Something You Should Know

Latest Episodes:

SYSK Choice: The Science of Fear & How to Be A Great Communicator May 27, 2023

Show notes

Ask people what their favorite or lucky number is, and you will get a lot of different answers. But if you ask enough people and you start to notice that one number emerges as the clear winner above the others. This episode begins with that number and why it is so popular. Source: Alex Bellos author of Here’s Looking at Euclid (https://amzn.to/3wgjt3z)

We are all afraid of something . Maybe it is spiders or the dark or public speaking. Whatever it is, that creates that feeling of fear in you can be very powerful. Where do fears come from? Why are some people more afraid than others? Do fears last a lifetime or can you eliminate or reduce them? If you have ever wondered about these things, you should listen to my guest Eva Holland. Eva is a writer who had some very strong fears that held her back. As a result, she decided to research the topic in preparation to write her book Nerve: Adventures in the Science of Fear (https://amzn.to/3pK2rrW). Listen as she offers some great insight and advice about all the things that make you afraid.

There are so many skills and factors that go into how you communicate to connect, influence and persuade others. There is a good chance you aren’t using all the skills at your disposal according to David JP Phillips. David studied over 5,000 speakers to discover the skills that make them such great communicators. Listen as he joins me to explain some of these skills that you can easily use to make you more influential and better able to speak with others.

To learn more about David’s 110 communication skills go to: www.HeadGain.com. His TED Talk is here: https://bit.ly/3cDctG9

Doesn’t it seem weird when you are stuck in a traffic jam then it turns out there was no real reason for it? Why do these phantom traffic jams happen? Is there a way to stop them from happening? Listen as I explain. https://www.livescience.com/61862-why-phantom-traffic-jams-happen.html

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What Every Traveler Must Know Today & Is There Intelligent Alien Life Out There? May 25, 2023

Show notes

Here’s some good advice: SLOW DOWN! This episode begins with a list of things you do every day that you would actually do better if you did them slower. Source: Debbie Mandel, author of Addicted to Stress https://amzn.to/45kCGDc

Traveling today can be difficult. Still, people like to travel. So, if you are heading off on vacation or taking a trip of any kind, you will enjoy hearing my guest, Patricia Schultz. She is a veteran travel journalist who has accumulated a knowledge base of travel hacks and tricks and otherwise great advice that she joins me with to share with you. And a lot of what she has to say, you probably haven’t heard before. Patricia is author of the book Why We Travel: 100 Reasons To See The World (https://amzn.to/45twsAW)

Is there intelligent life elsewhere in the universe? People have been asking that question for a long time. And the answer seems to be – we just don’t know. Still, the idea of alien life captures our imagination. If it has captured your imagination, you are really going to like listening to my guest, Jaime Green. She is a science writer, editor, and teacher, and author of the book The Possibility of Life: Science, Imagination, and Our Quest for Kinship in the Cosmos (https://amzn.to/45iVumb)

How many times have you heard that you should never wash your good kitchen knives in the dishwasher? Why? What’s the worst that could happen? Actually, that’s just one of several pieces of kitchen wisdom that I tackle in this episode and the explanations may come as a surprise. https://www.consumerreports.org/dishwashers/things-to-never-put-in-dishwasher/

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The Very Excellent Reasons We Have a 7-Day Week & How Cats Became Pets May 22, 2023

Show notes

As you know, you can’t tickle yourself. But if you are ticklish, anyone else can tickle you. So why is that? Even if you know someone is about to tickle you, it still tickles. Listen as this episode begins with an explanation of how tickling works. http://www.livescience.com/3882-tickle.html

Our culture – in fact the whole world lives on schedule of a 7-day week. Yet, the week is a totally artificial, man-made invention. Other ways of measuring time such as days, hours, months and years are related to the sun, the moon, the rotation of the earth and other things – but the week is all just made up. Yet it works so exquisitely well! Imagine life with the week. Your schedule would be a disaster. Here to discuss how the week came into being and why it is so important is David Henkin, a professor of history at the University of California at Berkley and author of book The Week: A History of the Unnatural Rhythms That Made Us Who We Are (https://amzn.to/3InCDwl)

