Let's Learn Everything! - TopPodcast.com

Latest Episodes:

Test Ep 1: Machine Learning, Caterpillar Memories, and Love Island May 19, 2022

Show notes

This week we're releasing our very first test episode of the podcast! What are neural networks? Do butterflies remember being caterpillars? And what is Love Island?

Content Warning: Mentions of suicide in the Misc Topic

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We also learn about: what is a dog? stem cell hotel, the giant squid axon, neural networks will be walking and talking soon, why is it called deep learning? Deep blue and Watson, love island AI, Amazon’s biased hiring AI, black hole imaging, completely meat circle, Janelle Shane, Getting flagged on the street to answer if butterflies remember, caterpillar soup, classically trained caterpillars, the y tube, tickling chrysalises, the rules of love island, casa amor, beauty airplane.

Sources:

NYTimes AI Hype

Amazon’s Hiring AI

Black Hole Machine Learning Algorithm

Janell Shane’s AI Weirdness

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Caterpillar Memory Experiment

Chrysalis Memories Experiment

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16: The Trouble with Honeybees, Why Repeated Words Lose Meaning, and Speed Running May 05, 2022

Show notes

Follow Ella's new job's tiktok!

When we say save the bees, which bees are we talking about? What happens when you repeat a word and it loses meaning? And how could you design an experiment to figure that out? And what is speed running and why do we all love it?

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We also learn about: solitary bees dance in their spare time, 25000 species of bees, send your enemies bees in the post, Bombus terrestris, human centric beekeeping, the billion pound honey market, honey bees are important, but also bad sometimes, local bee jobs stolen by foreign invaders, bee to bee pathogens, save ALL the bees, hanging out in the park and repeating words words words, good experimental design, the meaning test tube, tuning out meaning, Zeus, pitfalls of psychology, introspection, “familiar feels”, neutral words, clever Hans, the observer expectancy effect, dream of good experiments goodnight, don’t use flash when taking a picture of your screen, Dragster, Atari, Doom, pacifist runs, Quake done quick, games done quick, lowest percent, link stares at a rupee for 17 hours, bullet time bounce

Sources:

Caroline's Paper on the Western Honeybee

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Sheila Black's Semantic Satiation Review

Titchener's Early Description of Meaning Loss

Semantic Satiation for Poetic Effect

Jakobovits Naming Semantic Satiation

Bassett and Warne Introspective Study

Lambert and Jakobovits Semantic Polarity Experiment

Clever Hans

Schultz Constructively Criticizing Semantic Satiation

Smith Category Verification Experiment

Neural Analysis of Semantic Satiation

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A Brief History of Speedrunning

A Quick History of Speedrunning

Activisions Magazine Volume 1

Marimoto Super Mario Bros 3 Speedrun

Zikubi! Super Mario Bros 3 Speedrun

The Speedrun Where Link Stares at Rupees for 17 Hours

What is the hardest trick in Speedrunning?

Psychonauts Devs React to Speedrunner

Tom’s Favorite TAS Speedrun

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15: What the Turing Test Became, Ella's Bodily Quirks, and Pub Quizes Apr 21, 2022

Show notes

What is the Turing Test, what has it become, and what can we learn from it? How many of Ella's weird bodily quirks do you have? And how did the pub quiz come about?

For the next month only, use code "Everything" to save 60% off your first month of MEL Science!

https://melscience.com/sBGM/

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We also learn about: the imitation game, performative gender, the alignment problem, It’s not blade runner, artifical stupidity, have you heard about eugene goostman?! the alignment problem, CAPTTTTCAHA, archival OCR, thank Turing for Duo Lingo TikToks, Timnit Gebru, Robert Miles, the sociological and economic alignment problem, Ella Syndrome, learn to roll your tongue or else! Artistotle can’t roll his tongue, ACHOO, acronyms were a mistake, spare tendons, what is your earwax texture? the one person who liked Han dynasty tests, unlucky 13, TV quizes, what if we did that? Jay's virtual pub quiz. Jay's virtual pub quiz.

Sources:

Stanford Philosophy Turing Test Page

Computing Machinery and Intelligence

Turing Test 50 Year Retrospective

Google's reCAPTCHA Policy

Github Copilot's Alignment Problem Paper

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A History of Quizzing

International Spelling Bee

Jay's Virtual Pub Quiz

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14: Domesticating Foxes, The Oldest Potted Plant, and Crosswords Apr 07, 2022

Show notes

Could you domesticate a fox, and what even IS domestication? What is the oldest potted plant, and, wait, what does Caroline mean by that question? And how did Tom go from hating crosswords to loving them?

The photo we mention of Mecta the Fox Pup

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We also learn about: the first domesticated animals, one of Darwin’s sequels, floppy ears, domestication syndrome, the fox bachelor, the neural crest cell hypothesis, our version of Behind the Bastards, cited comment critiques, we all just want to learn, I’ve never seen a plant in the middle ages, we completely misinterpret the question, ella’s old man wisdom, a plant older than america, the anxious keepers of the oldest potted plant, crosswords were a fad, we were always insufferable, relearnig ocular immunity, crossword fuckery, “thirsty” well shortz, what is and isn’t general knowledge? and bad jokes with friends.

