In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes: Presenting Too Much Evidence Could Make You Lose an Argument You Can Thank the Invention of Air Conditioning for the Summer Blockbuster Washing Your Hands With Cold Water Is Just as Effective For more persuasion tips and tricks, check out "Thank You for Arguing, Third Edition: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion" by Jay Heinrichs. And the story of air conditioning isn't all good news: check out "Cool Comfort: America's Romance with Air-Conditioning" by Marsha Ackermann to see how A/C changed the world — and not always for the better. Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to learn something new every day withCody Gough andAshley Hamer. Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.
In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes:
For more persuasion tips and tricks, check out "Thank You for Arguing, Third Edition: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion" by Jay Heinrichs. And the story of air conditioning isn't all good news: check out "Cool Comfort: America's Romance with Air-Conditioning" by Marsha Ackermann to see how A/C changed the world — and not always for the better.
Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer. Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.
Full episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/tips-to-win-an-argument-how-to-wash-your-hands-and-summer-blockbuster-origins
[MUSIC PLAYING] CODY GOUGH: Hi. We've got three stories from curiosity.com to help you get smarter in just a few minutes. I'm Cody Gough.
ASHLEY HAMER: And I'm Ashley Hamer. Today you'll learn how one invention is responsible for the summer blockbuster, why presenting too much evidence could make you lose an argument, and how to wash your hands.
CODY GOUGH: Let's satisfy some curiosity. All right, Ashley. What's your strategy for winning arguments?
ASHLEY HAMER: I know what you're about to tell me says that I'm wrong, but I will present every piece of evidence.
CODY GOUGH: Oh, do you really?
ASHLEY HAMER: Oh, yeah. I'm a I'm a link queen.
CODY GOUGH: Yikes
ASHLEY HAMER: [CHUCKLES]
CODY GOUGH: I've definitely been guilty of that in the past. But after writing this article, I am definitely going to stop doing that. So science says that presenting too much evidence could make you lose an argument, and I'm going to tell you why with a list of 75 reasons.
ASHLEY HAMER: [LAUGHS]
CODY GOUGH: LOL. JK.
ASHLEY HAMER: That's funny.
(TOGETHER) [CHUCKLES]
CODY GOUGH: No, but really this is the thing. If you've ever been arguing on Facebook or Reddit and most of the comments are like, well, here's a point, or here's an idea, or here's my one point of view, and then you get that one comment that is just a wall of text-- you know what I'm talking about. I know you've seen these.
ASHLEY HAMER: I totally written these.
(TOGETHER) [CHUCKLES]
CODY GOUGH: Like 15 bullet points, links to articles, scientific studies, national news stories, all this evidence that you've collected over the last nine years. Well, if that's how you always argue online, then stop, Ashley.
ASHLEY HAMER: OK.
CODY GOUGH: It's because you'll trigger the overkill backfire effect. We've talked about the backfire effect, which is when your deepest convictions are challenged by contradictory evidence, your beliefs get stronger. Well, in this case, you're rejecting an argument for a specific cognitive reason. It's harder to process a more complicated argument.
Lots of studies have shown that people are more confident in their judgments when the information backing it up is easy to recall. And it's easier to remember info that was easy to process in the first place. I mean, really easy. One study showed that when reading a printed statement, people were more likely to accept it as true when the researchers increased the color contrast of the font it was printed on to make it easier to read.
ASHLEY HAMER: Wow.
CODY GOUGH: That easy, literally, if it's visually easier to process. So keep it simple. And you've got some benefits with this. First, it'll save you time coming up with one idea instead of like 40 to back up your case. And you'll also be less likely to get hit with an argumentum ad logicam, or argument from fallacy.
This is the thing I see more than probably anything else online these days. That's when someone says your entire point is moot because you get one detail wrong. So keep it simple. And hey, you can always add more evidence later.
And when someone overargues with you, by the way, ask them to simplify the point they're trying to make. That'll save you some time so you don't have to dig through 45 articles. And it'll give them a second chance to maybe change your mind about something. After all, it's good to have an open mind and be curious.
ASHLEY HAMER: Speaking of asking questions, one big question I get a lot as the managing editor here at Curiosity is about freelancing. My friends know that we work with some great freelance writers and designers. And a lot of times, they'll ask me for advice on how to embark on their own freelance career.
Freelancing is a really solitary job. It's not like you can just ask your coworkers what they do because more often than not, you don't have any coworkers. That's why Skillshare is so handy. They have more than a thousand classes about freelancing-- from how to get clients to how to organize your life around your career. The biggest question I get is, how much to charge? Which is why I love the course "How to Price Projects as a Freelancer."
CODY GOUGH: And today's podcast is sponsored by Skillshare. They're an online learning platform with more than 20,000 classes in business, marketing, technology, design, and more.
ASHLEY HAMER: Skillshare's classes are all taught by real experts in their field or public motivational speakers. And they teach lots of different skills, like productivity, animation, mobile development, photography, and fine art. More than 20,000 classes.