Are you a cat lover? There are millions of them. And even if you are not, you have probably lived in or spent time in a home with cats. Where did cats come from? How did they get to be household pets? And what’s really interesting is that having an indoor cat didn’t actually become a thing until the 1930’s. That’s an interesting story. And here to discuss all this is Jonathan B. Losos an evolutionary biologist at Washington University and author of the book The Cat’s Meow: How Cats Evolved from The Savanna to Your Sofa (https://amzn.to/41PpAe1).

If you have valuables in your home, where is the best place to hide them? The freezer? A dresser drawer? No. There’s another place that burglars almost never look. Listen and I will tell you where that is. https://www.rd.com/list/where-do-burglars-look/

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SYSK Choice: The Science of Happily Ever After & How To Rethink Anything May 20, 2023

Show notes

When you have a smart phone, you can take pictures of anything, anytime, anywhere. This episode starts with one very simple piece of advice that can make the pictures you take more interesting and more memorable. And it is really, really simple. https://daystarvisions.com/Docs/Tuts/Comp/

Love isn’t always easy. In fact, it can be really hard sometimes. That’s because despite our desire and need for love – we are not especially good at it. Perhaps that is because we are looking for the wrong characteristics in a partner according to Ty Tashiro. Ty is a psychologist, social scientist and author of the book, The Science of Happily Ever After: What Really Matters in the Search for True Love (https://amzn.to/3o3IWtO). Listen as he explains what turns out to be really important but is often overlooked in creating a lasting love relationship.

We are all taught from an early age that it is important to learn and think. Yet just as important as learning and thinking are - UN-learning and RE-thinking are also critical. Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist, host of the very successful TED podcast called Work Life with Adam Grant https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/worklife-with-adam-grant/id1346314086?mt=2) and his latest book is called Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know (https://amzn.to/3o51NVk). Adam joins me to explain how to unlearn and rethink and what happens when you do it well.

Does it actually matter what brand of gasoline you put in your car? After all, gasoline is gasoline – right? Listen and find out why that is not exactly true. https://www.thoughtco.com/does-it-matter-where-get-gas-607905

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We really like The Jordan Harbinger Show! Check outhttps://jordanharbinger.com/startOR search foriton Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen!

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The Benefits of Finding Wonder In The World & What Is Money and How Does It Work? May 18, 2023

Show notes

Where and when did someone come up with the idea for sunglasses? This episode begins with a brief history that goes way back in time to the very first sunglasses and how our modern-day sunglasses came about not so long ago. http://www.glasseshistory.com/glasses-history/history-of-sunglasses/

You know what wonder is. It’s that feeling you get when you see the Grand Canyon for the first time or a double rainbow or a beautiful sunset. The problem is we tend to lose our sense of wonder over time. Still, it is an emotion worth developing according to Monica Parker. She is a world-renowned speaker who has spent decades helping people discover how to lead and live wonderfully. She is also author of the book The Power of Wonder (https://amzn.to/3I5F5Y4). Listen as she explains the amazing mental, emotional and physical benefits of finding wonder in your world – and exactly how to do it.

What is money and how does it work? There is a lot of misunderstanding about this topic. For example, people worry about the federal government running out of money or not being able to pay its bills. That can’t happen according to L. Randall Wray, a professor of Economics at Bard College, Senior Scholar at the Levy Economics Institute and author of Money for Beginners: An Illustrated Guide (https://amzn.to/42BuPPG). Listen as he discusses how money works, how it has changed and what the future of money is.

You know those people who say they can get by with 4-5 hours of sleep? Really? What happens when you test people who sleep so little compared to people who sleep a full 8 hours? Listen as I explain what happens to people who try to perform on very little sleep. https://www.restoringhealth.center/how-many-hours-of-sleep-do-you-actually-need

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We really like The Jordan Harbinger Show! Check outhttps://jordanharbinger.com/startOR search foriton Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen!

