sift

Taxonomists are scientists (usually in museums) who classify life. They're field has open boundaries which creates tension for the Taxonomists and is a lesson to all of us dealing with boundaries. To read the article this story was based upon go here: http://nautil.us/issue/66/clockwork/why-do-taxonomists-write-the-meanest-obituaries-rp2 This piece was produced by Bishop Sand at Goat Rodeo. This story was originally written by Ansel Payne. Taxonomists featured in this episode: Frank Krell Daniel Leo Gustafsson Ansel Payne Sarah Spaulding Bill Weber This episode was produced and hosted by Bishop Sand from Goat Rodeo, a new kind of audio network.

In this BONUS to our Immersive episode, “Risk,” we explore denial and how most of our lives involve a careful balance of denial to cope with risk. Cindy Gagnon shares her avalanche story to illustrate how denial can be very unexpected. And we hear from several scientists to explain our cognitive coping mechanisms. Are you balancing your denial correctly? Our website: qualiapod.com Listen to us on the RadioPublic app to help support the show: https://radiopublic.com/qualia-6rOPlK/ep/s1!afa59 iTunes subscription: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/qualia/id1399919686?mt=2 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Qualiapod/ Twitter: @qualiapod Buy and read Prof. Philip Fernbach’s Book, The Knowledge Illusion: Why We Never Think Alone: https://www.amazon.com/Knowledge-Illusion-Never-Think-Alone/dp/039918435X

A farewell message from Sift and the first episode of our new show called Qualia. You've probably wondered what had happened to the show, right??? Listeners to Sift will surely love the new show even more. You can subscribe to Qualia through Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-913130677 Or through any podcast app. I like Radiopublic: https://radiopublic.com/qualia-6rOPlK Qualia's website: qualiapod.com Here are the show notes for Ep 1, Risk: In this IMMERSIVE episode, “Risk,” our goal is to immerse you in a soundscape that pulled and pushed you to alternatively feel risk-seeking and risk-averse. To preserve this immersive experience, we stripped out a lot of the reporting we did on the science of risk. Here, you can find out more about the science of risk perception. We’ll walk you through the episode, and point out materials – interviews we did with researchers, journal articles we dug up, books we read – that let you dig deeper into the research. SCENE: You finally make it to the top after a long climb (after a strenuous skinning up). WHAT THIS ILLUSTRATES: This should make you feel like you’ve invested a lot of resources and effort into an activity. Later, when you make a decision, this investment of resources can color your choice even though it shouldn’t if you’re objectively evaluating a risk. FIND OUT MORE: Read Heuristic Traps in Recreational Avalanche Accidents. NARRATION: You’re imagining this environment because it is the perfect environment because it’s the perfect setting to explore your feelings towards risk. FIND OUT MORE: Listen to our interview with Leaf VanBoven (starting at 03:40). SCENE: You’re very close to skiing down the mountain. You feel the powder under your skis. The wind pushes on your cheeks. WHAT THIS ILLUSTRATES: Proximity to something (especially something you find somewhat addictive) makes you perceive it as more rewarding than if you would be considering it from a distance. FIND OUT MORE: Listen to our interview with Fernbach (starting at 39:00). SCENE: CINDY’S AVALANCHE STORY WHAT THIS ILLUSTRATES: Hearing a distastrous result from an expert, which occurs from a similar situation to your own will decreases your confidence in taking the risk and makes you more risk averse. Of course, this is assumming you are not brimming with overconfidence. FIND OUT MORE: By reading SEVERAL(most) of the articles here. SCENE: My intuition is telling me something’s off. Come on, Jake, what are you afraid of? WHAT THIS ILLUSTRATES: Groups heavily influence decision making during risky situations. Males are particularly good at evoking risky decisions. However, there is a lot of nuance in this dynamic. FIND OUT MORE: Listen to our interview with VanBoven (starting at 13:00 and 30:00) SCENE: You’re normally cautious, so if you think it’s fine then I’m sure it’ll be OK. WHAT THIS ILLUSTRATES: Contagious understanding. You can get a house of cards effect, where your knowledge in something rests on the belief that someone else in the community has done the intellectual heavy-lifting and have a solid knowledge of something. However, this is not always the case and many people can believe they have knowledge of something even though nobody does. FIND OUT MORE: Listen to our interview with Fernbach (starting at 48:20) SCENE: Question! Why is one type of snow better for avalanches? How do you know? You just guessing? WHAT THIS ILLUSTRATES: In our lives, we often do not notice complexity because it’s cumbersome and doesn’t actually change our decisions. We have an illustion of knowledge. But in risky situations, complexity really matters and one way to poke holes in our normal knowledge illusion is by asking very simple questions, which will (hopefully) give you more pause and consider more factors. FIND OUT MORE: Read Phillip Fernbach’s book “The Knowledge Illusion”. Listen to our interview with Fernbach (starting at 9:30).

