1 00:00:02,960 --> 00:00:05,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of 2 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:10,840 Speaker 1: My Heart Radio. Hey, welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind. 3 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:14,800 Speaker 1: Listener mail. My name is Robert Lamb and I'm Joe McCormick, 4 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:17,640 Speaker 1: and we're here. It's Monday. It's not Monday for us, 5 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:19,799 Speaker 1: but it's Monday for you, and it's time to read 6 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:21,800 Speaker 1: some of the messages that you have sent into the 7 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:24,200 Speaker 1: show over the past few weeks. So if you're ready 8 00:00:24,239 --> 00:00:26,279 Speaker 1: to jump right in, rob, I could read this message 9 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:35,440 Speaker 1: from Amy on our episodes on Brain and Head Theft. Okay, 10 00:00:35,479 --> 00:00:38,239 Speaker 1: this comes from Amy, she says. Hi, all, I just 11 00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:40,920 Speaker 1: finished the second episode on Brain and Head Theft today 12 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:43,520 Speaker 1: and thought i'd drop you a note. When the episode started, 13 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:47,880 Speaker 1: I immediately thought of the strange afterlife of Albert Einstein's brain. 14 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:52,199 Speaker 1: The pathologist who performed the autopsy on Einstein took Einstein's 15 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: brain without permission and kept it for decades, and then 16 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:57,720 Speaker 1: she attaches a BBC article for us to look at. Yeah, 17 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:00,000 Speaker 1: we made a brief reference to this in the episode, 18 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:01,920 Speaker 1: but it didn't go deep on this one because I 19 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:04,120 Speaker 1: figured this story was better known than many of the 20 00:01:04,120 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: other ones we talked about, like Hayden and Ish and 21 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:09,480 Speaker 1: uh and all those and so so I wanted to 22 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:12,280 Speaker 1: focus on the lesser known ones. Also, I remembered when 23 00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:15,119 Speaker 1: I was actually looking into the story about Einstein's brain, 24 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:19,200 Speaker 1: I encountered some like just discrepancies in the accounts. I 25 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:21,040 Speaker 1: don't remember all the details now, but I think they 26 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:24,000 Speaker 1: were like conflicting accounts of like whether or not there 27 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:27,600 Speaker 1: was permission or what form that permission took and so forth. Yeah, 28 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:30,280 Speaker 1: the article they sent is The Strange Afterlife of Einstein's 29 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:34,560 Speaker 1: Brain by William Kramer for BBC. So, yeah, if you 30 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:36,240 Speaker 1: want to look that up, that's where you'll find it. 31 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:39,479 Speaker 1: Amy continues the second thought, I wanted to share concerns 32 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:43,039 Speaker 1: how is She's brain was eventually returned to his tribal descendants. 33 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:46,679 Speaker 1: I was an anthropology major focusing on physical anthropology in 34 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:49,960 Speaker 1: the early two thousands, and the Native American Graves and 35 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:53,960 Speaker 1: Repatriation Act or nag PRO was important to learn about 36 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:57,160 Speaker 1: in light of how human remains and other artifacts were collected. 37 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:01,440 Speaker 1: The return of is She's brain was likely nag PRO related. Finally, 38 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:05,120 Speaker 1: my research for my master's thesis in forensic anthropology involved 39 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:08,280 Speaker 1: looking at head trauma in people buried in a London 40 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 1: church crypt versus former British sailors buried at a naval 41 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:16,480 Speaker 1: retirement home. No surprise, sailors were more likely to have 42 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:20,240 Speaker 1: head trauma than the average British population. Both groups thought 43 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: they were being buried in their final resting place before 44 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:27,359 Speaker 1: being uncovered during church renovations and archaeological excavations at the 45 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:30,440 Speaker 1: sailor's home, and didn't expect to be used for research 46 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:32,960 Speaker 1: a hundred plus years on. Thanks for all the fun 47 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:36,320 Speaker 1: hours of listening enjoyment. Amy, Oh, that that's neat, but 48 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:37,640 Speaker 1: we may have to look that up. I love a 49 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:42,880 Speaker 1: good study involving uh historical head trauma. I remember there's 50 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:46,160 Speaker 1: a really good one about gladiator um head trauma that 51 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:48,520 Speaker 1: we we looked at a while back. Is that for 52 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:52,120 Speaker 1: an Invention episode or for I think it's maybe come 53 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:55,799 Speaker 1: up a couple of times, but probably for invention. Yeah, 54 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:58,400 Speaker 1: at one point we were talking about helmets. It came up. 55 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:06,760 Speaker 1: Yeah anyway, yeah, thanks me. All right. We also heard 56 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:10,120 Speaker 1: from folks about Halo's and mirages. That was kind of 57 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:13,640 Speaker 1: a I guess like a three episode spread of content 58 00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 1: that we did. When comes from Robin, they say, hi, 59 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:19,960 Speaker 1: Rob and Joe and Seth. Listening to your latest email 60 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:21,560 Speaker 1: round up, I thought I would just send you a 61 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 1: real life example of sun dogs encountered in the wild, 62 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:28,560 Speaker 1: quite a common sight in the winter here in Edmonton, Alberta. 63 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:31,800 Speaker 1: Notice these while waiting at the bus stop. You can 64 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 1: see two sundogs to either side which are continuous with 65 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:38,960 Speaker 1: a faint rainbow slash halo around the sun, the topmost 66 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:41,600 Speaker 1: part of which is a little brighter, and then new 67 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 1: to me that day, there was also a little segment 68 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:48,120 Speaker 1: of a reversely arched rainbow further up, almost directly above 69 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:51,000 Speaker 1: the sky. If you look closely, you can also see 70 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 1: what looks like glitter saturating the sky, small ice crystal sparkling. 