the best landing spot.
Swamps, snow, and grass are ideal because they provide cushioning for your fall. Trees or bushes are the next best option, although the branches may hurt.
If you think water is a good place to land, you’d be dead wrong, quite literally. Your body will hit the water just as hard as it would the sidewalk. And if the fall doesn’t kill you, you’ll likely drown.
But back to the air time: you’ve probably seen people falling with their body in the shape of an X. That’s good to slow down your fall once you’ve found your target. But first, bring your arms and legs in against your body like a bobsledder so you can steer yourself toward your landing spot.
Then, your goal should be to land vertically, feet first, with your legs together. This is especially important if you absolutely have to land on water, because it minimizes the surface area that’ll get pummeled by the water. And in this situation, remember to clench your butt.
If you're landing on land, on the other hand, you still want to be vertical, but you’ll want to bend your knees and allow your body to fall sideways, so your feet are followed by your calf, thigh, butt, and shoulder. Most critically, protect your head, particularly the back near your brain stem.
If the steps i just mentioned seem petrifying, remember you’re probably never going to need this advice. A car ride is 470 times more likely to kill you per mile travelled. In either case, you definitely want to buckle up!
[SKILLSHARE]
CODY: Today’s episode is sponsored by Skillshare, an online learning community for creators. Skillshare offers more than 25,000 classes in design, business, and more, to help YOU find new ways to fuel your curiosity, creativity, and career.
ASHLEY: You can take classes in everything from photography and creative writing to design, productivity and more!
CODY: I just took a class on treating wood, because my wife found THE COOLEST BOOKCASE EVER on Craigslist last week, but it was unfinished. So we spent some time sealing it last weekend, with some help from a course called “Woodworking basics: Introduction to finishes,” taught by an actual woodworker.
ASHLEY: And ALL of Skillshare’s classes are taught by real experts in their field or public motivational speakers. So whether you’re returning to a long-time passion project, challenging yourself to get outside your comfort zone, or simply exploring something new, Skillshare has classes for you.
CODY: You can join the millions of students already learning on Skillshare today with a special offer just for Curiosity Daily listeners: Get two months of Skillshare for free.
ASHLEY: That’s right, Skillshare is offering Curiosity Daily listeners two months of unlimited access to over 25,000 classes for free. To sign up, go to Skillshare dot com slash CURIOSITY. CODY: Again, go to Skillshare dot com slash CURIOSITY to start your two months now.
ASHLEY: One more time, that’s Skillshare dot com slash CURIOSITY.
Here's How to Avoid 'Speed-Dating Mistakes' When Adopting a Dog — https://curiosity.im/2LtJGal (Republish) (Cody) [FREELANCER]
Psychologists who study how people pick their spouses have turned their attention to another important relationship: choosing a canine companion. They recently found that, when it comes to puppy love, the heart doesn't always know what it wants. As reported by Futurity, the researchers used data from a working animal shelter to find results that could help improve the pet adoption process.
Most of the participants in the dog adoption study listed many traits they preferred, but they ended up choosing dogs based on just a few of those preferences. Those few preferences made a difference at a rate that was greater than chance, meaning they have a larger impact on dog selection. So if you’re going to adopt a dog, narrow your list to your top few preferences, and don’t bring in a laundry list of traits you’re hoping to find.
These results were similar to human speed dating studies, which have shown that people’s stated romantic preferences tend not to match the partners they choose. Another similarity is that looks matter, since most participants said they’ve got a handsome or good-looking dog.
But dog adopters might miss a good match if they focus too strongly on specific physical and personality traits. On top of that, there may be a disconnect in the way the adopter and shelter describe the same dog. Shelters are also high-stress environments for dogs, whose personalities may shift when they're more relaxed at home.
That’s why the researchers say animal shelters need to know that people tend to rely on certain traits more strongly when choosing a dog. This might make it easier to match adopters to dogs.
Shelters should also consider interventions, like temporarily putting them in a calmer environment, to help stressed or under-socialized dogs put their best paw forward.
And this study suggests that you might want to think twice about online adoption, since in those cases, you’re depending on someone else's description of the dogs. If you do have to adopt online, then try to limit your search criteria to your few most desired traits, so that way you’ll avoid filtering out a good match based on less important preferences.
ASHLEY: Before we recap what we learned today, here’s a sneak peek at what you can catch this weekend on curiosity-dot-com. This weekend, you’ll learn about a quirky music video celebrating the Apollo 11 anniversary — with lots of Velcro;
3 ways scientists can measure consciousness;
A study that found that Facebook posts can predict 21 health problems;
5 myths about summer dangers;
And more!
CODY: And TODAY, we learned that quantum physics is kind of the underlying reality that we don’t always see.
ASHLEY: And that you’re more like to survive a fall from an airplane if you land feet-first.
CODY: And that if you’re adopting a dog, you go in with a few traits in mind, not a long list.
[ad lib]
CODY: Join us again tomorrow 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!