Learn about what the first cities looked like — and why humans built them — from author Monica L. Smith, an archaeologist and professor in the department of anthropology at UCLA. Then, learn what makes pedestrians run into each other. Get your copy of “Cities: The First 6,000 Years” on Amazon: https://amazon.com Additional resources from Monica L. Smith: “Cities: The First 6,000 Years” — https://amazon.com UCLA Faculty Profile (Anthropology) — https://anthro.ucla.edu/faculty/monica-l-smith UCLA Faculty Profile (Archaeology) — https://ioa.ucla.edu/people/monica-l-smith Research from Monica L. Smith — https://ucla.academia.edu/MonicaLSmith Additional resources discussed: Patterns of Public Behaviour: Collision Avoidance on a Pedestrian Crossing | Journal of the International Association for Semiotic Studies — https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/semi.1974.12.issue-4/semi.1974.12.4.281/semi.1974.12.4.281.xml The Experiments for Exploring Dynamic Behaviors in Urban Places Program Authorized to Offer Degree: Department of Architecture | Mouse.class — https://www.academia.edu/6177126/Mouse.class_The_Experiments_for_Exploring_Dynamic_Behaviors_in_Urban_Places_Program_Authorized_to_Offer_Degree_Department_of_Architecture If you love our show and you're interested in hearing full-length interviews, then please consider supporting us on Patreon. You'll get exclusive episodes and access to our archives as soon as you become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/curiositydotcom 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 what the first cities looked like — and why humans built them — from author Monica L. Smith, an archaeologist and professor in the department of anthropology at UCLA. Then, learn what makes pedestrians run into each other.
Get your copy of “Cities: The First 6,000 Years” on Amazon: https://amazon.com
Additional resources from Monica L. Smith:
Additional resources discussed:
If you love our show and you're interested in hearing full-length interviews, then please consider supporting us on Patreon. You'll get exclusive episodes and access to our archives as soon as you become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/curiositydotcom
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/why-humans-built-cities-in-the-first-place-and-what-they-looked-like-w-monica-l-smith
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 what the first cities looked like and why humans built them, from archaeologist and author Monica L. Smith. We’ll also answer a listener question about what makes pedestrians run into each other.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
Monica L. Smith Interview Clip 1 - Origins and purpose of cities (5/19) (Cody)
CODY: What did ancient cities look like, and what made humans start building them in the first place? It’s time to get some answers in the first of our three-part “City Sundays” mini-series with Monica L. Smith. She’s an archaeologist and a professor in the department of anthropology at UCLA, and she’s the author of a new book called “Cities: The First 6,000 Years.” And she’s kicking off our special series by explaining: why 6-thousand years, specifically?
[CLIP 4:01]
CODY: Again, that was Monica L. Smith, an archaeologist and professor at UCLA, and author of the new book “Cities: The First 6,000 Years.” We’ll put links to find more from her in today’s show notes, and next Sunday, we’ll continue the conversation with a look at why a lot of the problems our cities are facing today have actually been around for centuries.
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LISTENER QUESTION
ASHLEY: To continue our city theme, we got a listener question from Muhammad Shifaz, who asks, “Why do we run or walk into people sometimes and seem to make the same movement in sync with each other?” Great question, Muhammad!
I think we all know that awkward experience of walking down the sidewalk and darting right, then left, then right to avoid an oncoming pedestrian, and then if that pedestrian is into dad jokes they go “Shall we dance?” and then it’s even weirder. But why does this happen in the first place? It mostly comes down to a sort of unwritten contract we all agree to as we make our way down the sidewalk. Back in the 1970s, there was an explosion of research into pedestrian traffic, and as a result, scientists were able to quantify some of the unconscious rules that city dwellers follow to avoid collision. There are a few obvious ones, like stay to the right (unless you’re somewhere like Australia or New Zealand and you walk on the left). But there are some surprising ones, too. Like, one study found this subtle but complicated combination of body angle and eye contact that has to take place multiple times for two pedestrians to avoid one another. And another study found that when people need to squeeze past each other, they’ll do it differently based on their gender: Men tend to face toward the oncoming pedestrian, while women tend to face away. Another researcher found that an oncoming pedestrian needs to be at least 7 feet, or 2 meters, away for someone to accurately judge their speed and direction and get out of the way in time — and some pedestrians start to evade a collision from as far away as 17 feet, or 5 meters. Culture plays a part in this, too, since people in some countries maintain a larger bubble of personal space than in others. If any of these unwritten rules is broken, you’re stuck figuring out how to avoid each other last-minute. Even if you do see each other at 7 feet away, a walking speed of 3 miles an hour gives you only a second and a half to make the right adjustment. And if one of you chooses wrong, you’ll end up trying to pass in the same direction, again and again and again. Thanks for the dance! And thanks for your question, Muhammad. If you have a question, send it into podcast at curiosity dot com.
https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/semi.1974.12.issue-4/semi.1974.12.4.281/semi.1974.12.4.281.xml
CODY: Before we wrap up, we want to give a special shout-out to Dr. Mary Yancy and Muhammad Shifaz, who are executive producers for today’s episode thanks to their generous support on Patreon. Thank you SO. MUCH. If you’re listening and you want to support Curiosity Daily, then visit patreon-dot-com-slash-curiosity-dot-com, all spelled out.
ASHLEY: Join us again tomorrow for the award-winning Curiosity Daily and learn something new in just a few minutes. I’m [NAME] and I’m [NAME]. Stay curious!