Learn about how radar technology came from a failed attempt to build a death ray; how self-regulation helps you handle intrusive thoughts; and why self-determination theory might explain why the video game Animal Crossing: New Horizons is so incredibly popular.
Learn about how radar technology came from a failed attempt to build a death ray; how self-regulation helps you handle intrusive thoughts; and why self-determination theory might explain why the video game Animal Crossing: New Horizons is so incredibly popular.
How failing to build a “death ray” led to the invention of radar by Cameron Duke
Intrusive thoughts by Ashley Hamer (Listener question from Guillermo in Miami)
Self-determination theory may be why everyone is enjoying Animal Crossing so much by Steffie Drucker
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Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/the-psychology-of-animal-crossing-how-a-failed-death-ray-led-to-radar-and-intrusive-thoughts-explained
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 radar technology came from a failed attempt to build a death ray. Then, we’ll answer a listener question about intrusive thoughts. You’ll also learn how a concept in psychology might explain why the video game Animal Crossing is so incredibly popular.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
In the 1930s, Britain tried to build a death ray. I’m not joking, that’s literally what they called it. It’s good they failed, not only because it means we don’t live in a world where death rays are a thing. That failure also led to a success: the invention of Radar. Here’s how it happened.
At the time, Britain was in a tight spot. Fascism was on the rise in Nazi Germany and war seemed inevitable. In past battles, Britain’s surrounding seas gave it a unique advantage, but new aerial technology was changing the game. They needed new defenses. The British government put tons of ideas into development, including — but not limited to — a way to use energy to “zap” approaching planes out of the sky.
Even at the time, the idea of a death ray was already in the public consciousness. The Greek mathemetician Archimedes was said to have built the first death ray by using mirrors to burn oncoming warships. And H.G. Wells wrote about alien “heat rays” in 1898. So the idea was nothing new when an unsettling rumor began to spread saying that Nazis had developed a death ray capable of destroying whole towns.
They hadn’t, but the British Air Ministry didn’t know that. They quickly assembled a team to figure out how to build their own. When the team came up empty, the government resorted to crowdsourcing. The Air Ministry offered a thousand pounds to the first person who could kill a sheep with a beam weapon from 100 yards away. Thankfully, nobody could do that either. Eventually, military scientists concluded that while a beam weapon was theoretically possible, the energy required was way beyond the limits of what either the British or the Germans could practically generate.
But this all wasn’t for nothing. While working on the death ray, one scientist remembered that pilots flying near BBC radio towers had led people to complain about radio interference when the planes reflected the radio signal. He realized that it might be possible to shoot a beam of radio waves at enemy aircraft, which would reflect it back and reveal their position. With this knowledge, the death ray became something far less destructive, but arguably more useful — radar.
By 1937, Britain had built a system of radar stations to detect bombers crossing the English Channel, which successfully prevented a full-scale invasion of Britain. The technology is still in use today in many forms, ranging from Doppler radar for weather prediction to ground-penetrating radar the help us study the Earth’s crust and archaeological sites.
The world never needed a death ray, anyway.
We got a listener question on our studio line from Guillermo in Miami, Florida! Here it is.
[CLIP 0:37]
Great question, Guillermo! From a scientific perspective, there are a couple things going on here. Intrusive thoughts are one part of the puzzle, and self-regulation is another. So, like Guillermo mentioned, intrusive thoughts are unwanted ideas, images, or memories that pop in your brain uninvited. Maybe you imagine punching someone who did you wrong, or you remember some gorey scene you witnessed, or you just have a random thought that’s kinda messed up. This happens to everyone from time to time, and generally the best way to deal with it is to just notice the thought and move on.
But for some people, it’s a lot harder to just move on, and that might come down to brain chemistry. A 2017 study found that the ability to control intrusive thoughts comes down to a brain circuit involving the prefrontal cortex, which is kind of like the brain’s command center, and the hippocampus, which plays a big role in memory. When you try to just “stop thinking” an intrusive thought, the prefrontal cortex sends a stop signal to the hippocampus. But how effective that signal is depends on the levels of a neurotransmitter called GABA, which helps reduce neuron activity. The more GABA there is calming down the neurons in your hippocampus, the easier it is to stop unwanted thoughts. Research has found elevated hippocampal activity in a wide range of disorders that involve intrusive thoughts, including schizophrenia, PTSD, anxiety, and chronic depression.
