1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:03,640 Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, stuff you should know is going on tour. 2 00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:08,200 Speaker 1: Do do do one of the deeds, my friend. Okay, 3 00:00:08,200 --> 00:00:11,959 Speaker 1: So starting August eighth in Toronto, that's in Canada. We're 4 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:14,400 Speaker 1: gonna be at dan Fourth Music Hall. And then Chicago, 5 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 1: we're gonna be there the next night, August nine, at 6 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:20,040 Speaker 1: the Harris Theater at Chicago. We want to see your faces. 7 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:23,079 Speaker 1: Step it up, Step it Up. Vancouver or the Vote 8 00:00:23,079 --> 00:00:26,400 Speaker 1: Theater September. That's gonna be a great show, I think, 9 00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:28,800 Speaker 1: don't you. It's gonna be a great one. And then 10 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:32,000 Speaker 1: in Minneapolis at the Pantageous Theater where we've been before. 11 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:35,839 Speaker 1: It's lovely September. Yeah, and then we're gonna swing down 12 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:38,840 Speaker 1: to Austin. It's gonna be during Austin City Limits, although 13 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:41,400 Speaker 1: it has nothing to do with Austin City Limits. Will 14 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:43,559 Speaker 1: be there October ten, yes, and then we're going to 15 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:47,320 Speaker 1: Lovely Lawrence, Kansas go Jayhawks on October eleven. Then, hey, 16 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:49,840 Speaker 1: if you're in Kansas City or anywhere in that area, 17 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:52,480 Speaker 1: this is your chance. Get in your car. Yeah. Uh, 18 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:56,320 Speaker 1: if you are anywhere near Brooklyn, well, then you should 19 00:00:56,320 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 1: go to the Bellhouse October. Will be there all three 20 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 1: nights and finally we're gonna wrap it up here in 21 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:05,160 Speaker 1: Atlanta at the Bucket Theater on November four for a 22 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:08,240 Speaker 1: benefit show where we are donating all of the money's 23 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: to Lifeline Animal Project of Atlanta and the National Down 24 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:16,440 Speaker 1: Syndrome Society. Yep. So for all this information again visually 25 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:19,800 Speaker 1: and for links two tickets, just go to s Y 26 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:24,919 Speaker 1: s K Live dot com. Welcome to Stuff you Should 27 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 1: Know from House Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome 28 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:39,480 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark, There's Charles W. Chuck Bryant. 29 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:42,840 Speaker 1: Jerry's over there in the corner. Everybody puts Jerry in 30 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:47,080 Speaker 1: a corner, but you shouldn't, uh, and this is stuff 31 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:50,280 Speaker 1: you should not. She's the opposite of baby. Jerry's back. 32 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:54,960 Speaker 1: She was back from the Mall's how where she's been? Yeah? 33 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:57,680 Speaker 1: I remember we we said that she was at the mall. 34 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:00,480 Speaker 1: She was buying a house. She's doing all sorts of stuff. Okay, 35 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:04,280 Speaker 1: but she's back now and things are normal again. Yeah, 36 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:07,520 Speaker 1: she was at the beach and she's now eating in 37 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:10,239 Speaker 1: front of me. What I ate about an hour ago? 38 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 1: Do you want to throw up? Nor do you want more? 39 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:16,560 Speaker 1: I don't. It's it's this weird in between. I'm drawn 40 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:18,960 Speaker 1: to the smell, but I'm also full, so I'm kind 41 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:25,040 Speaker 1: of like, yeah, oh man, what a life. I know eating? 42 00:02:25,919 --> 00:02:29,519 Speaker 1: Who needs it? Right? Me? I do too? I love eating? 43 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:34,120 Speaker 1: Love it. You know what else? I love? What? Really 44 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:43,320 Speaker 1: good magic? Like illusions? Well where does uh? What do 45 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:45,480 Speaker 1: you mean? Because that could mean two different things. Well 46 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:48,040 Speaker 1: let me tell you, um, So I went, you mean, 47 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:50,280 Speaker 1: and I went to New York. Recently we saw this show. 48 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:54,160 Speaker 1: It's called in and of itself. It's a one man 49 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:58,680 Speaker 1: stage magic I guess you could call it that illusionist 50 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:01,760 Speaker 1: show by a guy named Derek del Guadio. That's how 51 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:04,480 Speaker 1: you say his last name. I strongly recommend anyone go 52 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:07,359 Speaker 1: see this show. It's it's um I think they extended 53 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:11,480 Speaker 1: it through the rest of the year, but it's it's 54 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:14,320 Speaker 1: like a kind of his life story. It told like 55 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:18,360 Speaker 1: through these different um these different acts, and like just 56 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:20,920 Speaker 1: the the stuff he's doing is not like, oh man, 57 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:23,359 Speaker 1: that rabbit came out of nowhere, nothing like that. It's 58 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:27,359 Speaker 1: all much more psychological than that. But the the basis 59 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:31,480 Speaker 1: of it is that this guy must be just one 60 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:34,560 Speaker 1: of the better guesters walking around today. He's just good 61 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: he's also like a card shark. It's just a really 62 00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 1: neat show. It's really original and different. But just to 63 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:45,160 Speaker 1: see somebody do something to where they probably are guessing, 64 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:47,960 Speaker 1: but they're doing such an amazing job at it that 65 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:50,640 Speaker 1: it just appears to be magic. That's one of my 66 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:53,520 Speaker 1: favorite things in the world to see, like when he 67 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:57,080 Speaker 1: talks to people and like think of a number, except 68 00:03:57,120 --> 00:03:59,720 Speaker 1: obviously more fun and complex than that. Yes, yeah, And 69 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:01,280 Speaker 1: I don't want to give any of it away. I 70 00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:03,040 Speaker 1: don't want to give any bit of it away. Like 71 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:05,360 Speaker 1: for anybody who's going to go see it, everyone should 72 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 1: go into it fresh. But um but yeah, just just 73 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:11,520 Speaker 1: after you see it, go back and listen to this 74 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:15,080 Speaker 1: episode again and you'll be like, oh, yeah, totally now. 75 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:17,039 Speaker 1: I think the deal a lot of times with that 76 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:23,200 Speaker 1: situation is powers of suggestion, correct. I don't know. I 77 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:25,839 Speaker 1: don't know, man, I don't know if that's what this 78 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:28,279 Speaker 1: guy's doing or not. No, he's not doing like cold 79 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:31,080 Speaker 1: readings or something like that like John Edwards. No, no, no, 80 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:34,039 Speaker 1: nothing like that. But powers of suggestion in that if 81 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:37,599 Speaker 1: you you can lead someone to to think of a 82 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:43,280 Speaker 1: certain thing that they then guess I guess, So get 83 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:46,960 Speaker 1: it didn't even mean that, but that kind of dives 84 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:50,960 Speaker 1: into what we're talking about, which is guessing in general. Um, 85 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:55,120 Speaker 1: there's this whole like what like science really doesn't have 86 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:59,599 Speaker 1: any idea about how we make guesses. All we know 87 00:04:59,839 --> 00:05:02,880 Speaker 1: is that we are capable of making guesses, and that 88 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:06,400 Speaker 1: we make guesses almost constantly, and that like our our 89 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:09,880 Speaker 1: brain is basically set up two guests, Like our construction 90 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:13,400 Speaker 1: of reality is a series of guesses, most of which 91 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:15,919 Speaker 1: pan out to be right, but then can also be 92 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:20,600 Speaker 1: terribly wrong, which is what optical illusions prove, you know. Yeah, 93 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:23,359 Speaker 1: and uh, I found this. I thought it was going 94 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:25,800 Speaker 1: to be more interesting than it was initially when I 95 00:05:25,839 --> 00:05:28,840 Speaker 1: picked this one out, so I was a little disappointed. 96 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:32,000 Speaker 1: And then we found like other supplemental stuff that kind 97 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:34,279 Speaker 1: of helped it. But in the end it felt a 98 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:38,240 Speaker 1: little unwieldy. But I think that's just because of the 99 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:43,320 Speaker 1: nature of the topic, Like there isn't a concise beginning, middle, 100 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:46,200 Speaker 1: and end to this kind of topic, you know, no, 101 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:51,080 Speaker 1: because again science is pretty well stumped, like even and 102 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:54,360 Speaker 1: sometimes Chuck, if you'll remember, these can be our best episodes, 103 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:57,120 Speaker 1: like unless the ones where there's just like a clear 104 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:02,400 Speaker 1: cut completely understandable neat explanation are great. And then on 105 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:04,840 Speaker 1: the other end of the spectrum like this one, the 106 00:06:04,839 --> 00:06:07,920 Speaker 1: ones where science is just kind of like maybe this 107 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:10,160 Speaker 1: is it. I don't know, this could be it, those 108 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:12,360 Speaker 1: are usually pretty good too, So this could this one 109 00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:17,360 Speaker 1: has has potential. Alright, that's my that's my estimation. Well, 110 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:19,640 Speaker 1: I thought it was interesting that in our very own 111 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:23,440 Speaker 1: house stof Works article and they started talking about um 112 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:27,800 Speaker 1: the in days of yr with starting with took took 113 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:31,800 Speaker 1: and you know, basically up until the point where we 114 00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:35,479 Speaker 1: could like you know, measure things or prove things, like, 115 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:37,200 Speaker 1: there was a lot of and there's still a lot 116 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:39,920 Speaker 1: of guessing going on, but like guessing was a daily 117 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:44,800 Speaker 1: survival tactic. That's how that's how we learned. Should I 118 00:06:44,839 --> 00:06:47,560 Speaker 1: go this way and fall off a cliff, you know, 119 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:50,000 Speaker 1: I'm gonna take a guess? Or should I eat this thing? 