Sources:

A New Origin Story for Dogs

Dog Domestication and the Dual Dispersal of People and Dogs into the Americas

Genomic and archaeological evidence suggest a dual origin of domestic dogs

The Silver Fox Domestication Experiment

Early Canid Domestication: interplay between behavioral genetics and development

Red Fox Genomic Regions Associated with Tame Behaviours

The “Domestication Syndrome” in Mammals: Neural Crest Cell Behavior and Genetics

The History of Farm Foxes Undermines the Animal Domestication Syndrome

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The History Of Houseplants

Penjing

Kew Gardens

South African Encephalartos Species

Cycad Palm, Ursula Bucham

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New York Times History of the Crossword

Margaret Farrar

Yes, You Can Write More Than One Letter in a Square

NYTimes Scumbag Controversy

The Hidden Bigotry of Crosswords

How Will Shortz Edits a New York Times Crossword Puzzle (Lorelai)

DownForAcross

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13: The Golden Toad Mystery, All the Things we Left on the Moon, and the Oldest Bar Joke Mar 24, 2022

Show notes

What happened to the golden toad? How many things did we leave on the moon, and what are they? And what is the oldest recorded bar joke?

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We also learn about: The World Wildlife Fund/World Wresting Federation, Agatha Christie’s Mystery of the Golden Toad, publication smackdowns, the amphibian apocalypse, outside my jurisdiction, double callback, the african clawed frog (from ep 5!), on this podcast we stan… Michael Collins, moon poop, moon scalpels, 4 undetonated grenades, moonquakes, no on vomitted on the moon, rating moon items, sneaking things on the moon, dogs in sumerian bars only want to open one thing and it’s disgusting, how many likes did that tablet have? reading sumerian proverbs, the dog understands take it, but it does not understand put it down.

Sources:

The Golden Toad

Thirty Years After the Last Golden Toad Sighting, What Have We Learned?

El Niño–Southern Oscillation

Crump, Apparent decline of the golden toad: underground or extinct?

Pounds and Fogden, Conservation of the golden toad: a brief history

Global Warming Didn't Kill the Golden Toad

First Mammal Killed by Global Warming

The Chytrid Fungus

Stopping the Next Amphibian Apocalypse

Hope for the Golden Toad

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List of Lunar Missions

WSJ Article of Things we've left on the Moon

Nasa Catalogue of Manmade Material on the Moon

Lunar Retroreflectors

Moonquakes

Grenades on the Moon

Correction on Moon Vomit

Biomedical Results of Apollo

Studying Moon Poop

Family Photo on the Moon

The Moon Museum

PBS Moon Museum Investigation

Audio Recording of Almost Forgetting to Drop Symbolic Items

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Images of the Tablets

Sumerian Animal Proverbs and Fables: Collection Five

AskHistorians Thread

Proverbs from Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature

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12: Thermal Biology, Why we have Periods, and Stickers Mar 10, 2022

Show notes

What do heat and temperature have to do with biology? (It turns out, a lot!) We know what periods are, but why do humans have them? And stickers are delightful but how did they come about?

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We also learn about: what is heat? endotherms ectotherms homeotherms heterotherms and poikilotherms, being warm blooded evolved twice, heat generating plants, naked mole rats are weird, the podcast's stable of strange animals grows, kleptothermy, everyone huddles, which animals have periods? mansplaining periods, elphant shrews, convergent evolution of periods, spontaneous decidualization, "pregnancy is parasitic", women's reproductive research is underfunded, georgian beauty standards, stamp based tangents, bumper stickers, and our favorite stickers.

Sources:

Richard Feynman's "Six Easy Pieces" Book

Endotherms and Ectotherms

Thermoregulation

Oryx Heterothermy

Quelea High Body Temperature

McKechnie's Blog Post on the paper

The evolution of Endothermy

Beehive Temperature Regulation

Desert Ant Thermotolerance

Thermogenesis in Plants

Color Changing Thermal Biology

Sloth Poikilothermy

More Sloth Poikilothermy

Poikilothermy and Huddling in Naked Mole Rats

Kleptothermy

Forbes: Why Did Women Evolve Periods?

Decidualization

The Evolution of Menstruation: A New Model for Genetic Assimilation

The Significance and Evolution of Menstruation

Grackhouse's History of Stickers

The History of Sticker Printing

The History of Postage Stamps

Avery Dennison History

Smithers: The Value of the Sticker Market

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11: Guest Steve Rathje, Insect Consciousness, and Theatre Science Feb 24, 2022

Show notes

Special guest Steve Rathje (@StevePsychology) asks us, do insects have consciousness? What, empirically, makes things go viral on social media? And what are the scientific effects of live theatre?