71 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: Cheers Robin. Yeah, this was really interesting. So Robin at 72 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:02,320 Speaker 1: shched a video file for us to look at. And 73 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:05,400 Speaker 1: so you see the sun dog, and the sun dog 74 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:07,080 Speaker 1: of course has the sun in the middle, and then 75 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 1: it's sort of a ring around the sun with uh 76 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:13,960 Speaker 1: with sort of flaring second sun nodes at what looked 77 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:17,080 Speaker 1: like the nine d degree verticy is around around that ring. 78 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:20,600 Speaker 1: And then if you pan the camera up, which Robin 79 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:24,920 Speaker 1: does from the from that initial ring, there is another 80 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:28,440 Speaker 1: inverted arch above so like I guess if you were 81 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:31,120 Speaker 1: to shift along like the z axis nine d degrees 82 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:34,120 Speaker 1: up from that roughly, it's like there's another circle and 83 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 1: you can see it reflected, but but in the mirror image, 84 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:41,520 Speaker 1: which was really cool. And this also reminds me of 85 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:43,640 Speaker 1: an experience I just had a few days ago when 86 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:46,480 Speaker 1: I was using the hose in the yard, uh, and 87 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: I had that experience of making a rainbow around your 88 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:52,200 Speaker 1: own shadow with the spray of the hose. You ever 89 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:55,920 Speaker 1: you ever noticed this, Rob, Yeah, this figs about now 90 00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:59,040 Speaker 1: that you mentioned it. This is another interesting optical phenomenon 91 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:01,120 Speaker 1: here that has to do with the fraction and reflection 92 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:04,880 Speaker 1: of sunlight through different types of like droplets or crystals 93 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 1: in the atmosphere. In this case, it's a mist of 94 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:09,960 Speaker 1: water droplets in the atmosphere. You can make a rainbow 95 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:13,480 Speaker 1: around your own shadow because because if you're standing out, 96 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:16,560 Speaker 1: you know, in the yard, in the bright sun, uh, 97 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 1: the rainbow is always going to form around your anti 98 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:23,920 Speaker 1: solar point. So so like if you imagine a line 99 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:27,839 Speaker 1: going from the sun through your head then down to 100 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:31,400 Speaker 1: your shadows head, that's sort of like the the line 101 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:33,800 Speaker 1: that will form the middle of the ring of that 102 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:36,760 Speaker 1: you're going to see a rainbow forming around. So if 103 00:05:36,760 --> 00:05:39,039 Speaker 1: you if you squared a bunch of water up in 104 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:41,719 Speaker 1: the air around that point sort of around that your 105 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:44,440 Speaker 1: shadows head, you will probably be able to see a 106 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:47,400 Speaker 1: rainbow in the bright sunlight. And it's the same principle 107 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:50,320 Speaker 1: that causes a rainbow to form from your point of 108 00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:53,320 Speaker 1: view in a you know, in a storm that's going 109 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:55,920 Speaker 1: on in the atmosphere in a distance. Uh. And this 110 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:58,119 Speaker 1: is an interesting reminder of why you can never actually 111 00:05:58,200 --> 00:06:01,120 Speaker 1: get to the end of a rainbow, because a rainbow 112 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:04,240 Speaker 1: is not a thing that has a fixed physical location. 113 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:07,200 Speaker 1: Like plenty of other optical phenomenon in the sky, a 114 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:10,440 Speaker 1: rainbows apparent location is actually determined by the sort of 115 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:14,400 Speaker 1: convergence of several different things. It's the location of the 116 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:17,400 Speaker 1: sun which shines the light, and then the location of 117 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:20,719 Speaker 1: a bunch of water droplets somewhere in the atmosphere, and 118 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:23,360 Speaker 1: these water droplets or would bend and reflect the light 119 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:26,880 Speaker 1: back toward us, and then your eyes, which perceive the 120 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:30,880 Speaker 1: frequencies of light broken apart into their individual colors when 121 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:33,440 Speaker 1: they refract through those water droplets and then come back 122 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:36,800 Speaker 1: and hit your eyes. So you could roughly say that 123 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:40,320 Speaker 1: the rainbow is from your perspective wherever that water that's 124 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:43,520 Speaker 1: doing the reflecting and refracting is. But if you were 125 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:45,960 Speaker 1: to approach it, the rainbow would no longer be there 126 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:48,480 Speaker 1: because it's a product of your point of view, your 127 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 1: perspective when you're looking at that water, so it wouldn't 128 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:54,000 Speaker 1: be there anymore when you got there. It's the natural 129 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:56,599 Speaker 1: place for lepre cons to send you though, in search 130 00:06:56,640 --> 00:07:00,120 Speaker 1: of their gold, because they inherent tricksters, and they of 131 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:05,839 Speaker 1: they love sending humans, sending mortals on fruitless errands in 132 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:08,640 Speaker 1: pursuit of their greed, but educating you about the behavior 133 00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:17,920 Speaker 1: of light in the process. Yeah, they're really into optics alright. 134 00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:20,720 Speaker 1: This next message comes to us from Diana. This is 135 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:24,000 Speaker 1: about the Moses ilusion. Diana writes, Hi, Joe and Robert, 136 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: I'm listening to your episode on the Moses Solution, and 137 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:28,600 Speaker 1: it made me remember this sort of dumb prank one 138 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:30,840 Speaker 1: of my older cousins would play on me when we 139 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:34,120 Speaker 1: were little. Uh mind you that this played out in Spanish. 140 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:37,320 Speaker 1: We're from Peru, but it went what color was the 141 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:40,560 Speaker 1: white horse of Simone Bolivard. I'll try to do the 142 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:44,800 Speaker 1: Spanish deck colore era El Cabayo Blanco de Simone Bolivar, 143 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:48,360 Speaker 1: and about Simon Bolivar, Diana writes he was known as 144 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:51,600 Speaker 1: the Liberator as he led armies and revolutions against Spain 145 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:56,120 Speaker 1: for the independence of several countries, including Venezuela, Columbia, and Peru. 146 00:07:56,240 --> 00:07:59,160 Speaker 1: So he is a well known historical figure in South America. 147 00:07:59,840 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 1: And when I would say I didn't know, she'd laugh 148 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:05,760 Speaker 1: about how she gave the answer in the sentence She'd 149 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:08,200 Speaker 1: pulled the same prank on several members of our family, 150 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:10,960 Speaker 1: and no one ever caught on. I wonder if that 151 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:14,240 Speaker 1: could be classified as the same effect or something similar 152 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:17,520 Speaker 1: to the Moses solution. Perhaps it works better in Spanish 153 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:21,640 Speaker 1: since it's noun plus adjective, unlike English, where it's adjective 154 00:08:21,640 --> 00:08:24,720 Speaker 1: plus down. Your mind goes to the horse first, and 155 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:27,840 Speaker 1: its color goes right over your head. That's in I 156 00:08:27,880 --> 00:08:30,320 Speaker 1: was just thinking about that, looking at never since I 157 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:31,760 Speaker 1: have them both here in front of me, and the 158 00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:36,320 Speaker 1: listener mail, Yeah, we get to the color first in English, 159 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:39,880 Speaker 1: but it's secondary in the Spanish. Right to repeat again, 160 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:42,520 Speaker 1: In English, it's