120 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:53,320 Speaker 1: Will it kill me? Or like in the case of 121 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:57,839 Speaker 1: Lewis and Clark, I remember, um Clark estimated, and you know, 122 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:00,960 Speaker 1: there's guesses and we'll it in different types of an 123 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:03,479 Speaker 1: estimation is a kind of a guess, even if it's 124 00:07:03,520 --> 00:07:08,560 Speaker 1: informed and well reasoned. In Clark's case, of course, he estimated. 125 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:11,480 Speaker 1: I think he's only off about forty miles when they 126 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:15,800 Speaker 1: got to the Pacific. Uh, oh really, I don't remember that. Yeah, 127 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:20,000 Speaker 1: he he estimated four thousand, one sixty two miles off. 128 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:24,000 Speaker 1: He's off by forty I mean that's remarkable. Yeah, but 129 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:27,080 Speaker 1: it wasn't a wild guess. It was Clark being a 130 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:30,840 Speaker 1: very smart dude who probably took copious notes. Not probably, 131 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:34,520 Speaker 1: he definitely took copious notes. Um, but I don't know. 132 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:37,559 Speaker 1: I just never really thought about guessing back in those days. 133 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:40,120 Speaker 1: Could you know you could? You could end up a 134 00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:43,360 Speaker 1: bad guest means the end of view, Yes, But if 135 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:47,360 Speaker 1: your friends were standing around watching you guess that that 136 00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:50,360 Speaker 1: um lizard over there wasn't poisonous and you can just 137 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:52,480 Speaker 1: go ahead and eat it raw and then you keel 138 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:56,160 Speaker 1: over and die, they learned from your bad guests. One 139 00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 1: for the team very much. So yeah, that's before the 140 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:04,040 Speaker 1: universal edibility test. Man, you were just have you been 141 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:07,560 Speaker 1: going through the archives or something? No, but I wrote 142 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:10,240 Speaker 1: that article back then, So that one stuck with me 143 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:13,960 Speaker 1: because you know, I mean, we're I thought you were too. 144 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:18,400 Speaker 1: I'm cursed with that new information in old information getting 145 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:22,680 Speaker 1: squeezed out. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, So should we get into this. 146 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:25,720 Speaker 1: I guess, So, I'm not I don't mean to do this. 147 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:30,720 Speaker 1: I'm sorry what saying. I guess it's pretty commonplace, but 148 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:33,760 Speaker 1: it does kind of under underscore just how much we 149 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:36,560 Speaker 1: do guess in our lives, you know. Yeah, here's all right, 150 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:38,040 Speaker 1: let's go ahead and start it with the brain then, 151 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:40,760 Speaker 1: because while you're correct in saying that they don't know 152 00:08:40,920 --> 00:08:46,440 Speaker 1: the the pathways necessarily of a guess, um, all different 153 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:49,839 Speaker 1: kinds of all different parts of the brain, not all 154 00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:51,880 Speaker 1: the parts, but many different parts of the brain are 155 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:54,520 Speaker 1: at work, which makes a lot of sense when you 156 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:58,920 Speaker 1: think about what different kinds of guesses can entail, whether 157 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:02,640 Speaker 1: you're guessing someone's age or guessing you know, because that 158 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:07,560 Speaker 1: involves like, you know, recognition with your eyeballs or a 159 00:09:07,679 --> 00:09:10,880 Speaker 1: memory of someone else who was a certain age who 160 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:14,360 Speaker 1: looked like that, like you're you know, recall, Uh, there's 161 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:17,400 Speaker 1: all different parts of the brain they're lighting up whenever 162 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:21,400 Speaker 1: you're guessing something. Yeah, they think that it's a global, 163 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:26,360 Speaker 1: a global phenomenon, right, like brain brain ely global, Yes, 164 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:30,480 Speaker 1: exactly right. So, um, there's like some region of your 165 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:34,000 Speaker 1: brain that specializes in the particular task at hand. The 166 00:09:34,559 --> 00:09:37,640 Speaker 1: thing you're guessing about, whether it's say like volume or 167 00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:41,040 Speaker 1: like you said, someone's age. UM, that region of the 168 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:44,120 Speaker 1: brain that that has to do with say numbers, UM 169 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:48,400 Speaker 1: would light up. I think it's the um parietal uh 170 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:51,319 Speaker 1: anterior gyrus or something like that that lights up when 171 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:54,040 Speaker 1: you're trying to guess someone's age based on how they look. 172 00:09:54,960 --> 00:09:58,800 Speaker 1: But then that that's just one right using the wonder machine, right, 173 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:04,760 Speaker 1: but that it's just one functional part of the whole 174 00:10:04,840 --> 00:10:07,320 Speaker 1: process that the brain is going through. They know that 175 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 1: it's there's a number of different regions that are operating 176 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:16,080 Speaker 1: at any given point in time when you're making a guess. 177 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:19,920 Speaker 1: But they still can't say, well, if somebody's guessing this, 178 00:10:19,920 --> 00:10:22,000 Speaker 1: this is what's going to happen. Here's the here's the 179 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:24,000 Speaker 1: cascade that's going to go through the brain. We haven't 180 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:27,079 Speaker 1: reached that point yet. Yeah, they think that, um, if 181 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:30,440 Speaker 1: you're guessing about a visual object or subject, then your 182 00:10:30,440 --> 00:10:36,439 Speaker 1: frontal lobe and occipital lobe or at work numerical quantities 183 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:40,079 Speaker 1: like how many uh jelly beans are in that jar. 184 00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:42,200 Speaker 1: That's kind of the common thing they mentioned that like 185 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:46,360 Speaker 1: that still happens. Is that still a thing. Um, you know, 186 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:53,320 Speaker 1: who is a jelly bean jar guessing champions. My wife is, yes, longstanding, 187 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:58,200 Speaker 1: her special reasoning is is outstanding. Well. Spatial reasoning and 188 00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:01,920 Speaker 1: numerical quantities are a big part of trying to guess 189 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:05,920 Speaker 1: the quantity of something into something right, And and so 190 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:09,480 Speaker 1: if you, if your brain is kind of specialized in 191 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:13,200 Speaker 1: that manner, um, you are probably going to be better 192 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:15,960 Speaker 1: at it than somebody whose brain is not right. So 193 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:19,959 Speaker 1: Umi would beat me every time. My spatial reasoning is horrific. Right, 194 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:24,520 Speaker 1: But um, I'm really good at recognizing faces, so I'm 195 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:28,800 Speaker 1: probably better at at guessing the someone's age based on 196 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:34,080 Speaker 1: their face, um or possibly how they're feeling based on 197 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:37,679 Speaker 1: their facial expression, than she might be. That's a whole 198 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:40,400 Speaker 1: like I didn't even think about that being part of guessing. 199 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:45,960 Speaker 1: But the emotional thing of guessing, uh yeah, like someone's feelings, 200 00:11:46,040 --> 00:11:49,240 Speaker 1: what they're thinking like that, that's a whole different thing 201 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:51,720 Speaker 1: than guessing jelly beans in a jar, which is different 202 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:54,880 Speaker 1: than guessing someone's age. It's like all lumped into guessing. 203 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:58,319 Speaker 1: It's really more varied than I ever considered, right, And 204 00:11:58,559 --> 00:12:01,440 Speaker 1: so with with um, well, let's talk about the different 205 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:04,680 Speaker 1: different types of guesses you might make that. So I 206 00:12:04,679 --> 00:12:06,280 Speaker 1: think what you just kind of did, Chuck, was you 207 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:13,360 Speaker 1: divided um guesses into um like buckets. The two buckets. 208 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:15,559 Speaker 1: I'm trying to decide what the buckets would be called, though, 209 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:19,120 Speaker 1: So one bucket would be UM just kind of work, 210 00:12:19,559 --> 00:12:24,280 Speaker 1: working knowledge, and the other would be say, like emotional, right, Like, so, 211 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:26,520 Speaker 1: how many jelly beans are in a jar? Would that 212 00:12:26,679 --> 00:12:29,960 Speaker 1: be in the working knowledge bucket? What somebody's feeling based 213 00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:33,520 Speaker 1: on your guests, based on say their facial expression, that's 214 00:12:33,559 --> 00:12:39,640 Speaker 1: that's emotional um or or intellectual. Yeah, that's right, intellectual 215 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:43,840 Speaker 1: or emotional buckets. Bam just carved him up. But I 216 00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:46,080 Speaker 1: think those are kind of like the two categories you 217 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:48,679 Speaker 1: can put guesses into. Even though you can break types 218 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:53,839 Speaker 1: of guesses down further. Yeah, and uh, breaking them down further. 