In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes: There's a Good Chance Your Earliest Memories Are Fake A Marketing Company in the 1990s Tried to Put a 1 Km Square Billboard in Space Here's What Google Says Makes A Great Boss You might encounter memory issues on the other end of your life's journey as well. Dr. Daniel G. Amen's "Memory Rescue" helps address the specter of late-life memory loss. It's free if you're trying Audible for the first time. We handpick reading recommendations we think you may like. If you choose to make a purchase through that link, Curiosity will get a share of the sale. Learn about these topics and more onCuriosity.com, and download our5-star app for Android and iOS. Then, join the conversation onFacebook,Twitter, andInstagram. Plus: Amazon smart speaker users, enable ourAlexa Flash Briefing to learn something new in just a few minutes every day!
In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes:
You might encounter memory issues on the other end of your life's journey as well. Dr. Daniel G. Amen's "Memory Rescue" helps address the specter of late-life memory loss. It's free if you're trying Audible for the first time. We handpick reading recommendations we think you may like. If you choose to make a purchase through that link, Curiosity will get a share of the sale.
Learn about these topics and more on Curiosity.com, and download our 5-star app for Android and iOS. Then, join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Plus: Amazon smart speaker users, enable our Alexa Flash Briefing to learn something new in just a few minutes every day!
Full episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/your-earliest-memories-may-be-fake-what-makes-a-good-boss-and-a-1990s-space-billboard
[MUSIC PLAYING] CODY GOUGH: Hi. We've got three stories from curiositydotcom 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 about why there's a good chance your earliest memories are fake. What Google says makes a great boss and a marketing company that tried to put a giant billboard in space in the '90s.
CODY GOUGH: Let's satisfy some curiosity.
ASHLEY HAMER: Cody, what's your earliest memory?
CODY GOUGH: I think it's in my great grandmother's backyard and there's boxelder bugs everywhere.
ASHLEY HAMER: Wow.
CODY GOUGH: Because I've always had this terror of boxelder bugs.
ASHLEY HAMER: Boxelder bugs?
CODY GOUGH: Yeah.
ASHLEY HAMER: I have no idea what those are.
CODY GOUGH: They're black and they've got red cracks on the back.
ASHLEY HAMER: Oh.
CODY GOUGH: They're very distinct-looking and they were all over the backyard and I was terrified of them. Even though they're-- apparently, they don't bite or anything, they're super docile, doesn't matter when you're really little.
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah. I had similar things. How old were you?
CODY GOUGH: I want to say about two.
ASHLEY HAMER: All right.
CODY GOUGH: Maybe like one and a half, two years old, it feels like.
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah.
CODY GOUGH: How about you?
ASHLEY HAMER: My earliest memory, I think, was around the same age. And I was playing with this giant stuffed dog that someone had won for me at a carnival. And I was in the hallway of my family's house and the walls were orange and I was pulling the felt nose off of this dog. That is my earliest memory.
CODY GOUGH: Wow.
ASHLEY HAMER: But a new study says there's a good chance that both of these memories we just mentioned might be fake.
CODY GOUGH: The earliest memory might be fake?
ASHLEY HAMER: Yes.
CODY GOUGH: Wow.
ASHLEY HAMER: And since we'll be talking about your earliest memories, this story should also answer a question from our listener Fernando on Twitter. Fernando wanted to know, "Why can't we remember things from a very early age?" Great question, Fernando. We're glad you asked. Let's talk memories.
According to all known research, it's most likely impossible for the human brain to retain memories from the first couple of years of life. That's because of how the mature brain encodes and stores memories. So the first category of memories are known as non-declarative or implicit. Things like motor or language skills. They live in various parts of the brain and exist as something you can demonstrate as an ability rather than state as a fact.
Then there are declarative or explicit memories. These are the facts we learned or stories of things that happened in our lives. These are stored in the hippocampus. Sometimes, a person who has sustained an injury to their hippocampus will lose memories from their past or lose the ability to create new memories like in the movie, Memento. That even people with anterograde amnesia caused by that damage will still be able to remember how to ride a bicycle or tie a shoelace.
Well, the thing about a toddler's hippocampus is that it's growing fast. Memories might be written on them but they're also quickly written over and pushed aside. That's why growing children have poor memories. According to one study, babies of up to two months can only hang on to a memory for one day. And by the time they're a year and a half old, their memories can go back about 13 weeks.
So to answer Fernando's question, we don't have early memories because our brains are writing over our memories repeatedly. That brings us to this study out of the University of London. They surveyed more than 6,600 participants and a full 40% of respondents reported that their earliest memories dated back to age 2 or younger. So how is that possible?