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Why We All Get Stuck In Life and How To Get Unstuck & The New Science of Longevity May 15, 2023

Show notes

You know that if you don’t drink enough water you get dehydrated. Still, there are other factors that can accelerate dehydration you may not be aware of. This episode begins by explaining what situations can bring this on, even if you think you are taking in plenty of water. https://www.eatingwell.com/article/8034255/sneaky-reasons-youre-dehydrated-nothing-to-do-with-water/

We all get stuck in life. Whether it is a job, relationship, a project or just trying to come up with a new idea, it is common to get stuck. Fortunately for over twenty years, Adam Alter has been studying “stuckness” to better understand how and why it happens and most importantly how to get unstuck. Adam is professor of marketing at New York University’s Stern School of Business. He also holds an affiliated professorship in social psychology at NYU’s psychology department and he is author of the book Anatomy of a Breakthrough: How to Get Unstuck When It Matters Most (https://amzn.to/3O2uH7d). Adam joins me to offer some great advice to help you and everyone else for the next time you feel stuck.

Everyone has heard that the way to live a long and healthy life is to eat right, exercise, get enough sleep...etc. That’s been the advice for a long time and frankly, it is a bit vague. That’s why you need to listen to my guest Peter Atia, MD. Peter serves on the editorial board for the journal Aging. He is the host of The Drive, one of the most popular podcasts covering the topics of health, medicine, and longevity. And he is the author of a monster best-selling book called Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity (https://amzn.to/3VTaWBa). If you want to know how to improve the quality and length of your life, you need to hear what Peter Atia has to say.

When someone gets motion sickness in the car – what do you do? Listen as I explain what works to help prevent motion sickness and what alleviates the symptoms once someone starts to feel that horrible feeling. https://www.ahchealthenews.com/2016/05/13/tips-preventing-treating-motion-sickness/

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SYSK Choice: Your Illusion of Knowledge & Has Restaurant Nutrition Really Improved? May 13, 2023

Show notes

Timing is important, especially when it comes to the big life decisions you make. In fact, the time of day you make a big decision matters a lot. This episode begins with an explanation of how timing can impact decisions you make and what is the best time of day to decide anything. http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-make-better-decisions-2016-11

Human beings tend to think they are smarter than they actually are. We also have a tendency to believe things that are simply not true. This is according to Philip Fernbach associate professor at the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado in Boulder and author of a book called The Knowledge Illusion (https://amzn.to/3toAk1J). Listen as he explains why we think this way and what the ramifications are for all of us.

You might think that with so much emphasis on healthy eating that restaurants would be serving up some healthier and more nutritious food today. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. Dariush Mozaffarian, MD is a professor of Medicine at the Tufts University School of Medicine and Editor-in-Chief, Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter. (https://www.nutritionletter.tufts.edu/). He conducted some fascinating research into how nutritious restaurant meals are and the findings will likely surprise you. If you are concerned about your health, you will want to hear what he has to say.

Pretty much every car on the road has parking lights. But why? What purpose do they serve? Listen as I explain why your car is equipped with parking lights in the first place, why they are likely amber colored (at least in the U.S.) and when you should never use them. https://www.infobloom.com/what-are-parking-lights.htm

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How The “User Experience” Became A Thing & How To Change Someone’s Mind May 11, 2023

Show notes

“Don’t spoil the ending!” It seems no one wants to know how a story or movie ends until they see it end in real time. But maybe knowing the ending first could make the experience better. Is that possible? Listen and find out. alerts. https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/spoiler-alert-spoilers-make-you-enjoy-stories-more

Remember when computers and other electronic devices came with huge instruction manuals? Not anymore. Today we expect things to be user-friendly, so we don’t need instructions. The whole concept of the “user-friendly” and the demand for a good “user experience” actually traces back to a point in time not so long ago. Cliff Kuang is a user experience designer and author of the book User Friendly: How the hidden rules of design are changing the way we live, work, and play (https://amzn.to/37T1Vi0). Listen as he discusses the evolution that has gone from teaching people how to use complicated machines to making complicated machines easy for people to use.

