Learn about how your weak passwords can get approved even when they shouldn’t; why Saturn’s rings might not be as old as we thought; and how much time you should spend with someone to know if you really enjoy their company. Sources: The Top 100 Worst Passwords of 2019 | SplashData — https://www.teamsid.com/100-50-worst-passwords-2019/ 'Inconsistent and misleading' password meters could increase risk of cyber attacks | EurekAlert! — https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/uop-am121819.php 2019 Data Breach Investigations Report | Verizon — https://enterprise.verizon.com/resources/reports/dbir/ Password meters: inaccurate advice offered inconsistently? | Computer Fraud & Security, Volume 2019, Issue 11, November 2019 — https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1361372319301162?via%3Dihub Ancestor of Humans Lived With Dinosaurs | Seeker — https://www.seeker.com/ancestor-of-humans-lived-with-dinosaurs-1768223125.html Are Saturn’s Rings Really as Young as the Dinosaurs? | Quanta Magazine — https://www.quantamagazine.org/are-saturns-rings-really-as-young-as-the-dinosaurs-20191121/ The origin of Saturn's rings and moons | Science — https://science.sciencemag.org/content/364/6445/1028 Measurement and implications of Saturn’s gravity field and ring mass | Science — https://science.sciencemag.org/content/364/6445/eaat2965 The 3-Encounter Rule | The Art of Manliness — https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/the-3-encounter-rule/ Relational mate value: Consensus and uniqueness in romantic evaluations. | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology — https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-08116-001 Relational Mate Value: Consensus and Uniqueness in Romantic Evaluations | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (PDF) — https://static1.squarespace.com/static/504114b1e4b0b97fe5a520af/t/536558a7e4b00d4ffa0c60a0/1399150759190/EastwickHunt2014JPSP.pdf 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 how your weak passwords can get approved even when they shouldn’t; why Saturn’s rings might not be as old as we thought; and how much time you should spend with someone to know if you really enjoy their company.
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/the-3-encounter-rule-why-weak-passwords-survive-and-saturns-rings-arent-as-old-as-we-thought
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 your weak passwords can get approved even when they shouldn’t; why Saturn’s rings might not be as old as we thought; and how much time you should spend with someone to know if you really enjoy their company.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
Password security meters are wrong- Kelsey (Cody)
If you think websites are helping you come up with more secure passwords, then you might want to think again. You know those password security meters that show you how strong your new password is? Yeah, they’ve been lying to us.
For a little context, according to cybersecurity software company SplashData, the worst passwords of 2019 are… 'abc123', 'qwertyuiop' and 'iloveyou'. Oh boy. But if you try to use one of those horrible passwords on some popular websites, they’ll probably get through. A recent study by the University of Plymouth took a look at the effectiveness of 16 common password meters. They mainly focused on password meter websites, but also tested common sites like Dropbox and Reddit, and some that are built into our devices.
The good news: some meters passed the test. They did their job and can be trusted to direct us toward more secure passwords that’ll keep our information safe. But most password meters didn’t work at all. And their results were really inconsistent.
Like, an objectively horrible password, 'Password1!,' performed way better than it should have in the tests. And three of the meters even rated it as strong. Most bad passwords like this made it through the meters.
That means we can’t actually trust these password meters. When they tell us a password is good, it’s probably pretty crackable. And according to the 2019 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, 80% of hacking-related security breaches involve compromised or weak passwords.
So how do you find a good password you can trust? It’s actually pretty simple. Research shows that long passwords are much better than short ones. Phrases are best. And don’t worry about making it complicated: those rules about capital letters, numbers, and symbols don’t really make a difference. So just make it long and easy for you to remember! A full sentence is good. And if those outdated meters force you to add numbers and symbols and capitals, just add those into the sentence, too.
Or use a password manager or browser tool that will create different, long passwords for each of your accounts. According to the most recent study, many password generators in web browsers and password managers actually do make good passwords. Plus, having a new password for each account will make everything safer. Then, even if one account gets hacked, the rest of them will be safe. Easy.
Saturn’s rings older than dinosaurs? - Grant (Ashley)
Earth was a very different place 100 million years ago. Dinosaurs were still roaming most of the planet, and our ancestors looked more like rodents than humans. And according to recent research, the solar system was also missing one of its most iconic features. Saturn didn’t have rings!
