1 00:00:00,920 --> 00:00:03,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to hows to Works Now. I'm your host Lauren Vogelbaum, 2 00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:10,680 Speaker 1: a researcher and writer. Here at hows to Works. Every week, 3 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:12,920 Speaker 1: I'm bringing you three stories from our team about the 4 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:16,959 Speaker 1: weird and wondrous advances we've seen in science, technology, and culture. 5 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:20,319 Speaker 1: This week, Spotify rolled out an update to fix a 6 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,639 Speaker 1: bug in its desktop app code that could seriously damage 7 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:29,560 Speaker 1: computers and unrelated, some Californians are getting serious about seceding 8 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:34,440 Speaker 1: from the United States, but first, Unfortunately. Senior writer and 9 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:36,960 Speaker 1: Stuff to Blow your Mind co host Robert Lamb brings 10 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 1: us a soothing story. Listening to music has been shown 11 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:43,320 Speaker 1: to have real benefits to our mental health. Here's how 12 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:50,360 Speaker 1: it works. In times of strife and uncertainty, music feels 13 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:53,319 Speaker 1: both rage and optimism. It stirs us to action and 14 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:58,040 Speaker 1: provides catharsis. It also soothes the fissures of an anxious psyche. 15 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:01,320 Speaker 1: The therapeutic use of music is way back in India. 16 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:04,840 Speaker 1: The roots of therapeutic music traditions extend through ancient Vedic 17 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:08,160 Speaker 1: and sanscrit texts, as well as the ethics Baga, Bagita, 18 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:11,800 Speaker 1: and Ramayana. Music therapy in Africa may date back to 19 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: at least ancient Egypt, and continues on in every modern 20 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 1: African state. Eastern traditions to incorporate the power of music. 21 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:23,160 Speaker 1: The Chinese Han dynasties, the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor, 22 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: often considered the fundamental text of traditional Chinese medicine, went 23 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,320 Speaker 1: so far as to connect specific musical notes to corresponding 24 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:34,000 Speaker 1: elemental aspects of the human body. Yet musical healing isn't 25 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:37,240 Speaker 1: mere magic and myth. Modern medical science also weighs in 26 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:40,640 Speaker 1: on the subject, As Professor Urika Nielsen points out in 27 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:44,440 Speaker 1: The Anxiety and Pain Reducing Effects of Music Interventions, a 28 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 1: systematic review, numerous studies reveal the power of musical interventions 29 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:53,480 Speaker 1: to reduce pain and anxiety in hospitalized patients. Nielsen reviewed 30 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:57,200 Speaker 1: forty two randomized controlled trials of music intervention, and while 31 00:01:57,240 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 1: the musical genre and durations varied on lyrical, slow and 32 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:06,200 Speaker 1: flowing music had the greatest effect on relaxation and pain release. 33 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 1: Today we roughly categorize such music as ambient. It's a 34 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 1: broad musical genre that emerged out of nineteen seventies electronic 35 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:17,960 Speaker 1: sound experimentation, but has come to encompass everything from the 36 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:22,440 Speaker 1: minimalist acoustic compositions of Steve Reich to the electronic soundscapes 37 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:26,360 Speaker 1: of Affects Twin. These sounds comfort us, But why the 38 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:29,880 Speaker 1: most commonly accepted theories define music as a distractor. It 39 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:33,160 Speaker 1: draws us away from the experience of negative physical or 40 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:39,320 Speaker 1: mental stimuli with familiar soothing acoustics. Neurological musical therapist Michael 41 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:42,960 Speaker 1: h Thought goes further, however, stressing the effects of music 42 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:47,760 Speaker 1: on multiple brain regions related to memory, learning, motivation, and 43 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:51,520 Speaker 1: emotional states. There is, after all, no music center in 44 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:54,320 Speaker 1: the human brain, be at the works of Vivaldi or 45 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:59,080 Speaker 1: van Halen. Music saturates multiple cognitive systems with its influence. 46 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:03,000 Speaker 1: For instance, since music shares neural pathways with motor control, 47 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:06,960 Speaker 1: it may improve movement in stroke or Parkinson's disease patients. 48 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:10,400 Speaker 1: Music runs deep within us, and so too may our 49 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:14,680 Speaker 1: appreciation of ambient soundscapes. In a two thousand twelve interview 50 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:18,040 Speaker 1: I conducted with Hearts of Space founder Stephen Hill, the 51 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 1: host of the long running Slow Music for Fast Times program, 52 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:24,799 Speaker 1: shared his own personal take on the power of ambient music, 53 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:29,600 Speaker 1: relating it to the evolutionary importance of auditory environmental awareness. 