But thinking about punching someone and wanting to punch someone are different things. Controlling the “want” comes down to self-regulation, or the ability to override your automatic responses and change your behavior for the better. That has a few main ingredients. First, you have to have a standard: like, “good people don’t use violence to solve their problems.” Second, you need to be able to monitor your behavior, or understand how it measures up to your standards. Third, you need to have the willpower to behave in the way you want. And a possible fourth ingredient is motivation: you have to want to behave well in the first place. If any of those ingredients is missing, it’s going to be tough to control your impulses. And hey, everyone acts on impulse sometimes. But when it becomes a problem, cognitive behavioral therapy can help. Therapists can teach their patients good strategies to get their self-regulation back in line. Thanks for your question, Guillermo! If you have a question, send it in to podcast at curiosity dot com or leave us a voicemail at 312-596-5208.
CODY: Today’s episode is sponsored by KiwiCo.
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The internet has become obsessed with turnips and island hopping. It’s not because everyone’s suddenly a root-vegetable-loving millionaire — it’s because they’re playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons, one of the best-selling Nintendo games out there right now. Why is it so popular? It may be because it taps into some well-worn principles of human behavior.
This game is basically a cuter, gentler version of The Sims. You create your own little world on an island full of friendly animals that enjoy fishing, gardening, and hunting for bugs. There’s no levels to advance or a final boss to beat — just an ever-expanding roster of friends to meet!
The game came out in March, just as we all began hunkering down at home in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The timing could not have been better: Right when the world started feeling out of control, here came a game where you build a world of your own on a literal faraway island. And since you could download it directly to your Nintendo Switch, five million digital copies sold in the first month — which is more than any video game in history.
But it wasn’t all about the timing. Animal Crossing may have also been poised for success thanks to a principle in psychology known as self-determination theory. Self-determination theory deals heavily in what drives intrinsic motivation, or the kind of motivation that comes from within instead of from external factors like money or punishment. According to the theory, intrinsic motivation comes from fulfilling three basic needs.
Those needs are autonomy, or independence and freedom over what you choose to do; competence, the desire to exert control and master a skill; and relatedness, which refers to our need to connect with others. Self-determination theory says that intrinsic motivation is fundamental to most forms of play, including video games.
Animal Crossing checks all these boxes. It’s easy to play and you can spend your time however you choose, whether it’s digging for fossils or just staring at the stars. Plus, the latest version allows you to visit friends’ islands and help them collect items. This probably helped push the game’s popularity over the edge at a time when we feel helpless and can’t physically visit each other.
But even if you aren’t one of the many obsessing over turnip prices right now, self-determination theory might explain the new activities you have turned to during the pandemic. Learning to bake sourdough, participating in a TikTok dance meme, taking a virtual workout class? They all hit several of these buttons.
Amid a global pandemic and other distressing current events, anything that can make you feel free, empowered, and connected is just what the doctor ordered.
CODY: Before we recap what we learned today, here’s a sneak peek at what you’ll hear next week on Curiosity Daily.
ASHLEY: Next week, you’ll learn about why loving your job too much could lead to unethical behavior;
Why periodical cicadas come out every 13 or 17 years;
The guy who invented “Do, re, mi” music notation;
How to set the right goals to argue more effectively;
And more!
CODY: Okay, so now, let’s recap what we learned today.
[ad lib optional]
CODY: Today’s stories were written by Cameron Duke, Ashley Hamer, and Steffie Drucker, and edited by Ashley Hamer, who’s the managing editor for Curiosity Daily.
ASHLEY: Today’s episode was produced and edited by Cody Gough.
CODY: Have a great weekend, and join us again Monday to learn something new in just a few minutes.
ASHLEY: And until then, stay curious!