what color was the white horse, but 161 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:46,520 Speaker 1: in Spanish it's what color was the cabayo blanco. Yeah, anyway, 162 00:08:46,679 --> 00:08:48,720 Speaker 1: Diana says, just my two cents to add to the 163 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:51,960 Speaker 1: weirdness of human language and understanding. Love the show, and 164 00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:56,280 Speaker 1: my mind is constantly being blown. So thank you best, Diana. Yeah, 165 00:08:56,280 --> 00:08:58,920 Speaker 1: thanks for this message, Diana, This is really interesting. I'm 166 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:03,160 Speaker 1: not sure whether this would technically constitute a form of 167 00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:05,760 Speaker 1: knowledge neglect like we were talking about like the Moses 168 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:09,599 Speaker 1: illusion is one example of knowledge to neglect, because I 169 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:13,200 Speaker 1: guess the question would be whether the problem people have 170 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:17,840 Speaker 1: with noticing the color being given away in the sentence uh, 171 00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:21,280 Speaker 1: is like where that error arises? Is it that the 172 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:26,280 Speaker 1: color is heard and processed and then subsequently ignored, or 173 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:28,520 Speaker 1: is it whether people are somehow prone to hear the 174 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:31,960 Speaker 1: question without ever processing the color in the first place, 175 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:36,280 Speaker 1: Like does it just not even enter your mind? Yeah? Um, 176 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:38,480 Speaker 1: And then I wonder I can't but also wonder on 177 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:41,760 Speaker 1: this one, if you're if you're more familiar with the 178 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:45,720 Speaker 1: with the figure historical figure of Simon Bolivar, you would 179 00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:48,960 Speaker 1: you might be more inclined to stumble in this one, 180 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:51,600 Speaker 1: you know, because I think we've we've touched on this 181 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:54,040 Speaker 1: in the episode before, like some of these that they 182 00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:57,880 Speaker 1: involve a historic person, you end up immediately like doing 183 00:09:57,920 --> 00:10:01,480 Speaker 1: like a flash presentation in your mind mind off of 184 00:10:01,559 --> 00:10:03,800 Speaker 1: all the history you know, all the sort of trivia 185 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:06,800 Speaker 1: facts you know about them. And sometimes I feel like 186 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:10,120 Speaker 1: that can do railists from from something like this. But 187 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:12,960 Speaker 1: even the punch line of a joke, like when we 188 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:15,640 Speaker 1: we mentioned on a recent episode the whole where did 189 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:18,640 Speaker 1: General Washington keep his armies? Yeah, I mean, there's no 190 00:10:18,679 --> 00:10:21,680 Speaker 1: reason you should anticipate that the answer is in his sleevies. 191 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:26,840 Speaker 1: But but you still, you're you're automatically going to going 192 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:30,120 Speaker 1: to like facts stored in your knowledge bank, and thus 193 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:32,680 Speaker 1: it I think that is one of the reasons that 194 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:35,720 Speaker 1: it's especially funny if it is funny to you when 195 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:38,559 Speaker 1: the answer is just a silly like way of pronouncing 196 00:10:38,559 --> 00:10:41,600 Speaker 1: a word. Yeah, the joke is actually that you have 197 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:47,439 Speaker 1: been thinking about answering this question on completely the wrong level, right, Yeah, 198 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:49,959 Speaker 1: I mean, and also I mean with with with questions 199 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:52,200 Speaker 1: like this, I mean, yeah, it's not a question that 200 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:55,720 Speaker 1: is in good faith because it because the answer is 201 00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:58,720 Speaker 1: hidden in the question. Um, and you're you're and if 202 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:00,960 Speaker 1: you interpret it as being in faith, you you just 203 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:06,160 Speaker 1: assume that the answer is not blatantly present in the question. Yeah. So, 204 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:08,760 Speaker 1: whether or not this is technically a form of knowledge neglect, 205 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:10,800 Speaker 1: I do think it's still really interesting. It does tie 206 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:13,720 Speaker 1: into that general experience that happens every day and seems 207 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:16,160 Speaker 1: totally mundane. But when you think about it, it's actually 208 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:19,760 Speaker 1: pretty strange. Uh. Like we talked about in the episode, 209 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:22,920 Speaker 1: that you are able to get the gist of sentences 210 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:28,200 Speaker 1: correctly without really retaining all of the information in the sentence. Like, 211 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:30,640 Speaker 1: how do we do that? How do our brains manage 212 00:11:30,679 --> 00:11:33,960 Speaker 1: so quickly to extract and retain the global meaning of 213 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:37,520 Speaker 1: a statement or of a question, but not notice major 214 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:46,160 Speaker 1: information contained inside it? All? Right, here's another one. This 215 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:50,720 Speaker 1: one comes to us from Charlie. Charlie writes hello science boys, 216 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:54,440 Speaker 1: and they spell boys bo i sum, which I think 217 00:11:54,559 --> 00:11:58,240 Speaker 1: ultimately that works better in print than it does out loud. Um, 218 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:01,520 Speaker 1: But anyway, that's what they write. Then they continue Short 219 00:12:01,559 --> 00:12:05,200 Speaker 1: time listener, first time emailer. I have listened to the 220 00:12:05,240 --> 00:12:07,800 Speaker 1: whole archive, and don't worry, it only took me a 221 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:11,120 Speaker 1: couple of years. I like to speed up my podcast. 222 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:14,040 Speaker 1: Y'all are the only podcast I got up to. Um 223 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:17,600 Speaker 1: uh three time speed on and you had over a 224 00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:21,640 Speaker 1: thousand episodes, no human way to listen to them all normally. 225 00:12:22,120 --> 00:12:25,840 Speaker 1: I finally weaned you down to one point eight times speeds. 226 00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:29,079 Speaker 1: Since I got caught up, this raises the number of 227 00:12:29,160 --> 00:12:32,120 Speaker 1: questions for me. So first of all, I mean I 228 00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:34,680 Speaker 1: always kind of cringe a little when when someone tells 229 00:12:34,679 --> 00:12:36,640 Speaker 1: me they've listened to all the episodes they went back 230 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:40,520 Speaker 1: to the beginning. Um, you know, just because that's that's 231 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:43,840 Speaker 1: from all, that's a white ways back and and when 232 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:45,440 Speaker 1: we started this thing out, we had no idea of 233 00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:48,160 Speaker 1: what we were doing. So so I mean I would 234 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:51,680 Speaker 1: generally advise people to start from the present and and 235 00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:54,320 Speaker 1: and work and you know, maybe work back a little 236 00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:56,680 Speaker 1: bit that sort of thing. But you know, to to 237 00:12:56,720 --> 00:12:58,200 Speaker 1: eat your them. You know, you don't have to listen 238 00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:00,679 Speaker 1: to the album in the or or that the artist 239 00:13:00,679 --> 00:13:03,000 Speaker 1: gives it. You can put it on shuffle. Who are 240 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:05,040 Speaker 1: who are we to argue with that? But then on 241 00:13:05,080 --> 00:13:08,520 Speaker 1: the speed point, uh um, I mean I admire anyone 242 