54 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:33,360 Speaker 1: Quote what happens with ambient music is that the continuous 55 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:36,680 Speaker 1: stream of sound, the lack of sudden sound events, the 56 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:40,960 Speaker 1: consonant harmonies, and the slow pace all conspire to send 57 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 1: us the message that everything's cool here. You don't have 58 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:47,720 Speaker 1: to keep scanning the environment for danger. This is the 59 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:52,200 Speaker 1: relaxation response that is shared by ambient chill, New Age 60 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:56,080 Speaker 1: and some styles of folk, jazz and classical music. Unquote. 61 00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:59,400 Speaker 1: So you can look to evidence both medical and mythological, 62 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:04,280 Speaker 1: pilosophic and personal. Ambient music demonstrates an ability to soothe 63 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:07,720 Speaker 1: our minds in the wake of negative stimuli, both immediate 64 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:11,800 Speaker 1: and distant, abstract and tangible. Naturally, this doesn't mean we 65 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 1: should hide away in our ambient caves or ignore life's challenges, 66 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:18,920 Speaker 1: no more than we should denounce the physician in favor 67 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:22,640 Speaker 1: of Philip Glass. But for many modern humans, the ancient 68 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:26,560 Speaker 1: prescription holds true. Ambient music can calm the inner storm 69 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:29,240 Speaker 1: and perhaps provide the clarity we need to make the 70 00:04:29,279 --> 00:04:32,279 Speaker 1: next step in survival. And who couldn't benefit from a 71 00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:35,320 Speaker 1: little of that right now? The text component for this 72 00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:38,160 Speaker 1: segment on now do how staff works dot com includes 73 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 1: ambient listening recommendations from a handful of guests such as 74 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:44,320 Speaker 1: Mary Anne Hobbs and DJ Food. But if you'd like 75 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:47,440 Speaker 1: to hear an example of ambient music, continue listening at 76 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:50,760 Speaker 1: the end of this podcast to hear American ambient recording 77 00:04:50,839 --> 00:04:54,039 Speaker 1: artist Helios his track All You Are Off the two 78 00:04:54,040 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 1: thousand sixteen EP Remembrance, available at unseen music dot com. 79 00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:04,560 Speaker 1: Next up, senior writer and tech stuff post jump in 80 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:08,240 Speaker 1: Strickland explains how an error and Spotify could be taking 81 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:11,600 Speaker 1: years off the hard drive life of its desktop app. Users. 82 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:19,120 Speaker 1: Don't worry, there's update available. Here's what's going on. Did 83 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:22,640 Speaker 1: you hear that Spotify Streaming music desktop app might have 84 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:26,000 Speaker 1: been killing your hard drive for months? What's up with that? 85 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:30,120 Speaker 1: There's a bug in some versions of Spotify's desktop app 86 00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:33,880 Speaker 1: for Windows, Mac and Lennox that overwrites the same database 87 00:05:33,960 --> 00:05:37,800 Speaker 1: file every few minutes, even if Spotify is just running 88 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:41,360 Speaker 1: idle in the background with no music playing. The culprit 89 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:44,760 Speaker 1: appears to be a vacuum process for a file containing 90 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:48,960 Speaker 1: the string mercury dot dB. Here's a bit of irony 91 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:51,960 Speaker 1: for you. The purpose of the vacuum process is to 92 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:55,080 Speaker 1: pack database files so that they take up less space. 93 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:59,479 Speaker 1: Get it It's like vacuum ceiling a digital file. It 94 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:02,839 Speaker 1: involves rebuilding a file to be as efficient as possible, 95 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:06,920 Speaker 1: which is generally a good thing. But savvy Spotify users 96 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:10,839 Speaker 1: notice that this process was happening far too frequently. That's 97 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:14,120 Speaker 1: a big problem, particularly for people who have a solid 98 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:17,600 Speaker 1: state hard drive or ss d s. S d s 99 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:21,200 Speaker 1: are fast and efficient, but they also have some limitations. 