219 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:56,160 Speaker 1: You have your wild guesses. This is when you have 220 00:12:56,240 --> 00:13:01,480 Speaker 1: no information, no outside input whatsoever. And you know, you 221 00:13:01,559 --> 00:13:03,800 Speaker 1: often say, this is just a wild guess. If I 222 00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:08,560 Speaker 1: had to guess, yeah, you're saying here, listen to me, 223 00:13:08,600 --> 00:13:12,319 Speaker 1: I can speak, has no basis in factor reality or 224 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:15,320 Speaker 1: anything like that. Then you have your educated guests, which 225 00:13:15,360 --> 00:13:17,160 Speaker 1: is in the middle, and that's when you have a 226 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:20,480 Speaker 1: little bit of information. Uh. There's a military term that 227 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:24,720 Speaker 1: I had never heard of called swag, which stands for 228 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:32,679 Speaker 1: um stuff. We all get no scientific uh wild ass guessing, 229 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:36,679 Speaker 1: which is like a guestimate. But it's a military term 230 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:39,599 Speaker 1: by all accounts. Uh. Most people say it started in 231 00:13:39,679 --> 00:13:43,320 Speaker 1: Vietnam with General Westmoreland. Um. And you will hear military 232 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:45,480 Speaker 1: people say swag, And that's when you know, I've got 233 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:49,160 Speaker 1: a little information. I'm not just wild guessing here. This 234 00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:54,720 Speaker 1: is a ballpark educated guess, right, but it's still less 235 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:58,160 Speaker 1: than an estimate. That's where we have a lot more information. Yeah, 236 00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:01,520 Speaker 1: not just a lot more information it you're you're pretty 237 00:14:01,559 --> 00:14:05,199 Speaker 1: familiar also with the topic that you're you're guessing at 238 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:09,640 Speaker 1: as well. Right, So Lewis and Clark, I think both 239 00:14:09,679 --> 00:14:12,920 Speaker 1: of them, Um, we're surveyors, So they would have had 240 00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:16,520 Speaker 1: a lot of training as far as you know, judging 241 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:19,960 Speaker 1: distance goes. They would have had some information to put together. 242 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:23,560 Speaker 1: So Clark coming up with, you know, with an estimate 243 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:26,320 Speaker 1: of how why the continent is and just being off 244 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:29,680 Speaker 1: by forty miles, like you said, that's remarkable. But if 245 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:31,760 Speaker 1: you had had one of us do it, it would 246 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:34,320 Speaker 1: have been a wild guess. So it has to do 247 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:38,280 Speaker 1: with the the training, the expertise really UM, and then 248 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:40,960 Speaker 1: the amount of information you have. That's that's what an 249 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:43,600 Speaker 1: estimate is. Yeah, and you may not even know that 250 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:46,480 Speaker 1: you have information stored away in your brain that you're 251 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:49,920 Speaker 1: recalling when you're trying to hazard a guess on something. 252 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:53,680 Speaker 1: You might just be uh, you might think it's a 253 00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:56,840 Speaker 1: wild guess, but you're really kind of picking out something 254 00:14:57,080 --> 00:15:01,200 Speaker 1: that happened in your past maybe, right. Or another way 255 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:04,240 Speaker 1: to look at it is that um is intuition, which 256 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:07,640 Speaker 1: is um. From what I understand, intuition is kind of 257 00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:10,920 Speaker 1: its own category. But if it's most closely related to 258 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:13,520 Speaker 1: any type of those three guess as we just mentioned, 259 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:17,160 Speaker 1: it would be an estimate. And it comes from years 260 00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:21,760 Speaker 1: and years and years of training UM or exposure to 261 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:26,200 Speaker 1: whatever you're guessing at to the point where your guesses 262 00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:28,960 Speaker 1: don't even seem like guesses. It just seems like for 263 00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:32,600 Speaker 1: knowledge of what you're about to do. Yeah. Like I 264 00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:36,680 Speaker 1: used to be really really bad at guessing crowd sizes, 265 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:42,000 Speaker 1: but through our live shows, I've gotten pretty good at 266 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:44,240 Speaker 1: it because when you go to these theaters, you know 267 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:46,360 Speaker 1: how many people are in there, and then you stand 268 00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:48,240 Speaker 1: in front of that many people, and if you do 269 00:15:48,280 --> 00:15:51,040 Speaker 1: that enough times, I can now say, like, you know, 270 00:15:51,080 --> 00:15:52,800 Speaker 1: when people when I'll go to a show or something, 271 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:54,640 Speaker 1: they'll be like, how many people you think this place holds? 272 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:56,360 Speaker 1: I used to be let's see, like I have no 273 00:15:56,440 --> 00:15:58,400 Speaker 1: idea I know, but now you say, you know better 274 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:01,760 Speaker 1: around eight or nine hundred people, and you're probably pretty 275 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:05,120 Speaker 1: close within forty miles all back. And that's just because 276 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:09,160 Speaker 1: of exposure and learning, right, And that actually brings up 277 00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:11,480 Speaker 1: a really good point that you can actually get better 278 00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:14,840 Speaker 1: at guessing. And we'll get into that right after this break. 279 00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:39,760 Speaker 1: How about that, Chuck, right mm hmmmm. Alright, So Chuck, 280 00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:42,480 Speaker 1: you said that, um, that you got better at estimating 281 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:45,760 Speaker 1: crowd sizes by just performing at our live shows. Right, 282 00:16:46,360 --> 00:16:51,400 Speaker 1: So you were terrible at it before, but just from 283 00:16:51,440 --> 00:16:54,760 Speaker 1: from exposing yourself to it, going out on stage and 284 00:16:54,800 --> 00:16:58,200 Speaker 1: exposing yourself to crowds that you could judge the size 285 00:16:58,240 --> 00:17:08,880 Speaker 1: of Um, and everybody clapped yeah, Nelson happointed and laughed. Um, 286 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:12,840 Speaker 1: you you got better at it. And when it comes 287 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:18,679 Speaker 1: to especially but probably both but especially intellectual guesses intellectual 288 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:22,440 Speaker 1: bucket guesses, UM, you can train yourself to get better 289 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:25,439 Speaker 1: at it. And part of that is making a guess, 290 00:17:25,840 --> 00:17:30,920 Speaker 1: getting um, pretty much immediate feedback, and then learning from that. Yeah, 291 00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:33,240 Speaker 1: like you're wrong, this is what the answer is. It's 292 00:17:33,280 --> 00:17:35,920 Speaker 1: like anything else exactly. Do that enough if you're gonna 293 00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:38,919 Speaker 1: get better at it. Yeah. Um. And there's this pretty 294 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:42,919 Speaker 1: interesting um I guess. That was interesting little kind of 295 00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:48,200 Speaker 1: sidetrack that the author of the Guesses article, Aliah Hoyt Um, 296 00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:52,720 Speaker 1: and I have to say, no, it's Aliyah, it's not Alicia. No, 297 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:57,760 Speaker 1: it's Aliyah. There's no say not only is the c silent, 298 00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:03,119 Speaker 1: it's not there, it's invisible. So Aaliyah hoyt my hats 299 00:18:03,119 --> 00:18:06,120 Speaker 1: off to her because doing supplemental research for this, there 300 00:18:06,160 --> 00:18:09,959 Speaker 1: are not a lot of people who are coming up 301 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:15,800 Speaker 1: with really substantial stuff about guesses. It's like it's barren. 302 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:20,000 Speaker 1: It's probably the least amount of research I've ever encountered 303 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:23,439 Speaker 1: in all of our almost thousand plus episodes. So the 304 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:26,040 Speaker 1: fact that she put this together, my hats off to her. 305 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:29,000 Speaker 1: But a sidetrack she takes is to teach the reader 306 00:18:29,320 --> 00:18:33,560 Speaker 1: how to um get better at guessing. A jar full 307 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:37,800 Speaker 1: of jelly beans. Yeah, well that was exciting. I mean 308 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:41,159 Speaker 1: that oh yeah, yeah, because always, I mean, my method 309 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:46,639 Speaker 1: was always to pick out a smaller area, like the 310 00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:51,479 Speaker 1: bottom inch of the jar, count as many as I 311 00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:55,120 Speaker 1: could and estimate that and then multiply that out. That's 312 00:18:55,119 --> 00:18:59,879 Speaker 1: actually a great technique. Well, I don't know, I haven't 313 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:02,720 Speaker 1: has jelly beans in a jar since I was probably twelve, 314 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:05,760 Speaker 1: But that was always my method, which has a little 315 00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:08,720 Speaker 1: there's a little bit of method to it, but it's 316 00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:12,399 Speaker 1: definitely not as good as as this one. Okay, So 317 00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:16,480 Speaker 1: so this one it sounds a little more complex than 318 00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:20,119 Speaker 1: than it actually is. But if you say, if you 319 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:22,520 Speaker 1: look at a jar and it's filled with jelly beans, 320 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:27,240 Speaker 1: you can say, um, that jar is the volume of 321 00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:31,600 Speaker 1: that jar is say a court Okay, But then you 322 00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:35,199 Speaker 1: kind of wanted to begin with sure, right, But you 323 00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:37,320 Speaker 1: can learn, right, you can just look around, Like here's 324 00:19:37,359 --> 00:19:39,800 Speaker 1: the point. If you want to get good at guessing 325 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:42,359 Speaker 1: jelly beans, it just takes a little bit of work. 326 00:19:43,359 --> 00:19:45,920 Speaker 1: Most people would walk up, say a million jelly beans, 327 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:48,480 Speaker 1: and they're off by like nine thousand. They're like, well, 328 00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:50,840 Speaker 1: I'm terrible at guessing jelly beans. I'm going to sleep 329 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:53,240 Speaker 1: for the rest of my life. But if you want 330 00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:55,399 Speaker 1: to get good at guessing at jelly beans. All you 331 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:58,000 Speaker 1: have to do is poke around, learn a few things, 332 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:00,879 Speaker 1: and then you can basically apply those every situation. And 333 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:02,760 Speaker 1: one of the things you would need to learn is 334 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:06,159 Speaker 1: how to judge the volume of the container to start. 