WEBVTT - Whether California Could Secede, Spotify's Destructive Bug, and Ambient Music Therapy 0:00:00.920 --> 0:00:03.800 Welcome to hows to Works Now. I'm your host Lauren Vogelbaum, 0:00:03.880 --> 0:00:10.680 a researcher and writer. Here at hows to Works. Every week, 0:00:10.680 --> 0:00:12.920 I'm bringing you three stories from our team about the 0:00:12.960 --> 0:00:16.959 weird and wondrous advances we've seen in science, technology, and culture. 0:00:17.600 --> 0:00:20.319 This week, Spotify rolled out an update to fix a 0:00:20.320 --> 0:00:23.639 bug in its desktop app code that could seriously damage 0:00:23.680 --> 0:00:29.560 computers and unrelated, some Californians are getting serious about seceding 0:00:29.600 --> 0:00:34.440 from the United States, but first, Unfortunately. Senior writer and 0:00:34.520 --> 0:00:36.960 Stuff to Blow your Mind co host Robert Lamb brings 0:00:37.040 --> 0:00:40.400 us a soothing story. Listening to music has been shown 0:00:40.440 --> 0:00:43.320 to have real benefits to our mental health. Here's how 0:00:43.320 --> 0:00:50.360 it works. In times of strife and uncertainty, music feels 0:00:50.400 --> 0:00:53.319 both rage and optimism. It stirs us to action and 0:00:53.360 --> 0:00:58.040 provides catharsis. It also soothes the fissures of an anxious psyche. 0:00:58.560 --> 0:01:01.320 The therapeutic use of music is way back in India. 0:01:01.400 --> 0:01:04.840 The roots of therapeutic music traditions extend through ancient Vedic 0:01:04.880 --> 0:01:08.160 and sanscrit texts, as well as the ethics Baga, Bagita, 0:01:08.360 --> 0:01:11.800 and Ramayana. Music therapy in Africa may date back to 0:01:11.920 --> 0:01:15.240 at least ancient Egypt, and continues on in every modern 0:01:15.280 --> 0:01:19.360 African state. Eastern traditions to incorporate the power of music. 0:01:19.560 --> 0:01:23.160 The Chinese Han dynasties, the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor, 0:01:23.400 --> 0:01:26.880 often considered the fundamental text of traditional Chinese medicine, went 0:01:27.000 --> 0:01:30.320 so far as to connect specific musical notes to corresponding 0:01:30.360 --> 0:01:34.000 elemental aspects of the human body. Yet musical healing isn't 0:01:34.000 --> 0:01:37.240 mere magic and myth. Modern medical science also weighs in 0:01:37.280 --> 0:01:40.640 on the subject, As Professor Urika Nielsen points out in 0:01:40.680 --> 0:01:44.440 The Anxiety and Pain Reducing Effects of Music Interventions, a 0:01:44.520 --> 0:01:49.120 systematic review, numerous studies reveal the power of musical interventions 0:01:49.120 --> 0:01:53.480 to reduce pain and anxiety in hospitalized patients. Nielsen reviewed 0:01:53.520 --> 0:01:57.200 forty two randomized controlled trials of music intervention, and while 0:01:57.240 --> 0:02:01.760 the musical genre and durations varied on lyrical, slow and 0:02:01.960 --> 0:02:06.200 flowing music had the greatest effect on relaxation and pain release. 0:02:06.680 --> 0:02:10.200 Today we roughly categorize such music as ambient. It's a 0:02:10.240 --> 0:02:14.560 broad musical genre that emerged out of nineteen seventies electronic 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:17.960 sound experimentation, but has come to encompass everything from the 0:02:18.000 --> 0:02:22.440 minimalist acoustic compositions of Steve Reich to the electronic soundscapes 0:02:22.480 --> 0:02:26.360 of Affects Twin. These sounds comfort us, But why the 0:02:26.400 --> 0:02:29.880 most commonly accepted theories define music as a distractor. It 0:02:30.040 --> 0:02:33.160 draws us away from the experience of negative