100 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:24,560 Speaker 1: For example, as you write and overwrite data to a 101 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:29,280 Speaker 1: solid state drive, it slowly loses data storage capacity. It's 102 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:33,520 Speaker 1: similar to how a battery's charge capacity decreases after many 103 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:39,360 Speaker 1: charged cycles. Spotify's buggy vacuum process overwrites the Mercury dot 104 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:43,400 Speaker 1: dB file frequently enough to amount to gigabytes of data 105 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:46,600 Speaker 1: over the course of a day. If you leave Spotify 106 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:49,720 Speaker 1: active whenever your computer is on, you could be taking 107 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:53,200 Speaker 1: years off the life of your solid state drive. Perhaps 108 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:55,520 Speaker 1: the worst bit of news is that this seems to 109 00:06:55,560 --> 00:06:59,200 Speaker 1: have been an issue since June two thousand sixteen, so 110 00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:02,760 Speaker 1: it may have been affecting thousands of hard drives for months. 111 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:06,680 Speaker 1: One semi bright spot in this mess is the bug 112 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:11,400 Speaker 1: is a purely local phenomenon. Spotify isn't downloading massive amounts 113 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:14,720 Speaker 1: of data and chewing through any data restrictions you might 114 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:20,520 Speaker 1: have with your internet service provider. Yea, here's some actual 115 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:24,160 Speaker 1: good news. Spotify has fixed the bug in an update. 116 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:27,320 Speaker 1: If you use the Spotify desktop app, check to see 117 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:30,440 Speaker 1: if your version is one point zero point four two 118 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 1: or later in the about Spotify menu option. If it is, 119 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:37,720 Speaker 1: you're in the clear. Oh and if you only use 120 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:40,840 Speaker 1: Spotify on mobile devices or on the web, you never 121 00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:43,640 Speaker 1: had anything to worry about in the first place. The 122 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:49,760 Speaker 1: bug only affected the desktop versions of the program. Finally, 123 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:52,880 Speaker 1: this week, I'm exploring exactly how difficult it would be 124 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:56,160 Speaker 1: amidst all our current political strife for state in the 125 00:07:56,320 --> 00:07:59,120 Speaker 1: US to secede from the Union. Special thanks for our 126 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:04,760 Speaker 1: freelance writer John on Donovan for this one. People have 127 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:08,160 Speaker 1: different ways of venting their post election emotions. Some take 128 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:11,120 Speaker 1: to the streets or let loose on social media. In California, 129 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:14,520 Speaker 1: where almost six of the voters picked Hillary Clinton over 130 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:18,280 Speaker 1: President elect Trump, they're talking leaving, as in getting out, 131 00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:23,840 Speaker 1: splitting up, seceeding, and yes they're serious tech industry insiders 132 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:27,800 Speaker 1: like Shervan Peshavar and Iranian American Silicon Valley executive and 133 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:31,560 Speaker 1: entrepreneur from Sherpa Capital and Hyperloop One took to Twitter 134 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:34,640 Speaker 1: after the election, vowing to fund a campaign to launch 135 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:38,520 Speaker 1: California as a new nation. Peshavar told Snen Money in 136 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:41,920 Speaker 1: an email quote, it's the most patriotic thing I can do. 137 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:45,840 Speaker 1: The country is at a serious crossroads end quote. Even 138 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:48,960 Speaker 1: before the election, California citizens have pitched the need to 139 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:52,800 Speaker 1: break up with Uncle Sam. The Yes California Independence Committee 140 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:57,600 Speaker 1: filed for nonprofit status in it's demanding quote the liberation 141 00:08:57,679 --> 00:09:02,400 Speaker 1: of the people of California. From its end quote, it's 142 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:04,959 Speaker 1: not quite as violent as it sounds. They say that 143 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:08,720 Speaker 1: they explicitly reject conduct or speech inciting open rebellion against 144 00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:13,160 Speaker 1: the American government. Yes, California got more than fifteen thousand 145 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:15,679 Speaker 1: new likes to its Facebook page last week, up more 146 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:20,080 Speaker 1: than four thousand two. But talking about breakup, as in 147 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:22,400 Speaker 1: all matters of the heart and mind, is a lot 148 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:26,360 Speaker 1: easier than actually breaking up. You'll recall perhaps the Civil War, 149 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:30,400 Speaker 1: although some states have discussed walk out since then, Texas, 150 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:33,800 Speaker 1: We're looking at you. Any state that seriously considers secession 151 00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:36,280 Speaker 1: runs up against a wall bigger than the one Trump 152 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:38,600 Speaker 1: said he wants to build on the US southern border. 