00:13:08,559 --> 00:13:11,920 Speaker 1: who can listen to a podcast at three times it's 243 00:13:11,960 --> 00:13:14,920 Speaker 1: normal speed. I feel like when I'm if i q 244 00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:17,240 Speaker 1: A and episode of our show before it goes out, 245 00:13:17,679 --> 00:13:21,280 Speaker 1: I'll bump it up to one point five and that's 246 00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:24,520 Speaker 1: about my limit if I do. If I go much 247 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:27,040 Speaker 1: higher than that, then when I'm done, I feel like 248 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:29,920 Speaker 1: I'm I'm kind of having a slight nervous breakdown. Like 249 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:33,320 Speaker 1: it's kind of like my mind speeds up to it, 250 00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:35,360 Speaker 1: and then I can't take it anymore, Like I get 251 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:37,280 Speaker 1: out of it, and it's kind of like this whiplash 252 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:41,920 Speaker 1: of reality. Oh. I sometimes listen to podcasts in audiobooks 253 00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:46,360 Speaker 1: at an accelerated speed, and the problem is actually that 254 00:13:46,559 --> 00:13:50,480 Speaker 1: after I have done that, now regular talking speed is 255 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:53,160 Speaker 1: intolerable to me. Like if so I do that and 256 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:55,520 Speaker 1: then I hear myself talk at a normal speed or 257 00:13:55,520 --> 00:13:57,640 Speaker 1: someone else talk at a normal speed, and it sounds 258 00:13:57,679 --> 00:14:01,320 Speaker 1: like everything's happening in slow motion. Yeah, I mean, I 259 00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:06,240 Speaker 1: definitely prefer to listen to us at uh one point 260 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:09,960 Speaker 1: five speed because it sounds just a little different, you know, 261 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:12,480 Speaker 1: on my own voice especially, sounds just a little bit different. 262 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:15,480 Speaker 1: So I can almost appreciate, say, an episode of Weird 263 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:18,280 Speaker 1: How Cinema as if it were not me, uh, in 264 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:20,360 Speaker 1: a weird way. But yeah, if I go too far 265 00:14:20,440 --> 00:14:22,840 Speaker 1: up it, it feels like a nightmare. Voice, I don't know, 266 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:26,360 Speaker 1: and then it starts unsettling me. Yeah, folks out there, 267 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:28,440 Speaker 1: if you if you never tried it, it is hard 268 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:30,440 Speaker 1: to listen to yourself. We have to listen to ourselves 269 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:33,840 Speaker 1: constantly to preview these episodes before they go out. And man, 270 00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:37,960 Speaker 1: that that's just consistently a tall order. All right, Well, 271 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:40,280 Speaker 1: they continue with the email anyway, I was listening to 272 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:43,160 Speaker 1: your episode on the Moses Illusion, and I realized that 273 00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:45,960 Speaker 1: I had an experience that seemed related. Apologies if you 274 00:14:46,040 --> 00:14:47,840 Speaker 1: end up discussing it later in the episode. I am 275 00:14:47,880 --> 00:14:50,360 Speaker 1: sending this part of the way through. It was the 276 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:52,760 Speaker 1: end of my eighth grade year and my science teacher 277 00:14:52,800 --> 00:14:56,400 Speaker 1: had us doing Jeopardy esque game with buzzers and everything. 278 00:14:56,480 --> 00:14:59,040 Speaker 1: I remember very little about that day, only that I 279 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:02,040 Speaker 1: knew the to a question who was the first person 280 00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:05,240 Speaker 1: to receive a lobotomy. Now, this is something that happens 281 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:08,120 Speaker 1: to me frequently where I will think one thing and 282 00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:11,360 Speaker 1: then say something different or related. So while my brain 283 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:14,600 Speaker 1: told me that the answer was Phineas Gauge, my mouth 284 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:19,760 Speaker 1: shouted Nicholas Cage in response. Um, I mean I could 285 00:15:19,760 --> 00:15:25,160 Speaker 1: see Cage as Gauge in a biopic. Uh, anyway they 286 00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:28,240 Speaker 1: continue Q thirteen year old means intense embarrassment, to the 287 00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:30,800 Speaker 1: point that I could not even correct myself. My team 288 00:15:30,840 --> 00:15:34,840 Speaker 1: obviously did not win those points. I most frequently experienced 289 00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:37,720 Speaker 1: this phenomenon with numbers, where I will be writing a 290 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:39,840 Speaker 1: number and do it correctly, but when I have to 291 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:42,200 Speaker 1: say them out loud, they frequently are in the wrong order. 292 00:15:42,480 --> 00:15:44,360 Speaker 1: I used to work a job that required me to 293 00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:46,960 Speaker 1: read credit card numbers back to people over the phone, 294 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:49,720 Speaker 1: and somehow never was able to train my brain to 295 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:53,280 Speaker 1: do it consistently. Anyway, I just thought you might find 296 00:15:53,280 --> 00:15:55,840 Speaker 1: this interesting. Love the show Weird al Cinema has brought 297 00:15:55,920 --> 00:15:58,000 Speaker 1: me so much joy, and I can't wait to watch 298 00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:02,000 Speaker 1: Santo in the Treasure of drag Uh. Thanks Charlie. Oh, 299 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:04,880 Speaker 1: thanks Charlie. Yeah, that is a great example. I guess 300 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:08,040 Speaker 1: that that's somewhat different than the Moses solution that I 301 00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:10,600 Speaker 1: guess that would constitute a form of knowledge neglect, Like 302 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:13,920 Speaker 1: your outward behavior is not, for some reason able to 303 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:16,320 Speaker 1: perform the thing that you do know is stored in 304 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:19,520 Speaker 1: your memory correctly. Obviously, one of the factors here seems 305 00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:22,120 Speaker 1: to be a sort of the pressure added by a 306 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:26,400 Speaker 1: public performance I actually remember very vividly and experience I 307 00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:29,200 Speaker 1: had kind of like this where, uh, Rob, did you 308 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:32,200 Speaker 1: ever do a public spelling bee at school where you 309 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:34,040 Speaker 1: know you're in front of everybody and you're trying to 310 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:37,520 Speaker 1: spell words? And no, I never thought, Yeah, I I 311 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:40,480 Speaker 1: did this one time in middle school, and I remember 312 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:43,120 Speaker 1: I spelled a word wrong, even though I was like 313 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:45,680 Speaker 1: a hundred percent positive that I knew how to spell 314 00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:48,680 Speaker 1: it right. And the way it went was my word. 315 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:50,320 Speaker 1: I was up at the microphone and I had to 316 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:56,800 Speaker 1: spell waltz and I said waltz w a lt z, 317 00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:01,480 Speaker 1: and then they were they were about to say, like 318 00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:05,120 Speaker 1: that is correct, and then I went E. I don't 319 00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:07,720 Speaker 1: don't know why I have. No. I did not think 320 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:09,720 Speaker 1: there was an e at the the end of the word, 321 00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:14,480 Speaker 1: but I was just compelled the Obviously, there's something about 322 00:17:14,600 --> 00:17:16,440 Speaker 1: being in front of an audience and having that kind 323 00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:19,240 Speaker 1: of pressure that suddenly that makes you just act out 324 00:17:19,320 --> 00:17:32,920 Speaker 1: in strange ways. Sometimes walt see walt say all right. 