335 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:08,800 Speaker 1: So that's one part, right yeah, which you know most 336 00:20:08,800 --> 00:20:10,959 Speaker 1: people would do that that by comparing it to like 337 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:13,200 Speaker 1: a milk jug or a two leader bottle or something 338 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:15,240 Speaker 1: like that, right, But in this case to get a 339 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:19,600 Speaker 1: really accurate estimate, you would want to know specifically, say 340 00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:24,720 Speaker 1: how many ounces a container held, correct um. And then 341 00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:27,399 Speaker 1: another thing you would probably do if you started researching 342 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:31,520 Speaker 1: guessing jelly beans and jar on the internet, um, you 343 00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:35,240 Speaker 1: would you would run across some research that found that 344 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:41,440 Speaker 1: if you have uh, spherical objects in a jar, they 345 00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:44,760 Speaker 1: typically take up about if you fill the thing up, 346 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:49,880 Speaker 1: they take typically take up about sixty of actual volume 347 00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:53,280 Speaker 1: of the jar. And that's if it's they're just randomly dumped. Right. 348 00:20:53,359 --> 00:20:57,640 Speaker 1: So if you come across a jar and you say, um, 349 00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:03,399 Speaker 1: and it's filled with like perfectly round um, okay, perfectly 350 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:07,560 Speaker 1: around bouncy balls, right, um, you can say, well, those 351 00:21:07,560 --> 00:21:11,240 Speaker 1: are spherical and they're taking up about six of the 352 00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:13,560 Speaker 1: jar so all I have to do is figure out 353 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:17,800 Speaker 1: the um the basically the size of each of them 354 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:23,879 Speaker 1: ball right, and then divide it by the volume, and 355 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:26,760 Speaker 1: then bam, you just guessed how many are in there, 356 00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:30,240 Speaker 1: and you're probably pretty close to right. So this all 357 00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:33,320 Speaker 1: sounds mind numbing. I've got a little um, a little 358 00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:36,040 Speaker 1: trickle blood coming out of my ear right now. But 359 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:40,000 Speaker 1: you can the whole point, and you can train yourself 360 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:44,840 Speaker 1: to make better guesses, to estimate better. That's the whole point. Yeah. 361 00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:47,560 Speaker 1: And if it's a non sphericle, by the way, like 362 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:51,680 Speaker 1: if it's peanuts or something like that, or ice cubes, 363 00:21:52,359 --> 00:21:58,560 Speaker 1: not disgusting circus peanuts. Oh man, that conjures up so 364 00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:03,760 Speaker 1: many memories. Did you like those? Well? I think I 365 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:05,440 Speaker 1: might have when I was a kid, but I haven't 366 00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:08,480 Speaker 1: had one in forty years. But I still remember the 367 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:11,200 Speaker 1: taste you me just had something. She says, they still 368 00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:13,560 Speaker 1: hold up, and I'm like, I didn't like him, then 369 00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:15,439 Speaker 1: I'm not gonna like him now. Well, they hold up 370 00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:18,480 Speaker 1: for you in a bad way, right right, Yeah, exactly. 371 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:20,360 Speaker 1: So I know, I know I'm not supposed to yuck 372 00:22:20,400 --> 00:22:25,600 Speaker 1: anyone's young, but yuck. So uh, if it's circus peanuts. 373 00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:30,040 Speaker 1: Let's say, Um, that would be between fifty and of 374 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:33,440 Speaker 1: the space, not sixty four. Yeah, So, uh, what is 375 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:36,320 Speaker 1: you me's method? Did you ask her? She says she 376 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:42,000 Speaker 1: just kind of knowsh So she's a precock exactly. She 377 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:44,119 Speaker 1: she shaves her head once a while and lays around 378 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:46,800 Speaker 1: in a vat of liquid. Wow, that would be see, 379 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:50,200 Speaker 1: I would that would scare me if that would if 380 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:52,040 Speaker 1: that was my wife's answer, if she just like kind 381 00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:54,760 Speaker 1: of walked by and said I just know, right, yeah, 382 00:22:54,840 --> 00:22:58,320 Speaker 1: I would be like, well, what else do you just know? Yeah? 383 00:22:58,520 --> 00:23:01,600 Speaker 1: She's kind of unstoppable too. You have no idea how 384 00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:04,320 Speaker 1: many calves we've won at county fairs in the last 385 00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:09,520 Speaker 1: year alone. Our house is overrun with them. Um. All right, 386 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:12,159 Speaker 1: So that's just guessing volume of a thing and a 387 00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:16,720 Speaker 1: thing that's an it's intellectual guessing, right, But you can 388 00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:19,760 Speaker 1: train yourself to guess better. What's really up for for 389 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:24,520 Speaker 1: questioning is whether you can train yourself to get better 390 00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:28,520 Speaker 1: at the other bucket of guessing, emotional type of guessing. 391 00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:32,040 Speaker 1: Right where you're walking around and you are interacting with 392 00:23:32,080 --> 00:23:35,520 Speaker 1: other people and you're making judgments about how they're feeling. Right, 393 00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:39,480 Speaker 1: then about what they're thinking, right then what their motives are. Um, 394 00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:43,080 Speaker 1: you know, how how well they're actually listening to you 395 00:23:43,359 --> 00:23:46,240 Speaker 1: all of these things right, It's part of our interaction 396 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:51,399 Speaker 1: with other people. And there's something that UM two researchers 397 00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:56,400 Speaker 1: called X and took great combo that back in established 398 00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:59,119 Speaker 1: this kind of field of inquiry in which they were 399 00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:01,359 Speaker 1: trying to it to the bottom of what they called 400 00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:06,600 Speaker 1: empathic accuracy, which is how accurately we can we can 401 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:10,680 Speaker 1: surmise what someone actually is feeling or thinking just from 402 00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:14,199 Speaker 1: interacting with them. Some people are supposedly good at it, 403 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:17,480 Speaker 1: some people are not. And from what I saw, there's 404 00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:21,200 Speaker 1: a big kind of push and pull about whether it's 405 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:24,639 Speaker 1: worth practicing or whether you should just not do that 406 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:27,040 Speaker 1: at all for the sake of your own sanity and 407 00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:30,000 Speaker 1: just say, if you tell me that you're in a 408 00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:32,520 Speaker 1: good mood, I'm going to take that at face value. 409 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:36,439 Speaker 1: And if you're actually not, then you're you're covering up 410 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:39,760 Speaker 1: your feelings for your own reasons, And that's that's fine. 411 00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:41,720 Speaker 1: If you want to just keep them to yourself, that's fine. 412 00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:43,760 Speaker 1: If you want to share them, I'm here, but I'm 413 00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:46,439 Speaker 1: gonna I'm gonna take what you're saying on face value, 414 00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:50,639 Speaker 1: so Bully, for you, that to me is sanity, like going, 415 00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:58,320 Speaker 1: how are you really feeling? That's uh, one can spend 416 00:24:58,320 --> 00:25:00,960 Speaker 1: a lot of time doing that, So can I share 417 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:04,320 Speaker 1: a little bit about myself here? I know it's weird, 418 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:09,200 Speaker 1: it feels gross, but um. For a very long time, Chuck, 419 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:14,600 Speaker 1: I thought that I was a born and bread and 420 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:19,720 Speaker 1: path that like I could understand what anyone was thinking 421 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:23,840 Speaker 1: and feeling, maybe even better than they knew how they 422 00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:28,399 Speaker 1: were thinking and feeling. And I finally finally came to 423 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:32,720 Speaker 1: the hard truth that I was wrong almost all the time. 424 00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:36,520 Speaker 1: And in figuring this out, like this was really jarring, 425 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:38,080 Speaker 1: and it took a little while for me to like 426 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:41,480 Speaker 1: really for this to sink in. But once I figured 427 00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:45,280 Speaker 1: out that I'm actually terrible at reading engaging other people's 428 00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:47,879 Speaker 1: thoughts and feelings, it was one of the most liberating 429 00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:51,160 Speaker 1: things that's ever happened to me because I just stopped. 430 00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:54,600 Speaker 1: I stopped, and I realized how much of my life 431 00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:58,679 Speaker 1: I've been walking around wasting just thinking about you know, 432 00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:01,920 Speaker 1: what people really think in care? You know, do people 433 00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:04,720 Speaker 1: really like me? They probably don't? Or do they? Or 434 00:26:05,359 --> 00:26:08,320 Speaker 1: or what did they mean by that look or whatever, 435 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:12,240 Speaker 1: and just taking people in life on face value, UM 436 00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:15,840 Speaker 1: is so much. It's just it occupies so much less 437 00:26:15,880 --> 00:26:18,760 Speaker 1: of your mind on any given moment. It's just great. 438 00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:22,680 Speaker 1: That's my prescription. Stop trying to figure out what other 439 00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:25,359 Speaker 1: people are really thinking and feeling. You should have You 440 00:26:25,359 --> 00:26:27,879 Speaker 1: should have just asked me a long time ago. And 441 00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:32,000 Speaker 1: when he told you, I was like, you're terrible at that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, 442 00:26:32,119 --> 00:26:33,520 Speaker 1: I don't know if I want to listen. You know, 443 00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:35,600 Speaker 1: it took it took a little while, but to walk 444 00:26:35,640 --> 00:26:37,480 Speaker 1: through their own doors. You know what I'm saying. That 445 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:40,680 Speaker 1: is well put man, you're you're a stoic sage. So 446 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:45,000 Speaker 1: cognitive distortion is is a phrase you hear pop up 447 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:49,359 Speaker 1: a lot when it comes to assessing another person's emotions. 