Some people run long distances. Why do they do this? What happens to the body when it can't go anymore? Why are some people addicted to it? We answer most of these questions through the personal experiences of ultra-runner, Jordan Wirfs-Brock, and also hear from experts in physiology and medicine along the way. Enjoy!

We improve our movements. This is called motor learning and it is a very subconscious activity. Hear about the subconscious subverting the conscious mind when it comes to movement, stroke patients getting major benefits from a treadmill, and how punishment is a spice used in violin training. Voices: Prof. Alaa Ahmed - Univ. Colorado Boulder Yinfeng Keynes Chen - Flatiron Strings Academy

Hear neuroscientist, Jackie Gottlieb, take us through some of the field's cutting-edge questions: What is attention in terms of the brain? How does attention relate to learning? Most importantly, what drives us to pay attention to certain stimuli?

New research reveals a strange fact - a special type of channel (HCN) makes us dumb. Hear about basic neuron mechanics and the supposed function of these channels with the help of neuroscientist, Steven Siegelbaum, at Columbia University.

What ways are you hurting your learning? How can you overcome bad news? Why does a shadow in the woods give our brains a major conflict? Listen to neuroscientist, Jackie Gottlieb, on this episode.

As a teacher, the first step to student learning is starting a lesson. This is an incredibly chaotic time for teachers. Hear the thinking behind the first few minutes of class. Voices: Daniel Braunfeld David Sherrin Melanie Mac Gavin Nangle

Stop filling your head like a vessel and ignite your learning flame! Hear what improves learning from a neuroscientist and a teacher. Voices: Jacqueline Gottlieb Shauna Fitzmahan

Listen to what it's like for someone to take a test with test anxiety. Then hear educators question whether a test and/or grades accurately measure learning.

How do we measure learning? Hear neuroscientists and teachers describe how it's done in the lab and at school.

Listen to why it's important to make less connections to learn something. Voice: Jacqueline Gottlieb - Columbia University

Listen to experts define learning and lead us through the types of knowledge to be gained in learning. Then hear the basic explanation of how neurons change when we learn something.

How can you make sense out of anything being said to you in a crowd? This is one of the most interesting questions in the neuroscience of sound perception. Listen to Prof. Shihab Shamma's explanation. Voices: Prof. Shihab Shamma - University of Maryland Prof. Asif Ghazanfar - Princeton University

Listen to research about how we first learn to construct our language through babbling. The explanation is surprising and also have an interesting connection with birds. Voice: Michael Goldstein - Cornell University

Hear about new ideas in the neuroscience of communication where scientists are now considering multiple brains interacting at the same time. Voices: Uri Hasson - Princeton University Asif Ghazanfar - Princeton University Micheal Seaman - Proof Creative Beth Gizmervick - Proof Creative

Hear how our tiny auditory perceptions are shaped by experiences we have before we're even born. Then find out about interesting perceptual stuff going on when we speak two varieties of a language. Voice: Prof. Karen Froud - Teacher's College at Columbia University

Hear how we understand speech through change rather than any specific sound. Try to decipher sine-wave speech and learn why we recognize friends and accents. Voices: Karen Froud - Columbia University Robert Remez - Barnard College

Hear the reasons for the initial NYC subway, the first construction techniques and the current engineering involved in building the new second avenue line. We talk to engineers, historians, and sandhogs in this special edition of Sift. This program is part of the STEM Story Project -- distributed by PRX and made possible with funds from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Enjoy!