physical or 0:02:33.200 --> 0:02:39.320 mental stimuli with familiar soothing acoustics. Neurological musical therapist Michael 0:02:39.639 --> 0:02:42.960 h Thought goes further, however, stressing the effects of music 0:02:43.040 --> 0:02:47.760 on multiple brain regions related to memory, learning, motivation, and 0:02:47.880 --> 0:02:51.520 emotional states. There is, after all, no music center in 0:02:51.560 --> 0:02:54.320 the human brain, be at the works of Vivaldi or 0:02:54.400 --> 0:02:59.080 van Halen. Music saturates multiple cognitive systems with its influence. 0:02:59.240 --> 0:03:03.000 For instance, since music shares neural pathways with motor control, 0:03:03.320 --> 0:03:06.960 it may improve movement in stroke or Parkinson's disease patients. 0:03:07.600 --> 0:03:10.400 Music runs deep within us, and so too may our 0:03:10.440 --> 0:03:14.680 appreciation of ambient soundscapes. In a two thousand twelve interview 0:03:14.720 --> 0:03:18.040 I conducted with Hearts of Space founder Stephen Hill, the 0:03:18.120 --> 0:03:21.120 host of the long running Slow Music for Fast Times program, 0:03:21.280 --> 0:03:24.799 shared his own personal take on the power of ambient music, 0:03:25.000 --> 0:03:29.600 relating it to the evolutionary importance of auditory environmental awareness. 0:03:29.800 --> 0:03:33.360 Quote what happens with ambient music is that the continuous 0:03:33.360 --> 0:03:36.680 stream of sound, the lack of sudden sound events, the 0:03:36.720 --> 0:03:40.960 consonant harmonies, and the slow pace all conspire to send 0:03:41.160 --> 0:03:44.400 us the message that everything's cool here. You don't have 0:03:44.480 --> 0:03:47.720 to keep scanning the environment for danger. This is the 0:03:47.800 --> 0:03:52.200 relaxation response that is shared by ambient chill, New Age 0:03:52.200 --> 0:03:56.080 and some styles of folk, jazz and classical music. Unquote. 0:03:56.560 --> 0:03:59.400 So you can look to evidence both medical and mythological, 0:04:00.000 --> 0:04:04.280 pilosophic and personal. Ambient music demonstrates an ability to soothe 0:04:04.320 --> 0:04:07.720 our minds in the wake of negative stimuli, both immediate 0:04:07.760 --> 0:04:11.800 and distant, abstract and tangible. Naturally, this doesn't mean we 0:04:11.800 --> 0:04:15.560 should hide away in our ambient caves or ignore life's challenges, 0:04:16.000 --> 0:04:18.920 no more than we should denounce the physician in favor 0:04:18.960 --> 0:04:22.640 of Philip Glass. But for many modern humans, the ancient 0:04:22.680 --> 0:04:26.560 prescription holds true. Ambient music can calm the inner storm 0:04:26.640 --> 0:04:29.240 and perhaps provide the clarity we need to make the 0:04:29.279 --> 0:04:32.279 next step in survival. And who couldn't benefit from a 0:04:32.279 --> 0:04:35.320 little of that right now? The text component for this 0:04:35.360 --> 0:04:38.160 segment on now do how staff works dot com includes 0:04:38.240 --> 0:04:41.800 ambient listening recommendations from a handful of guests such as 0:04:41.880 --> 0:04:44.320 Mary Anne Hobbs and DJ Food. But if you'd like 0:04:44.400 --> 0:04:47.440 to hear an example of ambient music, continue listening at 0:04:47.480 --> 0:04:50.760 the end of this podcast to hear American ambient recording 0:04:50.839 --> 0:04:54.039 artist Helios his track All You Are Off the two 0:04:54.040 --> 0:05:01.640 thousand sixteen EP Remembrance, available at unseen music dot com. 0:05:01.960 --> 0:05:04.560 Next up, senior writer and tech stuff post jump in 0:05:04.600 --> 0:05:08.240 Strickland explains how an error and Spotify could be taking 0:05:08.360 --> 0:05:11.600 years off the hard drive life of its desktop app. Users. 