448 00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:52,960 Speaker 1: And these are these inaccurate thoughts that you have in 449 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:57,000 Speaker 1: your brain. Sometimes they leave to negative thinking or encourage that. 450 00:26:57,400 --> 00:27:00,440 Speaker 1: I think probably most times that's probably the case. UM. 451 00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:04,200 Speaker 1: And then polarized thinking is another bucket I guess since 452 00:27:04,200 --> 00:27:07,959 Speaker 1: we're bucketting everything today, UM, which is you know, everything 453 00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:10,880 Speaker 1: is great or everything is terrible. And the example they 454 00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:13,920 Speaker 1: give in this in this article is you know, it's 455 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:15,960 Speaker 1: simply I mean it's a little boy reading a girl's 456 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:19,080 Speaker 1: face that you know she doesn't like me, but that 457 00:27:19,080 --> 00:27:21,320 Speaker 1: that's a kid in elementary school. You can apply this 458 00:27:21,359 --> 00:27:26,639 Speaker 1: to anyone walking into a room and basically reading either 459 00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:30,439 Speaker 1: the room or reading a person and saying like, you know, 460 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:32,920 Speaker 1: I don't like the way that that person just looked 461 00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:36,960 Speaker 1: at me. Um, that's bad, and so I don't think 462 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:39,040 Speaker 1: they like me. And those are both of those things 463 00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:43,960 Speaker 1: at work, cognitive distortion and polarized thinking, right, which which 464 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:46,840 Speaker 1: I think polarized thinking is a type of cognitive distortion. 465 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:49,640 Speaker 1: I think that's the umbrella term for that kind of thing, right, Yeah, 466 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:52,879 Speaker 1: that makes sense, so um yeah, I think this is 467 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:54,639 Speaker 1: kind of where you get to why a lot of 468 00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:57,720 Speaker 1: people are terrible at guessing or get get their guessing wrong, 469 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:00,159 Speaker 1: especially when it comes to what other people are thinking 470 00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:02,800 Speaker 1: and feeling. Is that your guess is, whether you realize 471 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:06,399 Speaker 1: it or not, are actually colored and come through a 472 00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:10,240 Speaker 1: lens of your past history. Right, So like if if 473 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:13,600 Speaker 1: you were raised in a house where people your family 474 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:16,720 Speaker 1: members are really critical of you and one another, if 475 00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:18,840 Speaker 1: you see two people in a corner like kind of 476 00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:22,840 Speaker 1: like having a quiet conversation but laughing too, you're probably 477 00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:25,320 Speaker 1: gonna think they're laughing at you, even though they may 478 00:28:25,359 --> 00:28:27,800 Speaker 1: not even be paying the least bit of attention to you. 479 00:28:28,600 --> 00:28:31,920 Speaker 1: But because of the history of how you grew up, 480 00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:35,000 Speaker 1: that's what you're gonna guess at, right. Whereas if somebody 481 00:28:35,119 --> 00:28:38,640 Speaker 1: was raised in a house where they were instilled with 482 00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:41,000 Speaker 1: a lot of confidence and like a great sense of humor, 483 00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:44,120 Speaker 1: that person might just think, man, they must be talking 484 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:46,640 Speaker 1: about something hilarious. I wish I knew what the joke was, 485 00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:48,880 Speaker 1: or they might have so much confidence in sense of 486 00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:51,480 Speaker 1: humor they might even walk up and engage them and say, 487 00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:54,080 Speaker 1: what do you guys laughing at right? Huh? And if 488 00:28:54,080 --> 00:28:57,720 Speaker 1: they nothing, never mind, then you may be onto something. Right. 489 00:28:57,800 --> 00:29:00,560 Speaker 1: But there was this, um there's this blog was a man, 490 00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:02,480 Speaker 1: I wish I could remember what the site was. I 491 00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:06,160 Speaker 1: apologize sight, but it was basically like stop trying to 492 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:08,760 Speaker 1: read other people's minds was the gist of it. And 493 00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:12,560 Speaker 1: they actually used that example, and they went on to say, like, 494 00:29:12,680 --> 00:29:16,959 Speaker 1: even if the person who thinks that that they're laughing 495 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:19,800 Speaker 1: at them turns out to be right, that's not the 496 00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:23,160 Speaker 1: worst thing that can happen to you. Yeah, it's fine, 497 00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:27,080 Speaker 1: who cares you know, like like some people aren't gonna 498 00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:30,280 Speaker 1: like you, some people will. It doesn't really matter. Like 499 00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:32,600 Speaker 1: if somebody doesn't like you, you've got to have a 500 00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:34,840 Speaker 1: little more self confidence than the let that just completely 501 00:29:34,880 --> 00:29:38,600 Speaker 1: derail your day. Yeah, and you and you have to 502 00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:42,600 Speaker 1: find it within yourself. Yeah. Sure. And some people get 503 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:44,719 Speaker 1: that through years of therapy. Some people are born with it, 504 00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:48,360 Speaker 1: some people never achieve it. Yeah. I think it's you know, 505 00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:50,040 Speaker 1: even if you are born with I think you can 506 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:52,240 Speaker 1: lose it from time to time. If you're not born 507 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:53,880 Speaker 1: with it, you can gain it from time to time. 508 00:29:53,880 --> 00:29:56,520 Speaker 1: But it's not something I think you have every moment 509 00:29:56,560 --> 00:30:00,280 Speaker 1: of every day necessarily. Yeah. Boy, people with just much 510 00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:05,160 Speaker 1: confidence or so annoying, they really are because everyone wants that, 511 00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:07,520 Speaker 1: you know. I think that's why it's annoying. Sure, just 512 00:30:07,560 --> 00:30:10,320 Speaker 1: like man, I wish I could be that confident about everything. 513 00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:12,600 Speaker 1: I hate that guy, and then you end up in 514 00:30:12,600 --> 00:30:15,040 Speaker 1: a corner talking to somebody else about how much you 515 00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:18,120 Speaker 1: hate that person. Is so much confidence totally lost on 516 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:20,480 Speaker 1: the other person. So I have another theory that's not 517 00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:22,680 Speaker 1: scientific at all. It's just my personal theory that when 518 00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:25,560 Speaker 1: it comes to guessing things, your own not well your 519 00:30:25,560 --> 00:30:28,280 Speaker 1: past experiences certainly influence it, but your own how you 520 00:30:28,320 --> 00:30:32,800 Speaker 1: are also influences, like oh yeah, like I think a 521 00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:35,320 Speaker 1: liar is more apt to think people are lying to 522 00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:39,520 Speaker 1: them precisely. Yeah, no, that's absolutely I agree. I was 523 00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:42,440 Speaker 1: gonna say that's absolutely true, but I agree with you. Yeah, 524 00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:44,800 Speaker 1: because who knows. It's just a theory, right, but I 525 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:48,240 Speaker 1: mean it's it's based it's based on some pretty ancient 526 00:30:48,280 --> 00:30:51,360 Speaker 1: folk wisdom, like that whole thing about how um you know, 527 00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:54,000 Speaker 1: when you're pointing a finger at somebody three fingers pointing 528 00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:58,000 Speaker 1: at you, or judge not lest you be judged. Like 529 00:30:58,040 --> 00:31:01,560 Speaker 1: when you think about people in that way, you think 530 00:31:01,600 --> 00:31:03,320 Speaker 1: that they're doing the same thing to you, even when 531 00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:07,200 Speaker 1: they're not. It's your own, um hilarious little personal hell yeah, 532 00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:09,280 Speaker 1: and it's not always that, Like, you know, I think 533 00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:12,280 Speaker 1: that dude's ripping me off. Maybe you've been ripped off 534 00:31:12,320 --> 00:31:15,080 Speaker 1: before and that's where that's coming from. Or maybe you've 535 00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:17,880 Speaker 1: ripped someone off before, but about one of the two 536 00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:20,560 Speaker 1: has happened, I think, though. What more, what you're what 537 00:31:20,640 --> 00:31:24,520 Speaker 1: you're talking about is are like core core character traits though, 538 00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:29,240 Speaker 1: like judge, being judgmental or being a liar, or um, 539 00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:32,160 Speaker 1: you know, being a b S or something like that, 540 00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:35,640 Speaker 1: like when when you do notice that, though, what's great 541 00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:38,840 Speaker 1: is there's so much room for growth when you when 542 00:31:38,840 --> 00:31:40,680 Speaker 1: you realize that that, like, wait a minute, I think 543 00:31:40,680 --> 00:31:43,720 Speaker 1: everybody's judging me because I'm so judgmental. I need to 544 00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:47,360 Speaker 1: work on being judgmental. What's what's almost magical is that 545 00:31:47,400 --> 00:31:50,400 Speaker 1: when you when you realize that and you work on 546 00:31:50,560 --> 00:31:53,560 Speaker 1: not being judgmental, you stop thinking that other people are 547 00:31:53,640 --> 00:31:57,239 Speaker 1: judging you, and your life is just freer. Well, there 548 00:31:57,240 --> 00:32:01,080 Speaker 1: are these uh psychologists um and all over this article 549 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:06,160 Speaker 1: that uh Aaliyah just rocked my world with that wrote, 550 00:32:06,240 --> 00:32:09,520 Speaker 1: and one of them was talking about these interpretations without evidence, 551 00:32:10,200 --> 00:32:13,720 Speaker 1: and her advice, which is very simple and it seems 552 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:15,560 Speaker 1: like a no brainer though, is to like maybe just 553 00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:18,360 Speaker 1: focus on things you know to be true and not 554 00:32:18,560 --> 00:32:21,400 Speaker 1: inventing and surmising, like well what if what if they're 555 00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:23,479 Speaker 1: talking about this and you know you're you're just kind 556 00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:26,440 Speaker 1: of inventing all that. Like if you concentrate on what 557 00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:29,880 Speaker 1: you know to be true, then life gets a lot simpler, right, 558 00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:33,000 Speaker 1: But that that same shrink also pointed out that one 559 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:36,960 Speaker 1: of the big problems with guessing and especially guessing incorrectly. 