Trying to change someone’s mind is often a waste of time. Clearly, arguing doesn’t work nor does rational explanation. Perhaps there is a better way. Or maybe it just isn’t worth the effort. Maybe people should believe whatever they wish. Eleanor Gordon Smith has researched this and written a book about it called Stop Being Reasonable: How We Really Change Our Minds (https://amzn.to/2R9OxQQ). She joins me explain her fascinating research on why changing someone’s mind is amazingly difficult.

In almost every workplace people complain that it is either too hot or too cold. So how do you make sure you are comfortable no matter where the thermostat says? Listen for a quick and simple secret to feeling just right no matter what the temperature is. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/09/office-too-cold-shoes/502184/

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Why Parking Your Car Is Such a Pain & How Invisible Microbes Shape Your World May 08, 2023

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Drinking coffee in the morning is a pleasant habit for many of us. However, this episode begins by explaining why you might want to smell your coffee as well as drink it to help you think better and be more productive. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6881620/

In many metropolitan areas, parking is the number one land use. The U.S. has 4 parking spaces for every car on the road! So why is it so hard to find a spot when you need one? That is what Henry Grabar is here to explain and discuss. Henry is a staff writer at Slate, and author of the book Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World (https://amzn.to/3HG2xLg). Listen and you will understand why parking is a much bigger deal than you ever realized.

Microbes are those little tiny organisms that you can’t see without a microscope -things like germs, bacteria, fungi. We have a tendency to think of them as dangerous or things that cause illness and disease. Yet, actually most of them don’t cause any harm and some are even good for you. And by the way, you have trillions of microbes on you and inside of you. Here to take us on a tour into the invisible world of microbes is Jake Robinson Jake is a microbial ecologist and author of the book Invisible Friends: How Microbes Shape our Lives and the World Around Us (https://amzn.to/44pGRwR)

While some people do have food allergies, there aren’t as many as you might think. A lot of people who claim to be allergic to certain foods actually have an intolerance to the food. But that is not an actual allergy. Listen as I explain the difference. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/food-allergy/expert-answers/food-allergy/faq-20058538

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SYSK Choice: Improving Your Digital Body Language & How Food Affected Human Evolution May 06, 2023

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Doctors are supposed to know medical truth from myth. Yet a lot of doctors are misinformed – at least on some things. This episode begins with some information about a survey that showed how many pediatricians believe in some common parenting advice that has been proven to be untrue. Source: Andrew Adesman, M.D. author of Baby Facts (https://amzn.to/3h0oPLw)

We all use digital means of communication because it makes it easy to keep in touch with people. Still there are some drawbacks. Often, emails, texts, chats and other electronic messages can be misinterpreted. Erica Dhawan is a speaker and trainer who is author of a book called Digital Body Language (https://amzn.to/3nIkKNc). Listen as she explores how to best use digital communication and avoid the missteps that so often happen that can lead to misunderstanding.

The food we eat today is very different than what humans ate when we were hunter gatherers. Today, much of our food is farmed. In fact, farming changed everything as did the development of cooking. Even herbs and spices changed the way we prepare and eat our food. Jonathan Silvertown professor of evolutionary ecology at the University of Edinburgh and author of the book Dinner with Darwin: Food, Drink, and Evolution (https://amzn.to/3xHpfMx) joins me for an interesting discussion about how our food has changed over our history and what it has done to help humans evolve.

Do you know how often you are supposed to replace things like toothbrushes, pillows or kitchen sponges? Listen to hear some expert advice on when to throw the old one out and bring a new one in. And some of the recommendations may surprise you. https://designmom.com/how-often-should-you-replace-your-stuff/

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