CODY GOUGH: And we mean experts. I've been toying with the idea of writing a short story or maybe a book, but I have no idea where to start. Well, there's a class that's literally called "Creative Writing Essentials, Writing Stand-Out Opening Scenes," and it's taught by New York Times best-selling author Daniel Jose Older. This is not some random blogger. And it was super helpful.
ASHLEY HAMER: Join the millions of students already learning on Skillshare with a special offer just for Curiosity listeners. Get two months of Skillshare for just $0.99. To sign up, visit skillshare.com/curious.
CODY GOUGH: Again, that's skillshare.com/curious for two months of unlimited access to more than 20,000 classes for just $0.99. We know that you know that lifelong learning is important. So get to it. Start your two-month trial today.
ASHLEY HAMER: One more time, that's skillshare.com/curious. Cody, are you digging into the summer blockbusters this summer?
CODY GOUGH: I mean, Infinity War was pretty solid.
ASHLEY HAMER: I don't remember which one that is.
CODY GOUGH: The Marvel movie. Avengers.
ASHLEY HAMER: Oh, I didn't see that one.
CODY GOUGH: You didn't see that one? What?
ASHLEY HAMER: [CHUCKLES] I did see Deadpool 2, and I did see Solo.
CODY GOUGH: OK. That's fair. You're two for three. So am I. I saw Deadpool 2 and Infinity War. I didn't Solo.
ASHLEY HAMER: Wow. Solo is solo.
CODY GOUGH: [CHUCKLES]
ASHLEY HAMER: I'll say that.
(TOGETHER) [CHUCKLES]
ASHLEY HAMER: Well, summertime is a huge time for movies. I think we all know that. But back in the day, movie ticket sales were actually at their all-time low during summer months.
Today we've got a fun story about how one invention changed summer movies forever. Think back to the turn of the 20th century. Before air conditioning, movie theaters couldn't have windows because it would mess up the lighting. So imagine watching a summer movie with no vents or any other way of letting out heat.
Now pack several hundred sweaty, smelly people in that room. Not fun, right? Well, the tale of the first air-conditioned movie theater is almost mythical. The story goes that in 1925, a young engineer named Willis Carrier installed a newfangled cooling contraption in the Rivoli Theater, Paramount Pictures showpiece on Times Square in Manhattan.
The crowd was skeptical at best, and they brought folding fans to cool themselves off because they figured it wouldn't work. In the end though, the trial run was a success. And soon, Carrier was installing air conditioning in theaters across the nation.
Like lots of stories, this is actually kind of a tall tale. The truth is that Carrier had been making cooling coils as far back as 1902, so the public was actually familiar with the concept of mechanical cooling devices. But it's still a pretty cool story. And you can read the whole history today on curiosity.com and on the Curiosity app for Android and iOS.
But at the end of the day, movie theaters were really the only places where people had access to air conditioning. So people started going to theaters just to beat the summer heat. Hollywood Studios caught on, and summer movie season was born.
CODY GOUGH: You're welcome, Star Wars. All right, Ashley. When you wash your hands, how long and what temperature?
ASHLEY HAMER: I know I'm supposed to use hot water, scrub a whole lot, and sing myself happy birthday. So that's like two minutes. What I do--
CODY GOUGH: [CHUCKLES]
ASHLEY HAMER: What I do is cold water, some soap, I scrub. I scrub pretty well. But maybe-- if it's 30 seconds, that's great.
CODY GOUGH: 30 seconds is great. But today I'm happy to discuss what science says about washing your hands.
ASHLEY HAMER: All right.
CODY GOUGH: Because I've never even known the rules. I'm sure I heard it in a PSA when I was in second grade or something, but no retention whatsoever. Well, a recent study from Rutgers University says that water temperature doesn't matter.
ASHLEY HAMER: What?
CODY GOUGH: And just 10 seconds will do the trick.
ASHLEY HAMER: Wow.
CODY GOUGH: They did not find a big difference in bacteria reduction between regular and antimicrobial soap, but they emphasized that they need to do more research in terms of that because scientists want to figure out which soap to use and how much in the name of public health. Until then though, just make sure you're using soap and washing your hands for at least 10 seconds in any water temperature that's comfortable to you.
In the CDC's website, it still says 20 seconds. But I'm busy, and Rutgers seems pretty cool. So I'm going to stick with 10 seconds.
ASHLEY HAMER: Oh, yeah. Maybe two minutes is brushing your teeth.
(TOGETHER) [CHUCKLES]
CODY GOUGH: That sounds about right.
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah.
CODY GOUGH: Don't quote us on that because I'm not going to fact-check that right now.
ASHLEY HAMER: 10 seconds is way better.
CODY GOUGH: 10 seconds to brush your teeth, not so good.
ASHLEY HAMER: [CHUCKLES] Read about these stories and more today on curiosity.com.
CODY GOUGH: Join us again tomorrow for the Curiosity Daily and learn something new in just a few minutes. I'm Cody Gough.
ASHLEY HAMER: And I'm Ashley Hamer. Stay curious.
NARRATOR: On the Westwood One Podcast Network.
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