560 00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:41,160 Speaker 1: Is that, Um, we tend to forget that we're guessing 561 00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:44,160 Speaker 1: at stuff. We take our own guesses as as fact, 562 00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:49,200 Speaker 1: and since they can be so horribly wrong. Um, if 563 00:32:49,240 --> 00:32:51,719 Speaker 1: you if you're guessing that other people are judging you 564 00:32:51,760 --> 00:32:55,560 Speaker 1: even when they're not, Uh, you're gonna basically walk around 565 00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:58,080 Speaker 1: feeling judged all the time because you think that that's 566 00:32:58,120 --> 00:33:02,040 Speaker 1: absolutely accurate when it's when it's not necessarily fascinating. All right, 567 00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:03,760 Speaker 1: you want to take a break. I was just gonna 568 00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:05,920 Speaker 1: say the same thing. All right, Well, we'll take a 569 00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:08,080 Speaker 1: break and we're gonna come back talk a little bit 570 00:33:08,240 --> 00:33:11,720 Speaker 1: about guessing on tests, how to win it rock, paper 571 00:33:11,760 --> 00:33:39,200 Speaker 1: scissors and apes and guessing. M h all right, So 572 00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:43,280 Speaker 1: we we've talked in esoteric terms about guessing so far. 573 00:33:44,280 --> 00:33:47,040 Speaker 1: But I think what everyone really wants to know is 574 00:33:47,800 --> 00:33:51,640 Speaker 1: how do I pass a multiple choice test? Right, because 575 00:33:51,680 --> 00:33:54,400 Speaker 1: that's another kind of guessing. Um, it's you know, guessing 576 00:33:54,520 --> 00:33:57,920 Speaker 1: runs the gamut, uh, from emotional to stuff like this. 577 00:33:58,360 --> 00:34:01,800 Speaker 1: There have been different theory over the years, Like well, 578 00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:04,200 Speaker 1: first of all, back in the day and I guess 579 00:34:04,280 --> 00:34:07,440 Speaker 1: until semi recently, for like the S A T and 580 00:34:07,480 --> 00:34:09,400 Speaker 1: A C T and other standardized tests. You would be 581 00:34:09,760 --> 00:34:15,680 Speaker 1: penalized for an incorrect guest. I don't remember that, do you. Yeah, yeah, 582 00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:18,600 Speaker 1: well you gets something wrong. It's like a quarter point deduction. 583 00:34:18,680 --> 00:34:21,120 Speaker 1: I think was the deal. Oh it sounds familiar. I 584 00:34:21,160 --> 00:34:23,839 Speaker 1: think I may have blocked it out. But they don't 585 00:34:23,880 --> 00:34:26,000 Speaker 1: do that anymore. So now they say guest guest guests 586 00:34:26,040 --> 00:34:29,000 Speaker 1: if you don't know the answer, um, and you know 587 00:34:29,200 --> 00:34:31,959 Speaker 1: they're there. That has run the gamut from always guests 588 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:35,160 Speaker 1: C because it's in the middle to uh, this one person. 589 00:34:35,320 --> 00:34:37,719 Speaker 1: I don't necessarily agree with this one, but they say, 590 00:34:38,080 --> 00:34:41,040 Speaker 1: just choose the same letter every time, like always guests B, 591 00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:44,560 Speaker 1: and you're gonna be right one out of every five 592 00:34:44,680 --> 00:34:47,359 Speaker 1: times if it's A B, C, D right. Which makes 593 00:34:47,400 --> 00:34:49,640 Speaker 1: sense though, I mean, because if you jump around, you 594 00:34:49,760 --> 00:34:52,200 Speaker 1: lessen your chances every time, whereas if you use the 595 00:34:52,280 --> 00:34:54,480 Speaker 1: same one, you have the same chances of getting it 596 00:34:54,600 --> 00:34:59,239 Speaker 1: right every time. Um. But this guy wrote a he 597 00:34:59,320 --> 00:35:05,759 Speaker 1: actually did a little studying. Um, PAULA. Pound Stone. That 598 00:35:05,920 --> 00:35:08,880 Speaker 1: wasn't his name, was it. It was William pound Stone, 599 00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:14,440 Speaker 1: her brother. Yeah, and he did actual research on He 600 00:35:14,560 --> 00:35:19,040 Speaker 1: studied tests and did a statistical analysis of one hundred 601 00:35:19,080 --> 00:35:24,440 Speaker 1: different tests, ranging from middle school, high school, college, professional exams, 602 00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:28,880 Speaker 1: driver's tests, firefighters, radio operators. He studied all kinds of 603 00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:33,640 Speaker 1: tests and he has four what he calls four ways 604 00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:36,000 Speaker 1: outsmart to multiple choice tests, and a couple of these 605 00:35:36,040 --> 00:35:38,680 Speaker 1: make a lot of sense to me. The first one, 606 00:35:38,760 --> 00:35:42,399 Speaker 1: he said, is to ignore conventional wisdom because you kind 607 00:35:42,440 --> 00:35:46,480 Speaker 1: of always have heard teachers say like avoid answers that 608 00:35:46,640 --> 00:35:49,320 Speaker 1: say never, always or none, so like all of the 609 00:35:49,360 --> 00:35:51,520 Speaker 1: above or none of the above, don't choose those, And 610 00:35:51,600 --> 00:35:54,520 Speaker 1: he found the opposite to be true. Yeah, he found 611 00:35:54,560 --> 00:35:56,480 Speaker 1: that none of the above are all of the above 612 00:35:56,520 --> 00:36:00,720 Speaker 1: are correct of the time. Yeah. So if that's offered 613 00:36:00,760 --> 00:36:03,399 Speaker 1: up as an option and you have, first of all, 614 00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:08,520 Speaker 1: we should couch this with always try and you know, 615 00:36:09,080 --> 00:36:13,120 Speaker 1: deduce the answer with intelligence, well yeah, pound Stone says, 616 00:36:13,160 --> 00:36:16,720 Speaker 1: there's nothing. None of this is meant to replace knowledge 617 00:36:16,760 --> 00:36:19,040 Speaker 1: of your subject, and you get knowledge of your subject 618 00:36:19,080 --> 00:36:21,759 Speaker 1: by studying ahead of time. But he's saying, if you're 619 00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:24,520 Speaker 1: facing a question on a multiple choice test and you 620 00:36:24,719 --> 00:36:29,080 Speaker 1: have no idea what the answer is, there's some techniques 621 00:36:29,080 --> 00:36:31,920 Speaker 1: you can choose to to to increase the likelihood that 622 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:34,520 Speaker 1: your guests will be right. Right, So all the above 623 00:36:34,600 --> 00:36:36,120 Speaker 1: or none of the above. If you really have no 624 00:36:36,239 --> 00:36:39,719 Speaker 1: idea about that, I would I would say pick that one. Um. 625 00:36:39,960 --> 00:36:43,319 Speaker 1: That's weird though, because later on he says he says 626 00:36:43,360 --> 00:36:46,080 Speaker 1: so first he says, ignore conventional wisdom, but then later 627 00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:49,200 Speaker 1: on the one piece of conventional wisdom I've always heard, 628 00:36:49,760 --> 00:36:53,160 Speaker 1: um he says, is actually true. That is that you 629 00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:57,239 Speaker 1: want to choose the longest answer on any multiple choice test, right, 630 00:36:57,920 --> 00:37:02,080 Speaker 1: because if if you are saying something's true, most of 631 00:37:02,120 --> 00:37:05,920 Speaker 1: the time you have to add qualifying language to make 632 00:37:05,960 --> 00:37:09,120 Speaker 1: it absolutely true, because you don't want somebody come back 633 00:37:09,120 --> 00:37:11,440 Speaker 1: and be like, well, that's actually not quite true. So 634 00:37:11,560 --> 00:37:14,719 Speaker 1: when you start adding qualifying language into an answer, it 635 00:37:14,880 --> 00:37:17,839 Speaker 1: gets longer than the other ones, and the the test 636 00:37:17,920 --> 00:37:20,400 Speaker 1: writers probably not going to go to the trouble of 637 00:37:20,760 --> 00:37:25,800 Speaker 1: making the wrong answers similarly long. So the longest answer 638 00:37:25,920 --> 00:37:28,840 Speaker 1: is very frequently the correct answer. Yeah, I thought that 639 00:37:28,880 --> 00:37:30,960 Speaker 1: one was a really good piece of advice. That's the 640 00:37:31,040 --> 00:37:33,799 Speaker 1: one I always heard. That's really the only one I've 641 00:37:33,840 --> 00:37:39,239 Speaker 1: ever known. Did you remember scantron sheets? Did you ever 642 00:37:39,480 --> 00:37:44,120 Speaker 1: were you ever so recklessly wild that you like made 643 00:37:44,160 --> 00:37:47,680 Speaker 1: a Christmas tree out of a test? Did you ever 644 00:37:47,760 --> 00:37:50,839 Speaker 1: have the gall to do that. Oh, I think never 645 00:37:50,920 --> 00:37:53,360 Speaker 1: did bad because there are kids that listen to this. 646 00:37:54,160 --> 00:37:55,719 Speaker 1: But I had to take a test one time that 647 00:37:55,880 --> 00:37:58,000 Speaker 1: was not for school, but it was something I didn't 648 00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:01,719 Speaker 1: want to do. I won't into the details, but I 649 00:38:01,880 --> 00:38:07,120 Speaker 1: made a big snake and it was bad and I 650 00:38:07,239 --> 00:38:09,000 Speaker 1: looked back and I'm ashamed of it. I made a 651 00:38:09,040 --> 00:38:13,000 Speaker 1: mockery of their process. Uh. And I wasn't that kind 652 00:38:13,040 --> 00:38:15,240 Speaker 1: of kid. I don't know what happened. I was generally 653 00:38:15,280 --> 00:38:17,640 Speaker 1: a good kid and a good student. I'm surprised to 654 00:38:17,680 --> 00:38:20,239 Speaker 1: hear this, I know, but it sticks. It's I feel 655 00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:22,319 Speaker 1: so bad. It still really stands out in my mind. 656 00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:25,160 Speaker 1: Is what what a jerk move that was on my part. 657 00:38:25,600 --> 00:38:28,280 Speaker 1: I'm not only surprised, though, Chuck, I'm a little delighted 658 00:38:30,040 --> 00:38:35,000 Speaker 1: outed myself. Um alright, So one of the other pieces 659 00:38:35,040 --> 00:38:39,680 Speaker 1: of advice from Dr pound Stone doctor he's no doctor. 660 00:38:40,600 --> 00:38:42,960 Speaker 1: He did write a book, though, It's called Rock Breaks 661 00:38:43,080 --> 00:38:46,160 Speaker 1: Scissors Colon. Why does everything have to have a colon? 662 00:38:46,239 --> 00:38:50,840 Speaker 1: Now makes it smarter? Rock Breaks Scissors Colin a practical 663 00:38:50,880 --> 00:38:54,520 Speaker 1: guide outguessing and outwitting almost everybody. One of his other 664 00:38:54,560 --> 00:38:56,640 Speaker 1: ones is to look at the surrounding answers because he's 665 00:38:56,640 --> 00:39:01,400 Speaker 1: found that the correct answer choices are rarely repeated consecutively, 666 00:39:01,800 --> 00:39:03,960 Speaker 1: so you rarely get two b's in a row as 667 00:39:04,040 --> 00:39:07,200 Speaker 1: the answer. So if you definitely know the answer in 668 00:39:07,280 --> 00:39:09,640 Speaker 1: front of it and the answer behind it, then it's 669 00:39:09,680 --> 00:39:11,719 Speaker 1: probably not one of those two. So if you you've 670 00:39:11,760 --> 00:39:16,400 Speaker 1: just whittled down your options, yep, not good advice. No, 671 00:39:16,600 --> 00:39:20,920 Speaker 1: not not that at all. Um. And the last one 672 00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:24,040 Speaker 1: he's got eliminate the outliers. If there's anything that that 673 00:39:24,239 --> 00:39:27,279 Speaker 1: seems like it doesn't really fit with the rest of 674 00:39:27,360 --> 00:39:30,160 Speaker 1: the stuff, you can automatically get rid of that. And 675 00:39:30,239 --> 00:39:33,600 Speaker 1: then conversely, if there's anything if there are two answers 676 00:39:33,640 --> 00:39:38,160 Speaker 1: that seem extremely close, they probably can be gotten rid 677 00:39:38,200 --> 00:39:41,279 Speaker 1: of as well, because it's the same thing basically. So 678 00:39:41,440 --> 00:39:47,239 Speaker 1: if you have say five, five potential answers, and one 679 00:39:47,280 --> 00:39:49,120 Speaker 1: of them doesn't fit with the other four, get rid 680 00:39:49,160 --> 00:39:50,759 Speaker 1: of that. Two of them are similar, get rid of 681 00:39:50,800 --> 00:39:53,399 Speaker 1: those two. You're down to two. You got a chance 682 00:39:53,440 --> 00:39:55,719 Speaker 1: of getting at right. Yeah. I thought the example they 683 00:39:55,800 --> 00:39:57,839 Speaker 1: used in here was pretty fascinating because they didn't even 684 00:39:57,960 --> 00:40:01,520 Speaker 1: use the question or give the question shton on This 685 00:40:01,719 --> 00:40:03,840 Speaker 1: s a t practice test they just give the answer 686 00:40:04,719 --> 00:40:09,520 Speaker 1: for A, B, C, d um haphazard, uh is two radical, 687 00:40:10,080 --> 00:40:14,040 Speaker 1: inherent is, the controversial, improvises to startling, methodical is the revolutionary, 688 00:40:14,480 --> 00:40:17,440 Speaker 1: derivative is to gradual. And if you just look at 689 00:40:17,440 --> 00:40:21,959 Speaker 1: the right hand side, you have radical, controversial, startling, revolutionary, 690 00:40:22,040 --> 00:40:25,920 Speaker 1: and gradual, And obviously gradual stands out is just being 691 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:30,719 Speaker 1: different than those other words. Radical, controversial, startling, revolutionary, gradual 692 00:40:31,040 --> 00:40:33,640 Speaker 1: doesn't makes sense, right, So that makes I mean, that's 693 00:40:33,680 --> 00:40:35,960 Speaker 1: really a good piece of advice. And then if you 694 00:40:36,040 --> 00:40:38,480 Speaker 1: look on the left hand side for A and C, 695 00:40:38,719 --> 00:40:42,600 Speaker 1: haphazard and improvised are really close. So he says you 696 00:40:42,640 --> 00:40:46,320 Speaker 1: should eliminate those two as well. Yea, I wish I 697 00:40:46,360 --> 00:40:48,440 Speaker 1: would have had this kind of advice for the S 698 00:40:48,520 --> 00:40:50,680 Speaker 1: A T. Well, I'll tell you what. That's an actual 699 00:40:50,880 --> 00:40:53,239 Speaker 1: S A T set of answers. So if you ever 700 00:40:53,719 --> 00:40:59,959 Speaker 1: run into haphazard, radical, inherent, controversial, improvised, startling, methodical, revolutionary, 701 00:41:00,360 --> 