Well, children's brains are notably easy to influence. According to the study's authors, these memories are probably fake. And that's likely due to people hearing stories of their early, early childhood repeated over and over again for the entire time that they grew up. The first time you hear the story, it feels like learning something new.
But by the 12th time you hear it, you might feel like you remember the event itself and not just the retelling. So don't be so sure if you think you remember something from when you were six months old. It's disturbingly easy to implant a memory into a person's head.
CODY GOUGH: Ashley, what's the ugliest piece of advertising you've ever seen?
ASHLEY HAMER: There's so many to choose from. What about you?
CODY GOUGH: I don't know if it's ugly, but it bothers me when a podcast logo has a microphone on it. Unless it's about podcasting. It's like, OK, I know I'm listening to a podcast.
ASHLEY HAMER: It's like a TV show having a TV on it.
CODY GOUGH: Right, right. Exactly. I mean, do blogs have a picture of a book or a magazine in the logo?
ASHLEY HAMER: Great, great.
CODY GOUGH: It's the only format. It drives me up the wall. But those are just minor nuisances, right? When does advertising go too far? Chances are, you've crossed the line when you've launched a 1-kilometer billboard into orbit around the Earth. And today, you'll learn how one marketing company almost did that 25 years ago. A company appropriately called Space Marketing Inc proposed the idea of launching a giant Mylar billboard into space in 1993.
By giant, we mean 1 square kilometer. And the Mylar film would be illuminated through solar lights. It would cost an estimated $25 million including launch and materials. The plan was to have the billboard orbit our planet at about 150 miles above land. Aside from the exorbitant cost, it had one pretty glaring problem. Space debris would destroy it pretty much immediately.
But because of the amount of buzz this idea generated, the US Senate actually introduced and passed a bill that banned the transportation department from allowing the launch of a rocket that would be used to implement intrusive space advertising. So why are we telling you this? Well, because space advertising might be making a comeback.
A Japanese startup called ispace Inc has proposed selling ad space on rockets and spacecraft that would eventually plaster the surface of the moon with advertising projections. You won't be able to see the ads on the moon with the naked eye, fortunately, but ispace wants to plaster rovers and other space equipment with ads on the moon. They're hoping to use initial deals for two unmanned moon missions by 2020.
Based on international law right now, they're within legal rates to do this as long as they don't cause some sort of debris problem with their plan. We'll keep you posted on any developments, but you can also keep your eye glued to your telescope at home. Things could get interesting.
ASHLEY HAMER: Cody, what's the number 1 quality you look for in like a good boss?
CODY GOUGH: Treating everything as an opportunity and not an opportunity for punitive measures.
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah. That's a good one.
CODY GOUGH: Like if something bad happens, supporting that person and being like, hey, here's how we could do this better next time and how it could help the company rather than why would you do this? I'm going to hurt you.
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah. I'm obsessed with feedback. I just thrive on feedback. Doesn't matter if it's good feedback, bad feedback. I just want to know where I stand and how I'm doing.
CODY GOUGH: wow.
ASHLEY HAMER: Like that's huge for me.
CODY GOUGH: OK.
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah.
CODY GOUGH: Well, I'm not your boss, but I think you're doing a great job on the podcast.
ASHLEY HAMER: Thank you, Cody.
[LAUGHTER]
Well, listen up supervisors, Google has released a new study on what it takes to be a great boss. And it's full of important lessons for anyone who leads or who's looking for a leader. This 10-year study began in 2008, code-named Project Oxygen. And it resulted in the 10 behaviors of a great boss. Ready to take notes? OK. Here goes. A great boss is a good coach who uses problems as a learning experience rather than solving problems for the team.
A great boss empowers the team and doesn't micromanage and creates an inclusive team environment. That's where peers offer supportive criticism and where nobody feels embarrassed to try an idea or take a risk. A great boss is also a great communicator who praises things when done well and does that often. They're also productive and results-oriented. And support career development and can discuss performance.
It's also important for a great boss to have the ability to collaborate within the company and have clear vision and strategy for the team. They should also have key technical skills to advise the team. Meaning, it's best if the boss has been in a team shoes before. For example, if you're a boss at an IT company, then you should have extensive IT knowledge.
And finally, a great boss is a strong decision maker. Got to be able to make those tough decisions. You can read more details about all of these skills today on curiositydotcom and on the Curiosity app for Android and iOS. And if you've got a boss you think might have some room for improvement, then maybe share the story on LinkedIn or Twitter. You never know. Maybe they'll pick up the hint. Join us again tomorrow for the Curiosity Daily and learn something new in just a few minutes. I'm Ashley Hamer.
CODY GOUGH: And I'm Cody Gough.
ASHLEY HAMER: Stay curious.
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SPEAKER: On the Westwood One Podcast Network.