0:05:12.120 --> 0:05:19.120 Don't worry, there's update available. Here's what's going on. Did 0:05:19.160 --> 0:05:22.640 you hear that Spotify Streaming music desktop app might have 0:05:22.680 --> 0:05:26.000 been killing your hard drive for months? What's up with that? 0:05:26.720 --> 0:05:30.120 There's a bug in some versions of Spotify's desktop app 0:05:30.200 --> 0:05:33.880 for Windows, Mac and Lennox that overwrites the same database 0:05:33.960 --> 0:05:37.800 file every few minutes, even if Spotify is just running 0:05:37.839 --> 0:05:41.360 idle in the background with no music playing. The culprit 0:05:41.440 --> 0:05:44.760 appears to be a vacuum process for a file containing 0:05:44.800 --> 0:05:48.960 the string mercury dot dB. Here's a bit of irony 0:05:49.040 --> 0:05:51.960 for you. The purpose of the vacuum process is to 0:05:52.040 --> 0:05:55.080 pack database files so that they take up less space. 0:05:55.640 --> 0:05:59.479 Get it It's like vacuum ceiling a digital file. It 0:05:59.560 --> 0:06:02.839 involves rebuilding a file to be as efficient as possible, 0:06:02.960 --> 0:06:06.920 which is generally a good thing. But savvy Spotify users 0:06:06.920 --> 0:06:10.839 notice that this process was happening far too frequently. That's 0:06:10.880 --> 0:06:14.120 a big problem, particularly for people who have a solid 0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:17.600 state hard drive or ss d s. S d s 0:06:17.640 --> 0:06:21.200 are fast and efficient, but they also have some limitations. 0:06:21.320 --> 0:06:24.560 For example, as you write and overwrite data to a 0:06:24.640 --> 0:06:29.280 solid state drive, it slowly loses data storage capacity. It's 0:06:29.320 --> 0:06:33.520 similar to how a battery's charge capacity decreases after many 0:06:33.680 --> 0:06:39.360 charged cycles. Spotify's buggy vacuum process overwrites the Mercury dot 0:06:39.400 --> 0:06:43.400 dB file frequently enough to amount to gigabytes of data 0:06:43.600 --> 0:06:46.600 over the course of a day. If you leave Spotify 0:06:46.640 --> 0:06:49.720 active whenever your computer is on, you could be taking 0:06:49.800 --> 0:06:53.200 years off the life of your solid state drive. Perhaps 0:06:53.200 --> 0:06:55.520 the worst bit of news is that this seems to 0:06:55.560 --> 0:06:59.200 have been an issue since June two thousand sixteen, so 0:06:59.279 --> 0:07:02.760 it may have been affecting thousands of hard drives for months. 0:07:03.680 --> 0:07:06.680 One semi bright spot in this mess is the bug 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:11.400 is a purely local phenomenon. Spotify isn't downloading massive amounts 0:07:11.400 --> 0:07:14.720 of data and chewing through any data restrictions you might 0:07:14.760 --> 0:07:20.520 have with your internet service provider. Yea, here's some actual 0:07:20.800 --> 0:07:24.160 good news. Spotify has fixed the bug in an update. 0:07:24.440 --> 0:07:27.320 If you use the Spotify desktop app, check to see 0:07:27.360 --> 0:07:30.440 if your version is one point zero point four two 0:07:30.560 --> 0:07:34.840 or later in the about Spotify menu option. If it is, 0:07:35.160 --> 0:07:37.720 you're in the clear. Oh and if you only use 0:07:37.760 --> 0:07:40.840 Spotify on mobile devices or on the web, you never 0:07:40.920 --> 0:07:43.640 had anything to worry about in the first place. The 0:07:43.720 --> 0:07:49.760 bug only affected the desktop versions of the program. Finally, 0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:52.880 this week, I'm exploring exactly how