00:41:05,000 Speaker 1: and derivative gradual, you want to go with the methodical, revolutionary, 702 00:41:05,160 --> 00:41:08,520 Speaker 1: And we just got you into college, you ever wanted 703 00:41:08,560 --> 00:41:13,400 Speaker 1: to take the S A T again, Like, now, no, no, 704 00:41:13,640 --> 00:41:17,200 Speaker 1: that's funny, I really don't. I've never wanted to. I was. 705 00:41:17,360 --> 00:41:19,839 Speaker 1: I've been glad since the moment I finished that test 706 00:41:19,880 --> 00:41:22,239 Speaker 1: that I was done. I only took it twice. I 707 00:41:22,320 --> 00:41:24,960 Speaker 1: took it once and I was like, good enough. Yeah, 708 00:41:24,960 --> 00:41:27,279 Speaker 1: I took it twice. I did not score very well 709 00:41:27,360 --> 00:41:31,399 Speaker 1: the first time, and I scored pretty well the second time, 710 00:41:32,120 --> 00:41:33,480 Speaker 1: and I was like, I don't want to know which 711 00:41:33,520 --> 00:41:36,160 Speaker 1: one is the real me. I said, So I'm done. Yeah, 712 00:41:36,200 --> 00:41:38,880 Speaker 1: I scored blandly the first time, and I was like, 713 00:41:39,320 --> 00:41:43,000 Speaker 1: that's fine, that's fine, that's fine. I'll get by my 714 00:41:43,440 --> 00:41:46,399 Speaker 1: my wits and real life skills. Look at you. You've 715 00:41:46,400 --> 00:41:50,120 Speaker 1: done great. I've done okay. Um, so you want to 716 00:41:50,120 --> 00:41:52,440 Speaker 1: talk about rock paper scissors a little bit? Yeah, I 717 00:41:52,520 --> 00:41:55,560 Speaker 1: thought this was awesome. Our friends over at Motherboard and 718 00:41:55,640 --> 00:41:57,120 Speaker 1: we can say that because we used to have a 719 00:41:57,640 --> 00:42:03,040 Speaker 1: short lived column on Motherboard from vice Um. They have 720 00:42:03,360 --> 00:42:07,680 Speaker 1: a German outfit called appropriately Motherboard Germany, and they ran 721 00:42:07,760 --> 00:42:11,399 Speaker 1: a post um called win at rock paper Scissors every 722 00:42:11,520 --> 00:42:17,520 Speaker 1: Time with math colon What's with the colon's And they 723 00:42:17,600 --> 00:42:21,880 Speaker 1: basically got into how using game theory, you can win 724 00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:25,839 Speaker 1: at rock paper scissors basically all the time. Yeah they did, uh, 725 00:42:26,239 --> 00:42:28,000 Speaker 1: or they didn't do the research. But they got together 726 00:42:28,080 --> 00:42:32,160 Speaker 1: with some researchers at the University of hang Zoo in China, 727 00:42:33,080 --> 00:42:37,000 Speaker 1: and UM they got three hundred and sixty students to 728 00:42:38,080 --> 00:42:42,520 Speaker 1: pair up and play three hundred rounds each of Rock 729 00:42:42,600 --> 00:42:48,239 Speaker 1: paper scissors, And then they tracked that please please let 730 00:42:48,360 --> 00:42:51,680 Speaker 1: us stop, and they said, no, this is communist China. 731 00:42:51,880 --> 00:42:55,719 Speaker 1: Do it again again. Uh. So they charted all those 732 00:42:55,800 --> 00:43:00,040 Speaker 1: out and then summarized it, uh with some strategies. I 733 00:43:00,080 --> 00:43:03,360 Speaker 1: don't know if this would you would win every time? No, 734 00:43:04,040 --> 00:43:07,360 Speaker 1: I mean there's always like the what they call in 735 00:43:07,520 --> 00:43:10,959 Speaker 1: Rock paper scissors, the October surprise where somebody just pulls 736 00:43:11,000 --> 00:43:18,319 Speaker 1: something out of nowhere. Well, so I mean kidite, right, yeah, yeah, 737 00:43:18,480 --> 00:43:20,319 Speaker 1: those are off shoots. Remember kids that would do those? 738 00:43:21,960 --> 00:43:25,480 Speaker 1: Oh really yeah, some interesting people. Yeah, they would add 739 00:43:25,680 --> 00:43:31,759 Speaker 1: other other weapons basically, well, the the UM this the 740 00:43:32,360 --> 00:43:36,359 Speaker 1: Motherboard article talks about. UM. There's this other guy who 741 00:43:36,440 --> 00:43:39,480 Speaker 1: came up with UM a whole different variation of it. 742 00:43:39,880 --> 00:43:45,320 Speaker 1: That's like or twenty six different different possible ones. I 743 00:43:45,360 --> 00:43:47,800 Speaker 1: would never remember all of them, No, how could you? 744 00:43:48,239 --> 00:43:52,120 Speaker 1: But at least one guy does. No one can remember things, right, 745 00:43:53,160 --> 00:43:55,560 Speaker 1: but so so okay, there's a few things and this 746 00:43:55,760 --> 00:43:58,919 Speaker 1: this falls in line with learning how to get better 747 00:43:59,000 --> 00:44:01,839 Speaker 1: at guessing, um, how many jelly beans are in a jar. 748 00:44:02,320 --> 00:44:04,920 Speaker 1: If you arm yourself with a little bit of fore knowledge, 749 00:44:05,239 --> 00:44:08,399 Speaker 1: you can better guess at what your opponent's gonna come 750 00:44:08,400 --> 00:44:10,320 Speaker 1: at you with. In a game of rock paper scissors. 751 00:44:10,719 --> 00:44:14,680 Speaker 1: Starting with that, men tend to open a game with rock. 752 00:44:14,880 --> 00:44:17,719 Speaker 1: Of course they do. Yeah, that's such a man thing, 753 00:44:18,239 --> 00:44:22,279 Speaker 1: rock smash, you know, right, So if you're if your 754 00:44:22,400 --> 00:44:27,000 Speaker 1: opponent as a man, um, and there's pretty good chance 755 00:44:27,000 --> 00:44:30,759 Speaker 1: they're gonna come out with rock the first time, go paper. Yeah, 756 00:44:30,800 --> 00:44:34,600 Speaker 1: although they do say statistically the opening uh scissors is 757 00:44:35,160 --> 00:44:37,560 Speaker 1: the one that will win you the most games. But 758 00:44:37,760 --> 00:44:42,000 Speaker 1: I guess that's if you're not playing a man. They 759 00:44:42,080 --> 00:44:46,040 Speaker 1: kind of counteract themselves or contradict themselves statistically. More women 760 00:44:46,080 --> 00:44:49,960 Speaker 1: play rock paper scissors. I guess here's one I thought 761 00:44:50,080 --> 00:44:52,320 Speaker 1: I don't think, so here's one. I've been making a 762 00:44:52,400 --> 00:44:56,400 Speaker 1: lot of this stuff up in this episode. Um, here's 763 00:44:56,600 --> 00:44:58,680 Speaker 1: here's one that I thought was kind of funny. Basically, 764 00:44:58,920 --> 00:45:02,080 Speaker 1: this is like the baby ru move, say what you're 765 00:45:02,080 --> 00:45:05,719 Speaker 1: going to pick before the game, like I'm gonna pick 766 00:45:05,760 --> 00:45:08,560 Speaker 1: scissors next, and then the persons like, they're not gonna 767 00:45:08,600 --> 00:45:10,640 Speaker 1: pick scissors, but you just psyched them out. And when 768 00:45:10,680 --> 00:45:13,680 Speaker 1: you throw scissors, baby, they're gonna be blown away because 769 00:45:13,719 --> 00:45:15,879 Speaker 1: they threw paper and they thought you were gonna throw 770 00:45:15,880 --> 00:45:19,719 Speaker 1: a rock. It's like that the Princess Bride. And what 771 00:45:19,880 --> 00:45:22,920 Speaker 1: part was that with the man sitting at the place 772 00:45:23,719 --> 00:45:27,320 Speaker 1: talking about the poison drink? Oh yeah, yeah, remember like 773 00:45:27,760 --> 00:45:29,319 Speaker 1: trying to get the other guy to drink the poison 774 00:45:29,400 --> 00:45:38,400 Speaker 1: drinksh yeah, he was awesome. H inconceivable? What is another strategy? 775 00:45:38,640 --> 00:45:42,120 Speaker 1: Um to counter attacks? So if you played scissors and 776 00:45:42,320 --> 00:45:45,880 Speaker 1: your opponent plays rock on the first move, uh, and 777 00:45:46,000 --> 00:45:49,000 Speaker 1: they win, obviously the chance that they h they have 778 00:45:49,120 --> 00:45:51,640 Speaker 1: confidence now in that move, so you might be able 779 00:45:51,680 --> 00:45:54,680 Speaker 1: to guess that they will play rock again because the 780 00:45:54,760 --> 00:45:56,960 Speaker 1: chances are pretty high that they will do. So then 781 00:45:57,000 --> 00:46:00,520 Speaker 1: you anticipate that play paper. So basically it says play 782 00:46:00,560 --> 00:46:03,080 Speaker 1: the option that wasn't played in the previous round, right, 783 00:46:03,160 --> 00:46:07,160 Speaker 1: And you can also mirror um your opponent. Right, So 784 00:46:07,440 --> 00:46:11,840 Speaker 1: if you just want around, play what your opponent just played, 785 00:46:11,920 --> 00:46:15,399 Speaker 1: because they probably are thinking that you're going to play 786 00:46:15,480 --> 00:46:18,359 Speaker 1: with the same gesture that you won with a second ago. 787 00:46:18,920 --> 00:46:22,040 Speaker 1: Really throws them off. So the idea is they're probably 788 00:46:22,120 --> 00:46:24,040 Speaker 1: going to play the same thing that they just won 789 00:46:24,160 --> 00:46:28,120 Speaker 1: with and if you one don't do that, and that 790 00:46:28,160 --> 00:46:30,879 Speaker 1: will frustrate them too. That's the rock paper scissors version 791 00:46:30,960 --> 00:46:35,839 Speaker 1: of why you're hitting yourself. You get into that thing 792 00:46:35,920 --> 00:46:38,560 Speaker 1: when you're you both throw rock, and you throw rock again, 793 00:46:38,600 --> 00:46:40,799 Speaker 1: you both throw a rock and you keep That's when 794 00:46:40,840 --> 00:46:44,920 Speaker 1: the psychological warfare starts, like who's gonna break first and 795 00:46:45,040 --> 00:46:48,719 Speaker 1: go with paper and then ideally you go with scissors 796 00:46:49,560 --> 00:46:53,520 Speaker 1: and you have thus outsmarted your opponent. Right, So interesting, 797 00:46:54,680 --> 00:46:58,880 Speaker 1: So we were talking um, you mentioned that we were 798 00:46:58,880 --> 00:47:01,120 Speaker 1: going to talk about apes, right, Yeah, I didn't fully 799 00:47:01,200 --> 00:47:04,879 Speaker 1: understand this, so maybe you can help me. I don't 800 00:47:04,920 --> 00:47:10,360 Speaker 1: know that, um, that science fully understands it, but basically so, 801 00:47:10,760 --> 00:47:12,800 Speaker 1: so let me give you an example here. Okay, we 802 00:47:12,920 --> 00:47:15,319 Speaker 1: were talking about how the brain. They're trying to figure 803 00:47:15,360 --> 00:47:18,560 Speaker 1: out what regions of the brain are activated to form 804 00:47:18,640 --> 00:47:21,600 Speaker 1: like this cascade of thought that results in a guess. Right. 805 00:47:22,520 --> 00:47:25,920 Speaker 1: One of the things I ran across was one theory 806 00:47:26,080 --> 00:47:29,880 Speaker 1: of how we guess what other people are going to do, UM, 807 00:47:31,000 --> 00:47:34,799 Speaker 1: is through mirror neurons, where if we see somebody doing 808 00:47:34,920 --> 00:47:38,000 Speaker 1: something our mirror neurons are activated, and it puts us 809 00:47:38,040 --> 00:47:40,680 Speaker 1: in a mind of how we feel when we're doing something, 810 00:47:41,200 --> 00:47:46,160 Speaker 1: and we use that past experience and that current sensation 811 00:47:46,360 --> 00:47:49,560 Speaker 1: of like the example I ran across with somebody grabbing 812 00:47:49,600 --> 00:47:52,080 Speaker 1: an apple, to guess what the person is going to 813 00:47:52,200 --> 00:47:55,960 Speaker 1: do next. Right, So you would say, um, well, I 814 00:47:56,040 --> 00:47:58,239 Speaker 1: know most times when I grab an apple, I take 815 00:47:58,280 --> 00:48:00,160 Speaker 1: a bite out of it because I'm usually hung. Agree 816 00:48:00,200 --> 00:48:02,080 Speaker 1: when I grab an apple, that's after I rub it 817 00:48:02,160 --> 00:48:04,399 Speaker 1: on my shirt to give it a nice shine. Right, Well, 818 00:48:04,440 --> 00:48:07,120 Speaker 1: that's that's just showboating. If you're gonna if you guess 819 00:48:07,200 --> 00:48:08,640 Speaker 1: the person is going to rub it on their shirt 820 00:48:08,680 --> 00:48:11,960 Speaker 1: first before taking a bite, that's showing off. But that's 821 00:48:12,040 --> 00:48:14,160 Speaker 1: so your mirror neurons are the part of your brain 822 00:48:14,239 --> 00:48:17,880 Speaker 1: that's triggered that that um that that sets that off, right, 823 00:48:17,960 --> 00:48:21,040 Speaker 1: that gives you that the basis the foundation for making 824 00:48:21,120 --> 00:48:22,839 Speaker 1: a guess of what the person is going to do next. 825 00:48:23,440 --> 00:48:27,520 Speaker 1: And then it gets run through again that lens of 826 00:48:27,680 --> 00:48:31,080 Speaker 1: your past experience, your history, everything from how you were 827 00:48:31,200 --> 00:48:33,640 Speaker 1: raised to what you do with apples, to what you've 828 00:48:33,640 --> 00:48:36,040 Speaker 1: seen other people do with apples, and you come up 829 00:48:36,080 --> 00:48:40,800 Speaker 1: with a short list of possibilities of what the person 830 00:48:40,920 --> 00:48:43,200 Speaker 1: is going to do with that apple, and it includes 831 00:48:43,480 --> 00:48:46,600 Speaker 1: rubbing out on their shirt, taking a bite, putting it 832 00:48:46,640 --> 00:48:49,800 Speaker 1: away in a cupboard, throwing it at a wall. And 833 00:48:49,920 --> 00:48:52,480 Speaker 1: then you're going to pare down based on what you 834 00:48:52,640 --> 00:48:55,360 Speaker 1: know about that person, like is that person a neat freak? 835 00:48:55,480 --> 00:48:58,480 Speaker 1: If so, they're probably going to put that apple away 836 00:48:58,520 --> 00:49:02,120 Speaker 1: in a cupboard, which who as that except for neat freaks, 837 00:49:02,400 --> 00:49:05,560 Speaker 1: And you may be right at at your guess, right, well, 838 00:49:05,600 --> 00:49:10,919 Speaker 1: they're definitely not wall throwers at least right right, because yeah, 839 00:49:11,360 --> 00:49:14,600 Speaker 1: so if and that's that's how you that's how Apparently 840 00:49:14,680 --> 00:49:17,160 Speaker 1: that's one theory for how we make guesses, starting from 841 00:49:17,200 --> 00:49:20,280 Speaker 1: brain based, going through personal history and then making the guests. 