Learn about how blind and low-vision gamers have an edge when it comes to certain games, with Cornell University Professor Andrew Campana. Then, learn how some viruses actually protect their hosts; and the shocking solution to the Monty Hall Problem.
Learn about how blind and low-vision gamers have an edge when it comes to certain games, with Cornell University Professor Andrew Campana. Then, learn how some viruses actually protect their hosts; and the shocking solution to the Monty Hall Problem, an infamous brain teaser that may leave you questioning your math skills.
Additional resources from Andrew Campana:
Believe it or not, some viruses protect their hosts and even have therapeutic uses by Cameron Duke
The Monty Hall Problem Is the Probability Puzzle That Enraged 10,000 Readers originally aired December 4, 2018 https://omny.fm/shows/curiosity-daily/see-if-you-re-a-covert-narcissist-michelson-morley
Follow Curiosity Daily to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer — for free! You can also listen to our podcast as part of your Alexa Flash Briefing; Amazon smart speakers users, click/tap “enable” here: https://www.amazon.com/Curiosity-com-Curiosity-Daily-from/dp/B07CP17DJY
Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/some-viruses-do-you-good
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 how blind and low-vision players have an edge when it comes to certain games, with Cornell University Professor Andrew Campana. You’ll also learn about how some viruses actually protect their hosts; and the maddening puzzle known as the Monty Hall Problem.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
Yesterday, Andrew Campana told us about how blind developers are creating "audio games" for blind and low-vision players. Today, he's going to tell us how those blind and low-vision players actually have an advantage when it comes to games like these — not to mention plenty of other tasks. Andrew Campana is an assistant professor of modern and contemporary Japanese literature in the Department of Asian Studies at Cornell University, and he's been researching how communities of blind and low-vision players stay in the game. Check out our conversation.
[CLIP 2:54]
Again, that was Andrew Campana, an assistant professor of modern and contemporary Japanese literature in the Department of Asian Studies at Cornell University. You can find a link to more from Andrew in the show notes.
I think it’s safe to say that for the past year, we’ve all had viruses on our minds. While it’s easy to think of viruses as ruthless pathogens bent on global domination, that isn’t always the case. Some viruses actually protect their hosts.
For example: the Turnip Mosaic Virus is a common virus that infects, well… turnips, and other garden veggies. And scientists recently discovered that this virus will either help or harm its host depending on the weather. If the host is dealing with a drought, then this virus will shift gears and help the plant trigger genes that assist with conserving water. Experiments have shown that this virus significantly improves the chance that an affected plant will survive a drought. It’s a virus that doesn’t kick its host while it’s down.
It goes against what we think we know about viruses, doesn’t it? But this type of thing is a lot more common than you might think.
Human mucus, for example, is full of viruses called bacteriophages. Bacteriophages are viruses that specifically target bacteria, and you are full of bacteriophages laying in wait to pounce on invading bacteria and stop harmful infections. Think of it as “immune system outsourcing.”
Some viruses even help protect us from other viruses. Believe it or not, non-symptomatic herpes viruses have been shown to help white blood cells identify and fight off cancer cells and even other viruses.
Some viruses have even been shown to lengthen the lives of patients infected with HIV by blocking the receptors HIV uses to enter cells.
This knowledge isn’t all new. Scientists have known about the therapeutic potential of viruses for more than 90 years. Bacteriophages or “phages,” as the cool kids call them, have been used to treat staph, salmonella, and dysentery. Early on, scientists had to collect phages from natural sources, like dirt, sewage, and even infected patients in order to use them therapeutically. Now, we can engineer them specifically to fight infections.
Even viruses can be our friends. I guess COVID-19 didn’t get the memo.
Well, today, behind Door #1, there was a story about audio games. Door #2? A story about benevolent viruses. What’s behind Door #3, you might ask?? Well, somewhat appropriately… a story about “The Monty Hall Problem.” This is one of our favorite stories from 2018… but I can’t promise you’ll love it as much as we do. Buckle up, because it’s time for some mathematical mischief.
Let’s do a quick recap of what we learned today
[ad lib optional]
CODY: Today’s stories were written by Cameron Duke and Ashley Hamer, and edited by Ashley Hamer, who’s the managing editor for Curiosity Daily.
ASHLEY: Scriptwriting by Cody Gough. Curiosity Daily is produced and edited by Cody Gough.
CODY: Join us again tomorrow for CURIOSITY DAILY, STARRING PODCASTING’S BIG DEALER… ASHLEY HAMER! ...to learn something new in just a few minutes.
ASHLEY: And until then, stay curious!