difficult it would be 0:07:53.160 --> 0:07:56.160 amidst all our current political strife for state in the 0:07:56.320 --> 0:07:59.120 US to secede from the Union. Special thanks for our 0:07:59.160 --> 0:08:04.760 freelance writer John on Donovan for this one. People have 0:08:04.880 --> 0:08:08.160 different ways of venting their post election emotions. Some take 0:08:08.200 --> 0:08:11.120 to the streets or let loose on social media. In California, 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:14.520 where almost six of the voters picked Hillary Clinton over 0:08:14.560 --> 0:08:18.280 President elect Trump, they're talking leaving, as in getting out, 0:08:18.640 --> 0:08:23.840 splitting up, seceeding, and yes they're serious tech industry insiders 0:08:23.880 --> 0:08:27.800 like Shervan Peshavar and Iranian American Silicon Valley executive and 0:08:27.920 --> 0:08:31.560 entrepreneur from Sherpa Capital and Hyperloop One took to Twitter 0:08:31.600 --> 0:08:34.640 after the election, vowing to fund a campaign to launch 0:08:34.720 --> 0:08:38.520 California as a new nation. Peshavar told Snen Money in 0:08:38.559 --> 0:08:41.920 an email quote, it's the most patriotic thing I can do. 0:08:42.320 --> 0:08:45.840 The country is at a serious crossroads end quote. Even 0:08:45.880 --> 0:08:48.960 before the election, California citizens have pitched the need to 0:08:49.000 --> 0:08:52.800 break up with Uncle Sam. The Yes California Independence Committee 0:08:52.840 --> 0:08:57.600 filed for nonprofit status in it's demanding quote the liberation 0:08:57.679 --> 0:09:02.400 of the people of California. From its end quote, it's 0:09:02.440 --> 0:09:04.959 not quite as violent as it sounds. They say that 0:09:05.000 --> 0:09:08.720 they explicitly reject conduct or speech inciting open rebellion against 0:09:08.760 --> 0:09:13.160 the American government. Yes, California got more than fifteen thousand 0:09:13.200 --> 0:09:15.679 new likes to its Facebook page last week, up more 0:09:15.720 --> 0:09:20.080 than four thousand two. But talking about breakup, as in 0:09:20.160 --> 0:09:22.400 all matters of the heart and mind, is a lot 0:09:22.440 --> 0:09:26.360 easier than actually breaking up. You'll recall perhaps the Civil War, 0:09:27.040 --> 0:09:30.400 although some states have discussed walk out since then, Texas, 0:09:30.440 --> 0:09:33.800 We're looking at you. Any state that seriously considers secession 0:09:33.920 --> 0:09:36.280 runs up against a wall bigger than the one Trump 0:09:36.320 --> 0:09:38.600 said he wants to build on the US southern border. 0:09:39.080 --> 0:09:43.319 The Constitution of the United States. The Constitution has provisions 0:09:43.360 --> 0:09:46.600 for joining the Union in the New States Clause. That's 0:09:46.640 --> 0:09:50.040 happened plenty, But the other way around, there's nothing in 0:09:50.080 --> 0:09:53.640 the Constitution about a state leaving the Union. But Yes 0:09:53.679 --> 0:09:57.240 California points to an eighteen sixty nine Supreme Court decision 0:09:57.320 --> 0:10:00.520 that may provide them with a literal out. The case 0:10:00.679 --> 0:10:03.600 is Texas v. White, in which the Court ruled that 0:10:03.679 --> 0:10:08.160 states could not unilaterally secede from the Union. Yes California agrees, 0:10:08.720 --> 0:10:12.640 but they point out this passage from the decision. When 0:10:12.679 --> 0:10:16.000 therefore Texas became one of the United States, she entered 0:10:16.040 --> 0:10:20.160 into an indissoluble relation. The union between Texas and the 0:10:20.200 --> 0:10:24.800 other states was as complete, as perpetual, and as