Writer, producer, and “Flash Forward” podcast host Rose Eveleth explains why so many technology breakthroughs never pan out. Then, learn about real-life giant sand worms and why the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon makes you notice some things more than others.
Writer, producer, and “Flash Forward” podcast host Rose Eveleth explains why so many technology breakthroughs never pan out. Then, learn about real-life giant sand worms and why the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon makes you notice some things more than others.
Additional resources from Rose Eveleth:
The spice must flow: Giant sand worms used to roam the ocean floor 20 million years ago by Grant Currin
Blame The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon For The Things You Notice More Than Others first aired July 15, 2018 https://omny.fm/shows/curiosity-daily/the-universe-in-consciousness-w-bernardo-kastrup-i
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Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/why-that-thing-you-just-learned-is-suddenly-everywhere
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 why so many technology breakthroughs never pan out, with writer/producer, and “Flash Forward” podcast host Rose Eveleth. Then, you’ll learn about giant sand worms that used to rule the ocean floor; and why that thing you just learned is suddenly everywhere.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
If you're the type of person who stays up on the latest technology news, you may have noticed something weird: a lot of the time, there are exciting headlines about an amazing new invention or a breakthrough in some sustainable material or something else that's going to save the world and make our lives better. And then you never heard about it again. What's up with that? Well, today's guest is going to tell us. Rose Eveleth is a writer, producer, and the creator of Flash Forward Presents, a podcast network that demystifies the future, featuring hit shows like Flash Forward and Advice For And From The Future. And we asked her: why do all these tech breakthroughs we hear about never seem to pan out?
[CLIP 3:43]
Again, that was Rose Eveleth, a writer, producer, and the creator of Flash Forward Presents, a podcast network that demystifies the future, featuring hit shows like Flash Forward and Advice For And From The Future. You can find a link to all of that in the show notes.
Suppose it’s 20 million years ago and you’re a fish, swimming about your day. You look down and realize the seafloor is covered in...little holes? They’re about the diameter of a ping pong ball. You’re curious, but just as you swim down to get a better look, a gigantic worm bursts outta one, grabs you with its fearsome jaws, and pulls you deep down beneath the seafloor.
Ambushed by a Pennichnus formosae [pen-ICK-niss for-MOHS-eye]. What rotten luck!
Researchers recently found 319 of these holes and the burrows they connect to preserved as fossils in the seafloor off the coast of Taiwan. And these burrows are big. They extend 6 feet or 2 meters into the sea floor, around six times as long as the typical burrows researchers find. They have this L shape that goes vertical for about half the distance and then turn horizontal for the rest. That incredible length suggests the worms that lived in them might have been just as enormous — we’re talking the height of a full-grown man. Which also means… we’re talking about giant sandworms. On OUR planet — NOT Arrakis.
It took the researchers some time to figure out what these holes belonged to. After all, a lot of sea creatures make holes in the sand. It wasn’t until they carefully examined the tops of the holes that things came into focus. When modern carnivorous sea worms — like the fearsome Bobbit worm — ambush prey, the attack causes their holes to partly collapse. The constant re-building leads the top to take on a distinctive pattern of concentric circles, which is exactly what the fossils show. There was also a high concentration of iron in the top part of the burrow, which suggests that the ancient worms used their own mucus to strengthen the walls.
These fossilized burrows are a big deal for researchers who study this kind of thing. Predatory worms have been around for more than 400 million years, but their bodies are soft and very rarely leave fossils. That means researchers don’t have a lot of evidence to work with, which is why these burrows are such a find. And they contain other tantalizing clues that researchers will be picking apart for years.
Researchers aren’t sure how P. formosae are related to modern carnivorous sea worms like the Bobbitt worm, but one thing is clear: both species have hit on a niche that works for them. This kind of truly terrifying worm has been around since way before the dinosaurs, and it’s hard to imagine them disappearing any time soon.
ASHLEY: Sure, dinosaurs are old, but you know what else feels like ancient history? June 2018. That’s when we answered a listener question on our podcast that had such an amazing answer, we remastered the story just for you. Take a listen.
Let’s do a quick recap of what we learned today
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CODY: Today’s stories were written by Ashley Hamer and Grant Currin, and edited by Ashley Hamer, who’s the managing editor for Curiosity Daily.
ASHLEY: Curiosity Daily is produced and edited by Cody Gough.
CODY: Join us again tomorrow when we’ll debut the learn-o-wave, a new audio frequency that’ll directly inject new information into your brain! I mean, it hasn’t done that yet, but researchers Seems like a cool new technology, right? ...no? Okay, well then, just join us again tomorrow to learn something new in just a few minutes.
ASHLEY: And until then, stay curious!