The first human to see Saturn’s rings was Galileo, who mistakenly thought they were large moons. Now, nearly 400 years since their discovery, Saturn’s rings are once again sparking debate in the international scientific community.
Until recently, most planetary scientists thought Saturn’s rings were as old as the solar system itself — that’s 4-and-a-half billion years. That estimate was based on observations from telescopes and data from the space probes Pioneer 11 and Voyager. But some researchers are rethinking that number thanks to new data from the Cassini spacecraft, a NASA probe that orbited Saturn from 2004 to 2017. Casini made headlines in September 2017 when its mission ended in a grand collision with the Saturn. On its way down, Cassini passed through gaps in Saturn’s rings and collected important information about their chemistry and geometry.
In November 2019, a group of scientists published a study using some of this new information suggesting that Saturn’s rings aren’t nearly as old as the solar system. The researchers think they actually formed between 10 million and 100 million years ago. If those scientists are right, Saturn’s rings are younger than the dinosaurs.
These new results are exciting, but not every astronomer is on board with the new calculations. Ryuki Hyodo, a planetary scientist at the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, told Quanta that he doesn’t think the new research takes into account everything astronomers have learned about Saturn, the rings, and the processes that led to their formation. He said, quote, “The rings look young, but that doesn’t mean the rings are really young,” end quote.
One thing most astronomers do agree on is that the rings won’t be around forever. Evidence suggests that the rings are slowly losing their mass. Within about a hundred million years, Saturn’s rings will vanish once again.
[SKILLSHARE]
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ASHLEY: My new year’s resolution last year was to start budgeting my money, but that’s just one tiny step in getting my finances in order. That’s why I was drawn to the SkillShare class “Modern Money Habits: 5 Steps to Build the Life You Want.” It’s taught by a former Goldman Sachs finance pro turned freelance photographer, so he has both professional expertise and the understanding that we don’t all have the security of a regular paycheck. It’s designed to help you make small spending changes and build effective strategies that can help you create the life you want.
CODY: Skillshare is a proud sponsor of Curiosity Daily. And with so much to explore, real projects to create, and the support of fellow-creatives, Skillshare empowers you to accomplish real growth. And you can explore your creativity at Skillshare.com/CURIOSITY AND get 2 free months of Premium Membership. That’s two whole months of unlimited access to thousands of classes for free.
ASHLEY: Get started and join today by heading to Skillshare.com/CURIOSITY. One more time, that’s Skillshare.com/CURIOSITY.
3-encounter rule for friendship and dating - Kelsey (Cody)
How much time do you have to spend with a person to know if you really like to be around them?
Yes, it’s hard to make friends in adulthood. But at least some of that difficulty may come from judging people too quickly. If you’ve ever written somebody off because your first time hanging out with them wasn’t a barrel of laughs, you might want to reconsider, because your first impressions might not be as reliable as you think. According to a handy rule of thumb known as the three-encounter rule, it may take at least three encounters to know if you really like hanging out with someone.
Sure, love at first sight might exist. But for most of us, finding someone we like to spend time with is more often a ‘slow burn’ situation. That’s why the bloggers behind the lifestyle website The Art of Manliness came up with the ‘three-encounter rule.’ Basically, your first Tinder date might be a little lackluster, but that could just be because they’re nervous or uncomfortable because, well, they’re on a first date! Same goes with a platonic encounter — you’re not always going to catch someone in their best light the first time.
Even though it can feel hard to muster up the energy to hang out again, you should probably do it. Unless something goes really wrong or you have serious compatibility issues, the second date will likely be a little better than the first. And the third date is where you’ll really be able to judge whether you get along or not.
And this isn’t just some blog saying this — it’s backed up by science. For a 2014 study, psychologists at the University of Texas at Austin conducted three experiments that found that when people meet others for the first time, most come to the same conclusions about who’s desirable and who isn’t. But over time, as the folks got to know each other better, the researchers found almost zero consensus on who was cool and who wasn’t. What people learned about each other transformed how they felt about each other. One person might rate another highly in desirable friendship qualities, while another ranked the same person as low in those same qualities.
You can’t know if you like someone until you, well, know them. The 3-encounter rule is real. And you should give it a try.
RECAP
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CODY: Today’s stories were written by Kelsey Donk and Grant Currin, and edited by Ashley Hamer, who’s the managing editor for Curiosity Daily.
ASHLEY: Today’s episode was scripted, 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!