325 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:35,040 Speaker 1: So this next message comes to us from Ryan. This 326 00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:38,680 Speaker 1: is also about Moses illusion. Ryan says, Hi, Robert and Joe, 327 00:17:38,760 --> 00:17:41,120 Speaker 1: I'm a longtime listener writing in for the first time. 328 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:44,119 Speaker 1: Thank you for all the intelligent and well researched discussion 329 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:47,400 Speaker 1: on topics that I would otherwise never encounter. Uh. The 330 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:51,000 Speaker 1: way you discussed and draw connections into religion, philosophy, psychology, 331 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:53,440 Speaker 1: and weird movies is unique and wonderful. Well, thank you 332 00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:56,080 Speaker 1: so much, Ryan, Ryan says, I am a middle school 333 00:17:56,160 --> 00:17:58,600 Speaker 1: band director, or at least I will be when we 334 00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:01,040 Speaker 1: are allowed to play instruments in a room together again. 335 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:04,080 Speaker 1: Last week, I was listening to the Moses Illusion episode 336 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:06,879 Speaker 1: and I began to see some connections to learning and 337 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:11,840 Speaker 1: memory as they relate to music education, specifically to practice habits. 338 00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:15,280 Speaker 1: During the episode, you mentioned the idea that hearing incorrect 339 00:18:15,359 --> 00:18:18,800 Speaker 1: information can cloud the memory of information that we know 340 00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:22,080 Speaker 1: to be correct. This instantly brought to mind the way 341 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:25,960 Speaker 1: that I teach students to practice music. I strongly encourage 342 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:29,440 Speaker 1: students to break down a difficult passage as they practice 343 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:33,199 Speaker 1: so that they are always playing it correctly. This can 344 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:36,000 Speaker 1: mean putting your instrument down and clapping a rhythm you 345 00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:38,920 Speaker 1: are having trouble with, or playing a passage one note 346 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:42,600 Speaker 1: at a time, or simply slowing it down. The idea 347 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:45,840 Speaker 1: here is to make the music more simple so that 348 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:48,480 Speaker 1: they are less likely to make a mistake. This would 349 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:50,640 Speaker 1: mean that every time they hear it and play it, 350 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:54,040 Speaker 1: it is correct. Contrast this with a student who simply 351 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:56,960 Speaker 1: tries to play the passage straight away, and maybe they 352 00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:00,480 Speaker 1: do this correctly six out of ten times. That means 353 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:03,679 Speaker 1: they now have four incorrect versions of the passage in 354 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:07,359 Speaker 1: their mind. Now, there are some differences between the linguistic 355 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:10,080 Speaker 1: and musical examples, but I think the core idea of 356 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:14,320 Speaker 1: information interference supplies when the first student goes to perform 357 00:19:14,400 --> 00:19:16,840 Speaker 1: the piece, there is only one version of it, the 358 00:19:16,880 --> 00:19:20,000 Speaker 1: correct version in their mind. The second student, on the 359 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:23,040 Speaker 1: other hand, has a handful of different versions of it 360 00:19:23,119 --> 00:19:26,000 Speaker 1: in their mind, and this student must now actively choose 361 00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:29,560 Speaker 1: the correct one. This is significantly more mental effort, which 362 00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:31,879 Speaker 1: happens to be something in short supply when we are 363 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:35,800 Speaker 1: nervous on stage. Here's stage performance again. I never thought 364 00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:38,360 Speaker 1: of this concept in such an explicit and direct way, 365 00:19:38,400 --> 00:19:40,160 Speaker 1: but once you put a name to it, the idea 366 00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:43,119 Speaker 1: was already there in my mind. Learning like this is 367 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:45,840 Speaker 1: what helps make me a better teacher. I look forward 368 00:19:45,880 --> 00:19:48,280 Speaker 1: to going on more weird journeys and learning more with 369 00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:51,600 Speaker 1: both of you in the future. Thank you, Ryan, that's great, 370 00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:55,360 Speaker 1: and I m I certainly admire anybody who can who 371 00:19:55,400 --> 00:20:00,119 Speaker 1: can and you know, not only uh, maintain their sanity, 372 00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:02,920 Speaker 1: but excel as a is a is a junior high 373 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:06,320 Speaker 1: band director. I remember, even as a junior high kid, 374 00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:08,960 Speaker 1: and that's usually kind of an oblivious state to be in. 375 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:12,879 Speaker 1: I remember, you know, looking at my director and been thinking, man, 376 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:15,879 Speaker 1: this this guy really puts up with a lot. I 377 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:20,720 Speaker 1: was an awful, rambunctious band kid in middle school. We 378 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:24,280 Speaker 1: we essentially turned our middle school band class into the 379 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:27,080 Speaker 1: ww E. Back then it was the WWF and it 380 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:30,040 Speaker 1: was the attitude era. So everybody wanted to be stone 381 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:32,399 Speaker 1: cold or the undertaker or whatever, and it was a 382 00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:34,480 Speaker 1: it was a free for all. Oh man, that's got 383 00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:36,840 Speaker 1: gotta be rough on the tubas. There's another point that 384 00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:39,440 Speaker 1: comes up here that is something that I have thought 385 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:42,800 Speaker 1: for years and has come up in the context of 386 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:46,600 Speaker 1: all kinds of skills like writing and stuff. You know, 387 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:50,840 Speaker 1: there is I think often a an attitude among many 388 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:53,959 Speaker 1: people that you know, practice is always good, Practice makes perfect, 389 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:55,760 Speaker 1: and you know, you want to get any good at 390 00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:58,159 Speaker 1: any skill, you do have to practice it. But I 391 00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:01,600 Speaker 1: do think it is entirely possible. To practice yourself worse 392 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:05,320 Speaker 1: set things. Practice is not always good. You need to 393 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:07,760 Speaker 1: be practicing in the right kind of way because sometimes 394 00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:12,640 Speaker 1: practice if it. You know, if you are practicing counterproductive habits, 395 00:21:12,760 --> 00:21:15,520 Speaker 1: they can really take over and sort of prevent your 396 00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:23,640 Speaker 1: growth in the skill in the future. All right, here's 397 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:26,760 Speaker 1: another one. This one comes to us from Scott. Hey, guys, 398 00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:30,080 Speaker 1: love the show Slash Shows. Thank you. In the most 399 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:32,679 Speaker 1: illusion episode, you touched on the idea of how we 400 00:21:32,880 --> 00:21:36,480 Speaker 1: know stuff but can't relate details on how the thing 401 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:39,440 Speaker 1: actually works. This reminded me of a story I read 402 00:21:39,520 --> 00:21:43,560 Speaker 1: long ago. In it, a NATO soldier stationed in Iceland 403 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:47,680 Speaker 1: is mysteriously transported back in time to the Viking era. 404 00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:50,800 Speaker 1: He struggles to adapt because while he has great knowledge 405 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:53,800 Speaker 