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We also learn about: Outgroup effects on social media, subjective experience and qualia, except for mosquitos, we share genes with bananas are they conscious? the emotional dog and the rational tail, over-anti-anthropomorphism, tiktok survey of insect consciousness, would aliens think we are conscious? Steve’s at the party talking about qualia again! Sondheim, Sarah Ruhl’s magical realism absurdist plays, Steve’s study on the effect of live theater on empathy, solving Sondheim vs Weber scientifically, antiperfectionism, the weirdness of going viral, different types of online engagement, buy our supplements!

Sources:

Steve's Social Media Paper: Out-Group Animosity Drives Engagement on Social Media

What Insects can tell us about the Origins of Consciousness

Steve's Theatre Paper: Attending Live Theatre Improves Empathy, Changes Attitudes, and Leads to Pro-Social Behavior

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10: Video Game Epidemiology, Sneeze Smells, and Game Jams Feb 10, 2022

Show notes

What can a video game teach us about pandemics? What are the different things a sneeze can smell like? And what makes game jams so magical?

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We also learn about: Hakkar the Soulflayer, npc asymptomatic carriers, just reset the world and change the code!, a disease model with real people, death isn’t temporary, show us the patch notes, self protection fatigue, pandemics are complicated, “look for the helpers, you will always find people who are helping”, only humans can simulate humans, “I sneeze so much”, what scents can sneezes have? smells are weird, phantosmia, Ella channeling Tom’s bad jokes, “all the tubes are connected”, piss breath, “how are we functioning?”, Tom made indie games, the first game jam email, 100,000 Guys, the Ludum Dare, “There’s too many days” “Counter Clockwise”, Hungry Knight!, Tom’s first dream game, thesis jam, Pierrec’s french review of Tom’s game.

Sources:

Lancet Corrupted Blood Paper

Epidemiology Corrupted Blood Paper

Wired Corrupted Blood Article

PCGamer Corrupted Blood Article

Chen 2013 Epidemic Game

Charlotte Eye, Ear, Note and Throat Associates on Smelly Sneezes

Why does my sneeze smell bad?

Acetone Breath

Bacterid Producing Sweet Smells

Losing Your Smell

Phantosmia

Ammonia Breath

Correlation of Ammonia Breath during Hemodialysis

History of Game Jams

The First Game Jam Email

Pierrec's Revied of Tom's First Game

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9: Beaver Reintroductions, Solving Mazes, and ASMR Jan 27, 2022

Show notes

What are the benefits of reintroducing a species after 400 years? Why do we make rats solve mazes, and can slime molds solve mazes? What is ASMR, and how did it become such a thing?

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We also learn about: Beavery introductions, vanilla flavor usually isn’t castorium, beavers support everyone in the wetlands, Tom’s gonna make a joke, The Scottish Beaver Trial, impatient beavers, international legal beaver issues, failed reintroductions are beautiful, auto sound mmm rad, autonomus sensory meridian response, her royal majesty’s asmr, and Ella’s favorite ASMR videos.

Sources:

Beavers and Castoreum

RSPB on Beaver Reintroductions

Scottish Wildlife Trust Report on Beavers in Knapdale

Scottish Wild Land Group on the Tay Beavers

Legal Battle over Beavers

Oranguta Reintroductions

Short-haired Bumblebee Reintroductions

Berger-Tal on Openness about Failed Reintroductions

Conservation Translocations: a Review of Common Difficulties and Promising Directions

Willard Small's First Rat Maze Study

Slime Mold Maze Study

Maze Solving Using Fatty Acid Chemistry

Tolman's Better Mazes

Dashiell Maze Criticism

Morris Water Maze

Advanced Morris Water Maze Study

Wire Interview with Mycologist Anne Pringle

Crinkle Crinkle Little Shirt

History of ASMR

The First Dedicated Whispering Channel

BBC Interview with Whispers Red

Cardi B ASMR

ASMR to Help you Sleep Beating you Until your Unconscious

1300s AD ASMR - Nun Takes Care of You in Bed (You Have the Plague)

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8: Recorded Sound, Prosopagnosic Pareidolia, and Meeting David Attenborough Jan 13, 2022

Show notes

To start the new year we learn about the science and history of recording sound, consider whether people with Prosopagnosia experience Pareidolia, and relive what it was like for Caroline to meet the one and only Sir David Attenborough.

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We also learn about: The Phonoautograph, unplayable recordings, “drop the auto, just, Phonograph”, did you write that joke down tom, debunking Edison’s first recording, someone pretending to be a pigeon, Before or After Recorded Audio? Why did it take us so long to record audio? analog vs digital, Janet’s episode, turning pictures into audio, can you believe Janet’s new pennyfarthing? Do people with Farragolia experience glossolalia, cars do have faces, “you just turned into somebdy else”, the answer is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, aphantasia, throwaway sentences in studies, get high and get deep, and the Caroline Roper Studio for TikToks of Science.

Sources:

The Phonoautograph

Debunking Edison's Fist Recording

The Recoording That Never Wanted to be Heard

Early Sound Recordings

Alexander Graham Bell's Ear Phonoautograph

The Dawn of Digital Recording

The Earliest Recording

Prosopagnosia

Fusiforum Face Area

The Case of Ron Blackwell

The Neurons That Mistook a Hat for a Face