indissoluble 0:10:24.840 --> 0:10:27.679 as the union between the original states. There is no 0:10:27.800 --> 0:10:32.680 place for reconsideration or revocation except through revolution or through 0:10:32.720 --> 0:10:37.400 consent of the states. Yes California is ruling out revolution, 0:10:37.640 --> 0:10:40.040 but insists the way out is if they get the 0:10:40.120 --> 0:10:42.840 other states to go along. What they're looking for is 0:10:42.880 --> 0:10:46.679 an amicable divorce. The people at Yes California see two 0:10:46.760 --> 0:10:49.640 routes to get that done. In the first scenario, after 0:10:49.640 --> 0:10:52.360 a majority of Californians vote on a statewide ballot to 0:10:52.360 --> 0:10:56.960 pursue secession, and it passes, a state delegation heads to Washington, 0:10:57.040 --> 0:10:59.160 d C. And proposes an amendment to the U. S 0:10:59.240 --> 0:11:03.920 Constitution to allow secession. According to s California, two thirds 0:11:03.960 --> 0:11:06.000 of the House of Representatives and two thirds of the 0:11:06.040 --> 0:11:09.200 Senate would have to approve the proposed amendment would then 0:11:09.240 --> 0:11:11.839 have to be okayed by thirty eight of the fifty states. 0:11:12.760 --> 0:11:15.800 The second scenario skips the Washington step, and after the 0:11:15.800 --> 0:11:19.079 statewide ballot passes, calls for a convention of the States, 0:11:19.400 --> 0:11:22.079 a secession proposal would have to be approved by two 0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:25.800 thirds of those delegates. If passed Yes, California says it 0:11:25.840 --> 0:11:29.720 would go to individual states, where legislatures would vote on it. Again, 0:11:29.880 --> 0:11:31.960 thirty eight of the fifty states would have to pass it. 0:11:32.400 --> 0:11:35.079 Even if the Calaxeters got that far, they might come 0:11:35.120 --> 0:11:37.480 to regret it, and the rest of us along with them. 0:11:37.800 --> 0:11:40.560 On the Skoka Blog, the executive director of the California 0:11:40.640 --> 0:11:44.120 Constitution Center at the University of California Berkeley School of Law, 0:11:44.240 --> 0:11:46.959 laid out the prospects of secession. They're referred to such 0:11:46.960 --> 0:11:51.160 a constitutional amendment as unleashing the Kraken. Once one such 0:11:51.280 --> 0:11:53.960 change started looking like it might pass, they say other 0:11:54.040 --> 0:11:58.160 groups could and would flood Washington or a state convention 0:11:58.320 --> 0:12:01.920 with their own ideas for large scale change. Anyway you 0:12:01.960 --> 0:12:04.720 look at it a calax. It wouldn't be easy, but 0:12:05.000 --> 0:12:12.240 we're not going to say it would be impossible. That's 0:12:12.440 --> 0:12:15.640 almost all for this week. Stay tuned after my closing 0:12:15.720 --> 0:12:18.160 speel for a bit of ambient music to help get 0:12:18.240 --> 0:12:20.560 your brain through the day. If you're not subscribed to 0:12:20.559 --> 0:12:22.319 the show, do that thing and send us a link 0:12:22.400 --> 0:12:24.719 to anything you'd like to hear us cover, plus your 0:12:24.760 --> 0:12:28.520 favorite holiday recipe cocktails included. You can send us an 0:12:28.559 --> 0:12:31.559 email at now podcast at how stuff works dot com, 0:12:31.600 --> 0:12:34.240 and of course, for lots more stories like these, head 0:12:34.240 --> 0:12:36.959 on over to our home planet now that how stuff 0:12:36.960 --> 0:13:42.240 works dot com. Thanks to Helio's for use of their 0:13:42.320 --> 0:13:46.520 track All You Are Off the EP Remembrance, available at 0:13:46.640 --> 0:13:49.840 Unseen hyphen Music dot com.