1: of wonderful things from the future, he cannot explain how 406 00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:58,080 Speaker 1: to produce them with the with the existing level of technology. Worse, 407 00:21:58,359 --> 00:22:01,000 Speaker 1: he is woefully lacking in the basic knowledge of how 408 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:04,560 Speaker 1: to survive without them. He cannot hunt, farm, make fire, 409 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:07,800 Speaker 1: build shelter, or the myriad of other skills that even 410 00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:11,040 Speaker 1: the youngest members of the clan would do. A poignant 411 00:22:11,119 --> 00:22:13,720 Speaker 1: line is that quote, you don't have the tools to 412 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:16,240 Speaker 1: make the tools to make the machinery to make the 413 00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:20,119 Speaker 1: things I can use. He eventually perishes because while he 414 00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:22,879 Speaker 1: is smart and accomplished in his own time, he lacks 415 00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:28,479 Speaker 1: the resources modern civilization has come to depend upon. Standard closing. Thanks, 416 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:31,920 Speaker 1: keep up the good work, etcetera. Scott, Thanks Scott, Yeah, 417 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:34,560 Speaker 1: I looked up the details here since you didn't have 418 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:37,000 Speaker 1: the name and author. I think the story you're talking 419 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:41,159 Speaker 1: about is called The Men Who Came Early by Paul Anderson. 420 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:44,639 Speaker 1: I'm not familiar with this writer, but just a quick 421 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:47,520 Speaker 1: googling does make it look like. One of the themes 422 00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:50,160 Speaker 1: that's visited in some of his science fiction and fantasy 423 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:55,680 Speaker 1: writing is that of people in in modern, technologically advanced 424 00:22:55,680 --> 00:23:00,680 Speaker 1: societies really underestimating so called primitive people who have less 425 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:04,760 Speaker 1: access to technology, and overestimating how clever and powerful they 426 00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:07,320 Speaker 1: are just by virtue of existing in a society with 427 00:23:07,359 --> 00:23:11,080 Speaker 1: more access to technology. And I think that's a very 428 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:13,159 Speaker 1: good point. I mean, one way of looking at technology 429 00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:16,840 Speaker 1: is that it can greatly increase the output of human labor, 430 00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:20,240 Speaker 1: but it does that by requiring us to have fewer 431 00:23:20,240 --> 00:23:23,600 Speaker 1: and fewer general skills and to go deeper and deeper 432 00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:27,480 Speaker 1: on like highly specialized skills that are increasingly alienated from 433 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:30,960 Speaker 1: the raw materials and processes of production that that make 434 00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:34,520 Speaker 1: life possible. Yeah, isn't it funny that oftentimes that are, 435 00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:37,399 Speaker 1: especially our post apocalyptic science fiction, you have you have 436 00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:41,480 Speaker 1: these cases where we present some sort of post high 437 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:47,040 Speaker 1: tech civilization, primitive society worshiping a piece of like some 438 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:50,240 Speaker 1: relic of the technological age, be it a you know, 439 00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:52,520 Speaker 1: an atomic bomb or you know, or I don't know, 440 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:57,000 Speaker 1: some darelit computer or something. But really this has more 441 00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:00,480 Speaker 1: in common with the way we interact with a examples 442 00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:03,400 Speaker 1: of advanced technology, you know, like we are the ones 443 00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:05,720 Speaker 1: who know hasn't have no idea how they work, and 444 00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:07,560 Speaker 1: for us it is just magic. It is just a 445 00:24:07,560 --> 00:24:10,000 Speaker 1: gift of the gods. Uh. And granted it would be 446 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:14,720 Speaker 1: that way for our post apocalyptic descendants as well, but 447 00:24:15,040 --> 00:24:18,000 Speaker 1: you know, it's it's not like we're not already there. Yeah, 448 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:20,920 Speaker 1: but I think this really narrow minded way of looking 449 00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:24,720 Speaker 1: at things. Uh, This sort of like implicit superiority complex 450 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:29,280 Speaker 1: among people in tech technologically advanced societies is absolutely there 451 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:32,120 Speaker 1: and is absolutely not justified. I mean, people who did 452 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:35,399 Speaker 1: more with less technology had like had to have way 453 00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:39,800 Speaker 1: more skills. It's mind boggling how much like intelligence and 454 00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:42,200 Speaker 1: skill it is necessary to just like build a house 455 00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:46,760 Speaker 1: without power tools and stuff. Yeah. Yeah, um, you know, 456 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:51,000 Speaker 1: there's one example of just uh like of sort of 457 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:55,240 Speaker 1: forgotten technological advancement that I've come back to a time 458 00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:57,280 Speaker 1: and time again. But I don't remember exactly who wrote it. 459 00:24:57,280 --> 00:24:59,880 Speaker 1: Maybe it was George Garrett in one of his Elizabethan novels, 460 00:25:00,119 --> 00:25:02,760 Speaker 1: but it was talking about the sailing ships of old 461 00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:06,520 Speaker 1: and about how not only could everybody on the ship 462 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:09,960 Speaker 1: tie every knot that was necessary for the rigging, but 463 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:11,840 Speaker 1: they could do so in the dark, in the middle 464 00:25:11,840 --> 00:25:15,000 Speaker 1: of a storm, um, which I don't know. I was 465 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:19,960 Speaker 1: always found that rather rather interesting commentary on like on 466 00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:25,000 Speaker 1: on the level of personal knowledge that was required to 467 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:27,040 Speaker 1: to keep it ship running at that time. Yeah. So, 468 00:25:27,119 --> 00:25:30,040 Speaker 1: am I really a genius because I can write some JavaScript? 469 00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:33,920 Speaker 1: I'm not sure. Try tying three different knots. Let's see 470 00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:42,560 Speaker 1: how that goes, much less a whole page worth of them. Okay, 471 00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:44,280 Speaker 1: now we got some messages having to do with our 472 00:25:44,359 --> 00:25:49,520 Speaker 1: episodes on Spoons. This first one comes from Randy. Randy says, Hello, 473 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:52,119 Speaker 1: Robert and Joe, I just finished listening to your spoon 474 00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:55,160 Speaker 1: episodes and I found them both fantastic. I love hearing 475 00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:58,680 Speaker 1: how mundane objects in our lives have such interesting histories 476 00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:01,720 Speaker 1: and stories behind them. Uh, you've done a great job 477 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:04,359 Speaker 1: of researching these mini mouth shovels. One thing that I 478 00:26:04,359 --> 00:26:07,880 Speaker 1: don't recall being mentioned was spoons and forks to being 479 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:13,119 Speaker 1: used as a control to prevent left handedness. My father 480 00:26:13,240 --> 00:26:15,520 Speaker 1: told me that when he was a kid, he was 481 00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:18,280 Speaker 1: forced to use a spoon with a bend at the neck, 482 00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:21,280 Speaker 1: so the bowl I guess that, meaning the bowl of 483 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:25,159 Speaker 1: the spoon pointed to the left, thus making the spoon 484 00:26:25,359 --> 00:26:29,000 Speaker 1: only usable with the right hand and forcing out any 485 00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:32,919 Speaker 1: tendencies for using one's left hand. Since using utensils is 486 00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:35,720 Speaker 1: such a social norm that we expect children to learn 487 00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:39,520 Speaker 1: in certain societies, having them work to force preferred eating 488 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:42,560 Speaker 1: behaviors could absolutely be seen as a tool for control. 