153 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:43,319 Speaker 1: The Constitution of the United States. The Constitution has provisions 154 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:46,600 Speaker 1: for joining the Union in the New States Clause. That's 155 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:50,040 Speaker 1: happened plenty, But the other way around, there's nothing in 156 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:53,640 Speaker 1: the Constitution about a state leaving the Union. But Yes 157 00:09:53,679 --> 00:09:57,240 Speaker 1: California points to an eighteen sixty nine Supreme Court decision 158 00:09:57,320 --> 00:10:00,520 Speaker 1: that may provide them with a literal out. The case 159 00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:03,600 Speaker 1: is Texas v. White, in which the Court ruled that 160 00:10:03,679 --> 00:10:08,160 Speaker 1: states could not unilaterally secede from the Union. Yes California agrees, 161 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:12,640 Speaker 1: but they point out this passage from the decision. When 162 00:10:12,679 --> 00:10:16,000 Speaker 1: therefore Texas became one of the United States, she entered 163 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:20,160 Speaker 1: into an indissoluble relation. The union between Texas and the 164 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:24,800 Speaker 1: other states was as complete, as perpetual, and as indissoluble 165 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:27,679 Speaker 1: as the union between the original states. There is no 166 00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:32,680 Speaker 1: place for reconsideration or revocation except through revolution or through 167 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:37,400 Speaker 1: consent of the states. Yes California is ruling out revolution, 168 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:40,040 Speaker 1: but insists the way out is if they get the 169 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:42,840 Speaker 1: other states to go along. What they're looking for is 170 00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:46,679 Speaker 1: an amicable divorce. The people at Yes California see two 171 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:49,640 Speaker 1: routes to get that done. In the first scenario, after 172 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:52,360 Speaker 1: a majority of Californians vote on a statewide ballot to 173 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:56,960 Speaker 1: pursue secession, and it passes, a state delegation heads to Washington, 174 00:10:57,040 --> 00:10:59,160 Speaker 1: d C. And proposes an amendment to the U. S 175 00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:03,920 Speaker 1: Constitution to allow secession. According to s California, two thirds 176 00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:06,000 Speaker 1: of the House of Representatives and two thirds of the 177 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:09,200 Speaker 1: Senate would have to approve the proposed amendment would then 178 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:11,839 Speaker 1: have to be okayed by thirty eight of the fifty states. 179 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:15,800 Speaker 1: The second scenario skips the Washington step, and after the 180 00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:19,079 Speaker 1: statewide ballot passes, calls for a convention of the States, 181 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:22,079 Speaker 1: a secession proposal would have to be approved by two 182 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:25,800 Speaker 1: thirds of those delegates. If passed Yes, California says it 183 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:29,720 Speaker 1: would go to individual states, where legislatures would vote on it. Again, 184 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:31,960 Speaker 1: thirty eight of the fifty states would have to pass it. 185 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:35,079 Speaker 1: Even if the Calaxeters got that far, they might come 186 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:37,480 Speaker 1: to regret it, and the rest of us along with them. 187 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:40,560 Speaker 1: On the Skoka Blog, the executive director of the California 188 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:44,120 Speaker 1: Constitution Center at the University of California Berkeley School of Law, 189 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:46,959 Speaker 1: laid out the prospects of secession. They're referred to such 190 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:51,160 Speaker 1: a constitutional amendment as unleashing the Kraken. Once one such 191 00:11:51,280 --> 00:11:53,960 Speaker 1: change started looking like it might pass, they say other 192 00:11:54,040 --> 00:11:58,160 Speaker 1: groups could and would flood Washington or a state convention 193 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:01,920 Speaker 1: with their own ideas for large scale change. Anyway you 194 00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:04,720 Speaker 1: look at it a calax. It wouldn't be easy, but 195 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:12,240 Speaker 1: we're not going to say it would be impossible. That's 196 00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:15,640 Speaker 1: almost all for this week. Stay tuned after my closing 197 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:18,160 Speaker 1: speel for a bit of ambient music to help get 198 00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:20,560 Speaker 1: your brain through the day. If you're not subscribed to 199 00:12:20,559 --> 00:12:22,319 Speaker 1: the show, do that thing and send us a link 200 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:24,719 Speaker 1: to anything you'd like to hear us cover, plus your 201 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:28,520 Speaker 1: favorite holiday recipe cocktails included. You can send us an 202 00:12:28,559 --> 00:12:31,559 Speaker 1: email at now podcast at how stuff works dot com, 203 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:34,240 Speaker 1: and of course, for lots more stories like these, head 204 00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:36,959 Speaker 1: on over to our home planet now that how stuff 205 00:12:36,960 --> 00:13:42,240 Speaker 1: works dot com. Thanks to Helio's for use of their 206 00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:46,520 Speaker 1: track All You Are Off the EP Remembrance, available at 207 00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:49,840 Speaker 1: Unseen hyphen Music dot com.