842 00:49:20,640 --> 00:49:25,080 Speaker 1: And what some research found was that ultimately what we're 843 00:49:25,120 --> 00:49:28,840 Speaker 1: doing here is called theory of mind, right where we 844 00:49:29,120 --> 00:49:34,239 Speaker 1: are have a capability of bestowing the idea that other 845 00:49:34,360 --> 00:49:38,080 Speaker 1: people have thoughts and feelings on other people, right that 846 00:49:38,360 --> 00:49:41,160 Speaker 1: we it's so common to us that we take it 847 00:49:41,239 --> 00:49:44,760 Speaker 1: for granted that we can attribute mental states to other people. 848 00:49:45,840 --> 00:49:48,520 Speaker 1: But that's that's a pretty significant thing. And for a 849 00:49:48,640 --> 00:49:51,680 Speaker 1: very long time, researchers thought that just humans were capable 850 00:49:51,800 --> 00:49:54,960 Speaker 1: of of that. But they found out that no, actually 851 00:49:55,120 --> 00:49:58,600 Speaker 1: some apes, at the very least just apes UM can 852 00:49:58,800 --> 00:50:01,360 Speaker 1: do the same thing. They can attribute mental states like 853 00:50:01,520 --> 00:50:05,880 Speaker 1: thoughts and feelings and emotions to other apes. UM. And 854 00:50:07,000 --> 00:50:10,360 Speaker 1: that's that shows like a higher form of reasoning. That 855 00:50:10,520 --> 00:50:12,840 Speaker 1: was basically the gist of it. That makes sense, And 856 00:50:12,920 --> 00:50:17,000 Speaker 1: they found that true in chimpanzees, Benobo's and orangutans. H. 857 00:50:17,640 --> 00:50:20,480 Speaker 1: That's pretty neat, it is. And one of them, so 858 00:50:21,920 --> 00:50:27,360 Speaker 1: sa Um. Sasha Baron Cohen, his cousin, Simon Baron Cohen, 859 00:50:28,480 --> 00:50:32,839 Speaker 1: is one of the leaders in UM in theory of mind. Yeah, 860 00:50:33,080 --> 00:50:36,000 Speaker 1: we've talked about him before, I remember, but UM. One 861 00:50:36,080 --> 00:50:38,000 Speaker 1: of the one of the big areas that it like 862 00:50:38,239 --> 00:50:43,120 Speaker 1: influences is autism. UM that that people with autism tend 863 00:50:43,239 --> 00:50:47,360 Speaker 1: to have more difficulty attributing mental states and theory of 864 00:50:47,480 --> 00:50:51,839 Speaker 1: mind to other people than people who don't have autism. Right, 865 00:50:53,120 --> 00:50:54,640 Speaker 1: And but one of the one of the ways that 866 00:50:54,760 --> 00:50:56,279 Speaker 1: they find this out, and I think one of the 867 00:50:56,280 --> 00:50:59,160 Speaker 1: ways that they detect autism and young kids is by 868 00:50:59,239 --> 00:51:02,040 Speaker 1: attributing also beliefs to other people. This is like an 869 00:51:02,080 --> 00:51:05,160 Speaker 1: early part of human development. And apparently apes are good 870 00:51:05,200 --> 00:51:09,040 Speaker 1: at it too. Where you are an observer, right, and 871 00:51:09,239 --> 00:51:13,600 Speaker 1: you're watching a scene and there's a little boy named Tommy, 872 00:51:13,920 --> 00:51:15,759 Speaker 1: and Tommy comes in the room and he grabs the 873 00:51:15,840 --> 00:51:18,960 Speaker 1: three Musketeers off of the kitchen counter, and he walks 874 00:51:19,040 --> 00:51:21,640 Speaker 1: over to a chest of drawers and he puts it 875 00:51:21,680 --> 00:51:24,200 Speaker 1: in one of the drawers and walks out of the room. Well, 876 00:51:24,360 --> 00:51:28,319 Speaker 1: Sally comes in, and the narrator says, Sally is really 877 00:51:28,440 --> 00:51:31,520 Speaker 1: hungry for three musketeers. She knows it was last on 878 00:51:31,640 --> 00:51:34,279 Speaker 1: the table. Where is she going to look for the 879 00:51:34,400 --> 00:51:39,160 Speaker 1: three musketeers? And people with um with theory of mind, 880 00:51:39,400 --> 00:51:41,919 Speaker 1: who are able to attribute false beliefs to other people, 881 00:51:41,960 --> 00:51:44,600 Speaker 1: will say, well, Sally is gonna go look on the table, 882 00:51:45,040 --> 00:51:48,319 Speaker 1: even though it's not there any longer. Because Tommy put 883 00:51:48,400 --> 00:51:52,279 Speaker 1: it in the drawer. You can know that Sally can 884 00:51:52,400 --> 00:51:55,600 Speaker 1: believe something that's no longer correct. If you have trouble 885 00:51:55,680 --> 00:51:59,600 Speaker 1: with theory of mind, and specifically if you're testing for autism, UM, 886 00:52:00,320 --> 00:52:03,160 Speaker 1: that child, the child with autism might say, well, Sally's 887 00:52:03,160 --> 00:52:05,239 Speaker 1: gonna go look in the drawer because that's where it is. 888 00:52:05,520 --> 00:52:08,719 Speaker 1: They have trouble attributing false beliefs to people. What's true 889 00:52:08,880 --> 00:52:12,200 Speaker 1: is true and everybody would know that. And that's one 890 00:52:12,239 --> 00:52:14,080 Speaker 1: way that they test for autism. And it has to 891 00:52:14,160 --> 00:52:17,960 Speaker 1: do a theory of mine. Interesting, isn't it? And it 892 00:52:18,200 --> 00:52:20,960 Speaker 1: has with it all has to do with guessing. Man, 893 00:52:21,960 --> 00:52:25,120 Speaker 1: you got anything else? Well, just that Tommy should uh 894 00:52:25,480 --> 00:52:30,440 Speaker 1: not be so touchy? Well? Yeah, and like share the 895 00:52:30,480 --> 00:52:34,040 Speaker 1: Three Musketeers. Yeah, do you know? Do you know why 896 00:52:34,480 --> 00:52:38,280 Speaker 1: three Musketeers are called that? I have no idea, my friend. 897 00:52:38,560 --> 00:52:41,480 Speaker 1: It used to be a Neopolitan candy that came in 898 00:52:41,640 --> 00:52:46,279 Speaker 1: three different pieces, chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla, and they just 899 00:52:46,680 --> 00:52:49,680 Speaker 1: went with chocolate after a while and kept the name 900 00:52:49,680 --> 00:52:54,800 Speaker 1: because why not. Yeah. Interesting, Well, let's say it about 901 00:52:54,840 --> 00:52:58,239 Speaker 1: three Musketeers for today, and hey, Chuck, before we go 902 00:52:58,480 --> 00:53:02,320 Speaker 1: to listener mail, I want to give a huge congratulations 903 00:53:02,400 --> 00:53:06,280 Speaker 1: from us to Stephen and Jane, our buddies the Bars, 904 00:53:06,880 --> 00:53:10,160 Speaker 1: on the birth of their first born child. Yeah, how 905 00:53:10,239 --> 00:53:14,759 Speaker 1: about that congratulations you guys? Good looking baby too? Is 906 00:53:14,800 --> 00:53:19,240 Speaker 1: they're not all good looking? No? No, it's true, especially 907 00:53:19,360 --> 00:53:21,839 Speaker 1: like right after birth. And because they're New Yorkers, they 908 00:53:22,080 --> 00:53:25,360 Speaker 1: walked home from the hospital. Like, how great is that? 909 00:53:25,760 --> 00:53:28,080 Speaker 1: They I'm surprised they didn't take the subway but that's 910 00:53:28,080 --> 00:53:30,319 Speaker 1: what you do. It is. They are pretty New York. 911 00:53:30,400 --> 00:53:34,960 Speaker 1: It's awesome, so they congratulations. It's one congratulations Bars. Okay, well, 912 00:53:35,040 --> 00:53:41,000 Speaker 1: since we said congratulations Bars, it's time for a listener mail. Yeah, 913 00:53:41,080 --> 00:53:43,880 Speaker 1: this one was a little long, but it's about registering 914 00:53:43,920 --> 00:53:47,080 Speaker 1: to vote in Texas. We got an email for Monica 915 00:53:47,280 --> 00:53:50,800 Speaker 1: and her story goes as such. Uh, in two thousand thirteen, 916 00:53:50,800 --> 00:53:53,440 Speaker 1: to move from Alabama to Texas at a really horrific time, 917 00:53:53,480 --> 00:53:55,320 Speaker 1: trying to register to vote where I went to the 918 00:53:55,360 --> 00:53:57,680 Speaker 1: county clerk's office. I looked online to check what I needed, 919 00:53:58,040 --> 00:54:00,120 Speaker 1: downloaded the application so I could have a filled out 920 00:54:00,160 --> 00:54:04,120 Speaker 1: in advance. It took my Alabama driver's license, my lease, 921 00:54:04,560 --> 00:54:07,640 Speaker 1: my birth certificate, and because I am divorced, my divorce 922 00:54:07,800 --> 00:54:11,759 Speaker 1: decree stipulating my legal name change. You'd probably think that 923 00:54:11,760 --> 00:54:15,080 Speaker 1: would be else you needed, right right? No. No. Once 924 00:54:15,120 --> 00:54:16,640 Speaker 1: I got there, I was told that the lease was 925 00:54:16,719 --> 00:54:19,360 Speaker 1: not sufficient prove residency and that I would need to 926 00:54:19,440 --> 00:54:22,799 Speaker 1: bring two pieces of official mail, like utility bill, tax bill. 927 00:54:23,200 --> 00:54:25,120 Speaker 1: So I leave after spending the better part of a 928 00:54:25,200 --> 00:54:28,080 Speaker 1: day waiting in line waiting UH for my power and 929 00:54:28,120 --> 00:54:30,280 Speaker 1: gas bill to com in order to add the other documents. 930 00:54:30,400 --> 00:54:32,360 Speaker 1: A couple of weeks later, with all of the documents 931 00:54:32,400 --> 00:54:34,680 Speaker 1: in hand, I took another day off work went back 932 00:54:34,719 --> 00:54:37,440 Speaker 1: to try again. This time, the clerk looks over the 933 00:54:37,520 --> 00:54:40,600 Speaker 1: divorce decree and notices my name change wasn't to go 934 00:54:40,760 --> 00:54:43,799 Speaker 1: back to my maiden name. Uh. This was a name 935 00:54:43,960 --> 00:54:46,800 Speaker 1: change that was ordered by a court in Alabama and 936 00:54:46,880 --> 00:54:50,200 Speaker 1: explicitly spelled out in a notarized document that the clerk 937 00:54:50,320 --> 00:54:53,000 Speaker 1: was disputing its validity. When I asked what the problem was, 938 00:54:53,080 --> 00:54:55,719 Speaker 1: he said, well, that's in Alabama. If you want to 939 00:54:56,320 --> 00:54:58,320 Speaker 1: that to be your official name in Texas, you have 940 00:54:58,400 --> 00:55:02,959 Speaker 1: to go through the courts. Uh, have a a draw 941 00:55:03,360 --> 00:55:05,760 Speaker 1: at noon in the center of town with the judge, 942 00:55:07,080 --> 00:55:11,279 Speaker 1: a shootout. What's that called a quick draw? Now? He said, 943 00:55:11,320 --> 00:55:12,560 Speaker 1: you'll have to go through the courts and have it 944 00:55:12,640 --> 00:55:16,160 Speaker 1: declared here in Texas. After literally blinking at him silently 945 00:55:16,239 --> 00:55:18,719 Speaker 1: with my mouth agape for a moment, I said, you're 946 00:55:18,760 --> 00:55:20,839 Speaker 1: telling me that the divorce in Alabama is a valid 947 00:55:20,880 --> 00:55:23,440 Speaker 1: because it was judicated in Alabama, that I am going 948 00:55:23,520 --> 00:55:25,239 Speaker 1: to have to go through the whole process of getting 949 00:55:25,640 --> 00:55:27,640 Speaker 1: a divorce again for it to be official in Texas. 950 00:55:27,680 --> 00:55:29,920 Speaker 1: Is that correct? His reply was, well, when you put 951 00:55:29,960 --> 00:55:32,320 Speaker 1: it that way, it sounds silly, but yes, so I 952 00:55:32,400 --> 00:55:35,560 Speaker 1: demanded to speak with a supervisor. The clerk got the supervisor, 953 00:55:35,640 --> 00:55:38,160 Speaker 1: who looked over everything and asked why I didn't just 954 00:55:38,239 --> 00:55:41,279 Speaker 1: go back to my maiden name, which I replied, it 955 00:55:41,360 --> 00:55:44,120 Speaker 1: doesn't matter what I changed my name to. You have 956 00:55:44,239 --> 00:55:47,120 Speaker 1: the official document, signed by a judge and notarized, and 957 00:55:47,200 --> 00:55:50,319 Speaker 1: this should be all you need because of the Constitution 958 00:55:50,440 --> 00:55:54,800 Speaker 1: of the United States that all judicial rulings and contracts 959 00:55:54,840 --> 00:55:57,279 Speaker 1: that are valid one state are valid in every state. 960 00:55:57,960 --> 00:56:01,200 Speaker 1: At that point, the clerk walked off. This supervisor said okay, 961 00:56:01,840 --> 00:56:04,680 Speaker 1: gave my stuff to another clerk who simply smiled, entered 962 00:56:04,719 --> 00:56:07,919 Speaker 1: my application and took my check uh, pointing me toward 963 00:56:07,960 --> 00:56:10,200 Speaker 1: the desk where I could get my picture taken. Uh. 964 00:56:10,280 --> 00:56:12,520 Speaker 1: And then she closes by saying, imagine how this would 965 00:56:12,520 --> 00:56:14,839 Speaker 1: have gone. I would have been an hourly worker, had 966 00:56:14,920 --> 00:56:18,080 Speaker 1: less of an understanding boss and not known about the 967 00:56:18,160 --> 00:56:21,280 Speaker 1: ins and outs of the Constitution, or didn't have access 968 00:56:21,320 --> 00:56:23,319 Speaker 1: to all these documents. Chances are I would have been 969 00:56:23,360 --> 00:56:27,400 Speaker 1: disenfranchised driving around with an expired license. These laws are 970 00:56:27,400 --> 00:56:31,440 Speaker 1: absolutely created to suppress voter registration and participation and they 971 00:56:31,480 --> 00:56:38,160 Speaker 1: work spectacularly well man. And that is Monica's story. Thanks Monica. 972 00:56:39,200 --> 00:56:42,680 Speaker 1: Uh and welcome to Texas too. By the way. Yeah Um. 973 00:56:42,920 --> 00:56:45,000 Speaker 1: If you want to get in touch with this and 974 00:56:45,080 --> 00:56:47,719 Speaker 1: tell us a real life adventure that has something to 975 00:56:47,800 --> 00:56:49,880 Speaker 1: do with one of our episodes, we want to hear 976 00:56:49,920 --> 00:56:52,399 Speaker 1: about it, you can tweet to us. I'm at josh 977 00:56:52,520 --> 00:56:55,680 Speaker 1: um Clark and at s Y s K podcast on Twitter. 978 00:56:56,440 --> 00:56:58,439 Speaker 1: You can hang out with Chuck at Charles W. Chuck 979 00:56:58,480 --> 00:57:00,919 Speaker 1: Brian on Facebook or at face book dot com slash 980 00:57:00,960 --> 00:57:03,240 Speaker 1: Stuff you Should Know. You can send us an email 981 00:57:03,239 --> 00:57:05,719 Speaker 1: to Stuff Podcast at how stuff Works dot com and 982 00:57:05,760 --> 00:57:07,480 Speaker 1: has always joined us at our home on the web, 983 00:57:07,800 --> 00:57:14,120 Speaker 1: Stuff you Should Know dot com. For more on this 984 00:57:14,320 --> 00:57:16,800 Speaker 1: and thousands of other topics, is it how Stuff Works 985 00:57:16,840 --> 00:57:17,240 Speaker 1: dot com