489 00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:45,879 Speaker 1: The alternative would be to eat with the wrong hand 490 00:26:45,960 --> 00:26:48,840 Speaker 1: and be seen as a heathen. Can you imagine as 491 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:51,560 Speaker 1: an adult my father uses his right hand for his 492 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:54,560 Speaker 1: work and daily tasks. But I can't help but wonder 493 00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:57,920 Speaker 1: if there is another dimension where my father is left handed. 494 00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:01,280 Speaker 1: Thanks for the great show. Randy Rob Have we ever 495 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:03,840 Speaker 1: done an episode on on this kind of thing, like 496 00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:07,280 Speaker 1: the demonization of left handedness, because I remember hearing about 497 00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:09,040 Speaker 1: this from adults when I was a kid, that like 498 00:27:09,160 --> 00:27:12,359 Speaker 1: if they were coming up in schools where they were 499 00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:15,200 Speaker 1: essentially taught that being left handed was evil and you 500 00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:18,080 Speaker 1: had to be like worked out of you, you know. 501 00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:21,520 Speaker 1: I don't remember exactly. I feel like I did something 502 00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:25,720 Speaker 1: on left handedness, maybe with uh with Alice In louder Milk, 503 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:29,080 Speaker 1: the original co host on the show back in the day. 504 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:32,199 Speaker 1: I think we did something on left handedness. Um. But 505 00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:33,720 Speaker 1: it's one of those things I'd love to go back 506 00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:36,119 Speaker 1: to because I'm sure there's more, there's more literature on 507 00:27:36,160 --> 00:27:39,720 Speaker 1: the topic now it would uh yeah, it's worth another dive. 508 00:27:40,280 --> 00:27:43,239 Speaker 1: And I'm not sure we really got into the the 509 00:27:43,280 --> 00:27:47,119 Speaker 1: evilness of it so much as the the way that 510 00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:51,600 Speaker 1: left handed people sometimes um um, excel in a right 511 00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:55,280 Speaker 1: handed world, especially when you're looking at things like sword fights, 512 00:27:55,359 --> 00:27:59,360 Speaker 1: you know, violent conflict, but also sports. Oh I see, man, 513 00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:03,240 Speaker 1: we would get so much lefty mail left yeah, lefties 514 00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:06,160 Speaker 1: would love it, and and right these maybe not so much. 515 00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:09,480 Speaker 1: I don't know, but there are the lefties are the 516 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:11,440 Speaker 1: ones who wanted on your side because they're the ones 517 00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:18,240 Speaker 1: who are good in a knife fight. All right, we 518 00:28:18,359 --> 00:28:21,639 Speaker 1: have one left. It's not a weird house response usually 519 00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:24,479 Speaker 1: to the weird house stuff at the end um. This 520 00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:27,040 Speaker 1: one does relate to a movie episode that was that 521 00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:29,399 Speaker 1: you know, in many respects kind of a kind of 522 00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:31,879 Speaker 1: a weird proto weird house episode. It has to do 523 00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:34,959 Speaker 1: with the star lac um. This one comes to us 524 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:38,080 Speaker 1: from Eric Hi, Robin Joe, and producer Seth. I was 525 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:41,240 Speaker 1: listening to your recent Listener Maile episode, so this is 526 00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:44,800 Speaker 1: a listener male about listener mail. Anyway, when you read 527 00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:47,440 Speaker 1: the listeners comments about the star lac digesting people for 528 00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:49,960 Speaker 1: a thousand years, it occurred to me that the only 529 00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:52,360 Speaker 1: person I can recall who died of old age in 530 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:56,040 Speaker 1: the Star Wars films was Yoda, who was nine years old. 531 00:28:56,440 --> 00:28:59,040 Speaker 1: Everyone else who died was killed, as far as I 532 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:03,280 Speaker 1: can recall. What if Yoda was not abnormal for his longevity. 533 00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:06,120 Speaker 1: Maybe everyone lives for the better part of a millennium, 534 00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:08,760 Speaker 1: or would if they weren't always at war. Just a 535 00:29:08,840 --> 00:29:11,360 Speaker 1: random idea, but I don't think it's too incongruous with 536 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:13,959 Speaker 1: anything in the films. Although I can't speak for the 537 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:17,480 Speaker 1: whole expanding universe. Keep up the great stuff or keep 538 00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:21,360 Speaker 1: the great stuff coming, Eric, Uh, this is a this 539 00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:23,400 Speaker 1: is a great question. It's making me think back on 540 00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:28,080 Speaker 1: the various deaths in the Star Wars films um of 541 00:29:28,280 --> 00:29:31,760 Speaker 1: non combat related deaths. The only two that are really 542 00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:35,800 Speaker 1: coming to mind are, Yeah, Yoda dying of old age, uh, 543 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:42,360 Speaker 1: pad Me dying due to complications with childbirth. Trying to 544 00:29:42,400 --> 00:29:44,920 Speaker 1: think of there any others. I think the Rank Corps 545 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:46,920 Speaker 1: Handler died of a broken heart. That that would have 546 00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:49,880 Speaker 1: been like off screen, probably a short story that that 547 00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:52,920 Speaker 1: part is always sad. Yeah, that's the worst part of 548 00:29:52,920 --> 00:29:54,720 Speaker 1: Return of the Jedi for me is when the Rank 549 00:29:54,760 --> 00:29:57,560 Speaker 1: Corps Handler starts crying and I'm just like, oh no, 550 00:29:57,880 --> 00:30:00,840 Speaker 1: Luke is the villain. Yeah, plut I had that action 551 00:30:00,880 --> 00:30:03,720 Speaker 1: figure of the Rank Corps Handler, So it kind of 552 00:30:03,720 --> 00:30:05,600 Speaker 1: made it sadder because like I had here, like I 553 00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:09,240 Speaker 1: had his physical manifestation and the Rank Corps um. Yeah, 554 00:30:09,360 --> 00:30:12,800 Speaker 1: it was it's sad to think about um. But so 555 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:15,680 Speaker 1: this is very interesting. Now. Of course you could look 556 00:30:15,720 --> 00:30:19,040 Speaker 1: at this as it is a product of just sort 557 00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:22,360 Speaker 1: of the storytelling conventions of adventure fiction, right, that. Uh. 558 00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:24,760 Speaker 1: You know, in the same way that people in Star 559 00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:26,960 Speaker 1: Wars don't stop to go to the bathroom, they also 560 00:30:27,040 --> 00:30:29,520 Speaker 1: don't die of old age because it's just not dramatic. 561 00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:32,280 Speaker 1: But the other thing I was thinking about was how 562 00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:35,440 Speaker 1: well this would actually be if this were true, that 563 00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:38,120 Speaker 1: in the Star Wars galaxy, you know, people just don't 564 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:41,240 Speaker 1: die of old age. They only die violent deaths. Isn't 565 00:30:41,280 --> 00:30:45,360 Speaker 1: that explicitly true of the elves in in Tolkien, like 566 00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:47,920 Speaker 1: that they don't die of well basically they live forever 567 00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:52,880 Speaker 1: unless they're killed in battle. Uh maybe I don't remember specifically, 568 00:30:53,120 --> 00:30:55,320 Speaker 1: you get into that whole business of them sailing off 569 00:30:55,360 --> 00:30:58,440 Speaker 1: to the other land and all. Um, if they live 570 00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:00,880 Speaker 1: long enough and they grow bored enough. Uh, and you know, 571 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:03,160 Speaker 1: based on what, given what they're based on, you know, 572 00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:06,480 Speaker 1: the ideas of fairy folk and and all that, that 573 00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:10,120 Speaker 1: would make sense. Yeah. Um, I don't know. With Star 574 00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:12,880 Speaker 1: Wars though, I you know, you could certainly point to 575 00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:17,480 Speaker 1: the high degree of medical technology that is in cybernetics, 576 00:31:17,520 --> 00:31:20,440 Speaker 1: that is that is possible in this world. But at 577 00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:24,760 Speaker 1: the other hand, there's great inequality in the Star Wars universe, 578 00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:28,719 Speaker 1: so you know, everybody's not benefiting from that technology, so 579 00:31:28,760 --> 00:31:33,360 Speaker 1: that alone cannot account for um for extended lifespans. Not 580 00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:36,680 Speaker 1: everybody gets to become more machine now than Matt right 581 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:38,960 Speaker 1: the bank the bat. What is at the back to tank? 582 00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:42,360 Speaker 1: I believe it only seats one. You can only have 583 00:31:42,440 --> 00:31:45,760 Speaker 1: one diaper clad JETI in there at the time, um 584 00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:51,280 Speaker 1: regrowing their their their skin. So uh, yeah, it's an 585 00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:54,440 Speaker 1: interesting thoughts experience, though, I'll have to uh, I'll have 586 00:31:54,480 --> 00:31:56,680 Speaker 1: to ask ask my son about it. He he ultimately 587 00:31:56,680 --> 00:31:58,600 Speaker 1: knows more about Star Wars at this point than I do. 588 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:02,040 Speaker 1: He's always correcting me on uh the specific names of 589 00:32:02,560 --> 00:32:05,680 Speaker 1: individual vehicles and whatnot. Okay, here's what I bet you 590 00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:08,480 Speaker 1: have the answer too, because you're in that headspace. Now, 591 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:11,720 Speaker 1: what's the deal with like four see people who when 592 00:32:11,720 --> 00:32:14,400 Speaker 1: they die in Star Wars, they just completely disappear, like 593 00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:17,920 Speaker 1: they just vaporize. Happens to Obi Wan, happens to Yoda? 594 00:32:17,960 --> 00:32:20,280 Speaker 1: Don't when Yoda dies of old age, he's just like 595 00:32:20,720 --> 00:32:24,240 Speaker 1: it's just blanket there now, no Yoda. There's some sort 596 00:32:24,280 --> 00:32:26,720 Speaker 1: of trick about becoming a forced ghost, and I don't 597 00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:29,480 Speaker 1: remember all the details about it, but it comes up 598 00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:33,800 Speaker 1: in the Clone Wars series. Um that it yeah, it's 599 00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:37,120 Speaker 1: it's like an ability you take on. I think, Okay, 600 00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:39,600 Speaker 1: so that disappearing is not something that happens to you, 601 00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:42,560 Speaker 1: but something you do. Like if you you die, you 602 00:32:42,600 --> 00:32:46,040 Speaker 1: can develop a skill maybe if you've practiced and honed 603 00:32:46,080 --> 00:32:48,920 Speaker 1: it over time, to disappear upon death and become a ghost. 604 00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:52,800 Speaker 1: I think it's like this is um what I've absorbed 605 00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:54,720 Speaker 1: through cannon and this is also fifty percent me to 606 00:32:54,760 --> 00:32:57,520 Speaker 1: spit balling. But I think it's like if you were 607 00:32:57,560 --> 00:33:00,480 Speaker 1: able to die with the serenity, like the sort of 608 00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:04,560 Speaker 1: thinking about you know, uh, Tibetan Buddhism and all the 609 00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:08,600 Speaker 1: idea of of putting yourself in a headspace to to 610 00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:13,240 Speaker 1: navigate that pathway between our life and the next. Like 611 00:33:13,280 --> 00:33:15,960 Speaker 1: if you're able to to to do that correctly, if 612 00:33:15,960 --> 00:33:19,080 Speaker 1: your trajectory is sound, then yeah you can. You can 613 00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:21,720 Speaker 1: live on as this forced ghost in the next life. 614 00:33:21,720 --> 00:33:23,360 Speaker 1: But you've got to you kind of have to get 615 00:33:23,400 --> 00:33:25,680 Speaker 1: into the into the right frame of mind, you know, 616 00:33:25,720 --> 00:33:27,640 Speaker 1: you have to sort of enter that moment of calm 617 00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:30,360 Speaker 1: like Obi Wan does before he dies, that sort of thing. 618 00:33:30,520 --> 00:33:32,560 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I just remembered in the middle one of 619 00:33:32,600 --> 00:33:35,280 Speaker 1: the New trilogy, Luke also he just disappears, it's just 620 00:33:35,360 --> 00:33:38,120 Speaker 1: to the winds. Yeah, and I believe he has like 621 00:33:38,120 --> 00:33:41,480 Speaker 1: a meditative state before that. So yeah, uh, you know, 622 00:33:41,640 --> 00:33:44,440 Speaker 1: I like that that motif. I like that idea. Um 623 00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:47,960 Speaker 1: that you know, if you're, like I said, like a 624 00:33:47,960 --> 00:33:50,320 Speaker 1: lot in Star Wars, it kind of squares up well 625 00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:54,680 Speaker 1: with with at least some models of Eastern religion and philosophy. 626 00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:57,160 Speaker 1: I think that's a wise and serene place to end today, 627 00:33:57,320 --> 00:34:02,920 Speaker 1: if you're ready. Yeah, it this plane of existence. Yeah, 628 00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:05,960 Speaker 1: but we'll be back though, uh and in in force 629 00:34:06,040 --> 00:34:09,399 Speaker 1: ghost form to watch over you. Uh. We'll be back 630 00:34:09,400 --> 00:34:11,719 Speaker 1: next Monday, in fact, with more listener mail. So in 631 00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:14,799 Speaker 1: the meantime, right in with more listener mail. Respond to 632 00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:18,080 Speaker 1: listener mails, respond to responses to listener mail, respond to 633 00:34:18,120 --> 00:34:22,200 Speaker 1: new episodes, old episodes, weird how cinema, artifact, episodes, you 634 00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:24,520 Speaker 1: name it. Let us know what you're digging, what you're 635 00:34:24,520 --> 00:34:28,680 Speaker 1: not digging. We're always open to, uh, criticisms, corrections, and 636 00:34:28,719 --> 00:34:32,839 Speaker 1: just in general just added information about the topics we cover. Uh. 637 00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:36,120 Speaker 1: You know, that's always the most delightful thing when when 638 00:34:36,160 --> 00:34:39,359 Speaker 1: when when the listeners share things from their own life 639 00:34:39,480 --> 00:34:43,080 Speaker 1: and their own experience Uh. Even my mom got in 640 00:34:43,120 --> 00:34:46,400 Speaker 1: on this after we did the spoon episode. Uh spoon episodes. 641 00:34:46,440 --> 00:34:48,520 Speaker 1: I knew she was gonna dig these because she's really 642 00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:51,760 Speaker 1: into utensils. So I was receiving a number of different 643 00:34:51,960 --> 00:34:57,560 Speaker 1: photos from from various spoons in her collections. So um. 644 00:34:57,560 --> 00:35:00,160 Speaker 1: So yeah, you you listeners, you can send in your 645 00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:03,279 Speaker 1: spoon pictures as well. In the meantime, if you want 646 00:35:03,320 --> 00:35:05,879 Speaker 1: to listen to other episodes, just find Stuff to Blow 647 00:35:05,920 --> 00:35:08,040 Speaker 1: Your Mind and Stuff to Blow your Mind feed wherever 648 00:35:08,120 --> 00:35:10,840 Speaker 1: you get your podcasts. Huge thanks as always to our 649 00:35:10,880 --> 00:35:13,960 Speaker 1: excellent audio producer Seth Nicholas Johnson. If you would like 650 00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:15,839 Speaker 1: to get in touch with us with feedback on this 651 00:35:15,880 --> 00:35:18,360 Speaker 1: episode or any other, to suggest topic for the future, 652 00:35:18,440 --> 00:35:20,319 Speaker 1: or just to say hello, you can email us at 653 00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:30,280 Speaker 1: contact at Stuff to Blow your Mind dot com. Stuff 654 00:35:30,280 --> 00:35:32,520 Speaker 1: to Blow Your Mind is production of I Heart Radio. 655 00:35:32,840 --> 00:35:35,200 Speaker 1: For more podcasts my Heart Radio, visit the I Heart 656 00:35:35,239 --> 00:35:37,960 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 657 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:38,680 Speaker 1: favorite shows.