Tossing Puffins, Python Vs Python, And Homeopathy. Is. Not. Science.

IFLScience - Break It Down

#Science #News Talk #Podcasting Education #News #iflsciencebreakitdown

50:30

Episode Notes [00:00] The Importance of Questioning [01:21] Introduction to Curated Questions [02:20] Meet Kevin Kelly [03:56] Kevin Kelly's Mentor: Stewart Brand [05:33] The Role of Questions in Intellectual Traditions [06:47] Disequilibrium and Growth [10:21] Embodied Questions and Exploration [11:11] Balancing Exploration and Exploitation [11:50] The Inefficiency of Questioning [15:53] The Abundance Mindset [18:39] The Inevitable and Quality Questions [19:26] Hill Climbing vs. Hill Making [22:28] The Challenge of Innovation [24:13] The Beauty of Engineering and Innovation [24:34] Navigating the Frontier of New Technologies [25:33] The Role of AI in Question Formulation [26:43] Challenges in Advancing AI Capabilities [29:11] The Long Now Foundation and the 10,000 Year Clock [29:56] Transmitting Values Over Time [31:03] Ethics in AI and Self-Driving Cars [33:26] The Art of Questioning [34:04] Photography: Capturing vs. Creating [36:12] The Inefficiency of Exploration [38:36] Daily Practice and Long-Term Success [40:17] The Importance of Quantity for Quality [43:22] Final Thoughts and Encouragement on Questioning [46:24] Summary Takeaways Resources Mentioned Wired Magazine Whole Earth Review WELL Hackers Conference What Technology Wants by Kevin Kelly The Inevitable by Kevin Kelly Cool Tools Project Long Now Foundation Stewart Brand Socratic Method Koan René Descartes Conde Nast Vouge Olivetti Typewriter Trolley Problem Terry Gross Lex Friedman Tim Ferriss KK.org Kevin2Kelly on Instagram Recomendo Newsletter Excellent Advice for Living Beauty Pill Producer Ben Ford Questions Asked When did you first understand the power of questions? Can I do that? Can that be something that you can learn? How did questions function differently between Eastern versus Western intellectual traditions? What role do you think embodied questions those we explore through doing rather than thinking play in developing wisdom? What's on the other side of the hill? What happens if you go to the end? What's the origin of this? How should one think about the exploratory in one's life? Is there anything that you would add to your list of 15 statements that define what makes a quality question? Is there a qualitative difference between the questions humans are asking and the questions our AI systems are beginning to formulate? What do you think would help them get there? Any idea on a forcing function on how we get them [LLMs] to ask the better questions so that they might improve in that direction? What were some novel questions that broke your brain at the time in thinking about this 10,000-year clock or beyond? What's it good for? What would you use it for? What else could you do over the long term for 10,000 years? How do you transmit values over time? How do you evolve values that need to change, and how do you make a difference? How do even know what you don't want to change? What do you want to continue? What's the most essential aspects of our civilization that we don't want to go away? What are the rules? What is the system? How do you pass things along in time and not change the ones you don't wanna change, and make sure you change the ones that are more adaptable so they can adapt? What do you think about questioning itself as an art form? How has being a photographer influenced the way you question reality, visually compared to verbally? Are you a photographer that takes photos or makes photos? What will happen? What will happen next? What are your right now questions that you are wrestling with or working with in your life? Can someone else do what I'm trying to do here? Am I more me in doing my art or more me in doing the writing? Do you have any other thoughts or encouragement about questions that we haven't explored? What makes a good question? How do you ask a good question? What questions do you dwell on to be in purposeful imbalance? What is your practice in embracing the inefficient nature of questions to achieve breakthroughs? What are the new hills you can build and frontiers you can explore? How can you use your curiosity and humanity to pursue questions that trend toward the fringes?…

about a year ago 38:31

MP3•Episode home

This week on Break It Down, “dangerous” asteroid Apophis has a slightly increased risk of hitting Earth, a pig in Hong Kong undergoes an operation by a team in Switzerland, people in Iceland are throwing puffins off cliffs, an asteroid impact over the Philippines just made history, a python somehow managed to ingest another python, and we take a closer look at why homeopathy isn’t all it's cracked up to be.

So sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Asteroid Apophis: https://www.iflscience.com/the-chance-of-asteroid-apophis-hitting-earth-may-be-slightly-higher-than-we-thought-75797

Pig Surgery: https://www.iflscience.com/a-pig-just-had-surgery-by-a-team-operating-9000-kilometers-away-75803

Pufflings: https://www.iflscience.com/why-are-people-in-iceland-throwing-baby-puffins-off-of-cliffs-75820

Asteroid in the Philippines: https://www.iflscience.com/meteor-that-burned-up-over-philippines-is-just-ninth-ever-detected-before-earth-impact-75836

Python eating python: https://www.iflscience.com/in-world-first-burmese-python-is-found-eating-reticulated-python-75787

Homeopathy isn't real: https://www.iflscience.com/how-we-know-homeopathy-isnt-real-science-75811

How Did Dinosaurs Have Sex?: https://www.iflscience.com/iflscience-the-big-questions-how-did-dinosaurs-have-sex-75489

63 episodes

Tossing Puffins, Python Vs Python, And Homeopathy. Is. Not. Science.

IFLScience - Break It Down

published about a year ago

MP3•Episode home

So sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Asteroid Apophis: https://www.iflscience.com/the-chance-of-asteroid-apophis-hitting-earth-may-be-slightly-higher-than-we-thought-75797

Pig Surgery: https://www.iflscience.com/a-pig-just-had-surgery-by-a-team-operating-9000-kilometers-away-75803

Pufflings: https://www.iflscience.com/why-are-people-in-iceland-throwing-baby-puffins-off-of-cliffs-75820

Asteroid in the Philippines: https://www.iflscience.com/meteor-that-burned-up-over-philippines-is-just-ninth-ever-detected-before-earth-impact-75836

Python eating python: https://www.iflscience.com/in-world-first-burmese-python-is-found-eating-reticulated-python-75787

Homeopathy isn't real: https://www.iflscience.com/how-we-know-homeopathy-isnt-real-science-75811

How Did Dinosaurs Have Sex?: https://www.iflscience.com/iflscience-the-big-questions-how-did-dinosaurs-have-sex-75489

63 episodes

#Science #News Talk #Podcasting Education #News #iflsciencebreakitdown

All episodes

IFLScience - Break It Down

1
T. Rex Leather, Glow-In-The-Dark Gas Clouds, And Musical Sea Lions 32:48

15 days ago32:48

32:48

This week on Break It Down: a new kind of leather is borrowing its foundations from fossil T. rex collagen, we’ve just discovered an enormous glow-in-the-dark gas cloud surprisingly close to Earth, a musical sea lion has shown it can keep beat better than some humans, a new-to-science embalming technique has been discovered in Austria, man who let himself be envenomated by all the snakes inspires an antivenom not thought possible, and do scientists have a responsibility to fight misinformation about their subjects? We asked them. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: T. rex leather Glow-in-the-dark gas cloud Get 30% off with code VE30 * Ronan the rhythmic sea lion New embalming tekkers What happens to eyes during the mummification process? Novel route to snake antivenom Scientists VS misinformation 5 kinds of headaches Ballymacombs More Woman *Terms and Conditions: 30% OFF PROMO CODE: VE30 offer for 1 billing period of an All Access Subscription : Annual, 2-Year, or Monthly paid subscriptions only on iflscience.com. Valid from May 1, 2025, until May 24, 2025, 12:00 am EST. To apply the promo code, you must enter it prior to completing checkout. Your credit card will be automatically charged upon checkout completion, and your subscription will continue until you cancel auto-renew. You can cancel at any time. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the billing period, and you will not be charged upon renewal. If you choose to renew, no action is required, and the full amount will be billed at the start of the renewed term. Taxes may apply. Promo codes are not transferable/redeemable for cash or credit. Membership paid subscriptions are only available in Canada, USA, United Kingdom, and Australia. Our standard terms & conditions apply.…

IFLScience - Break It Down

1
Tattooed Tardigrades, Doomed Lava Planet, And Meet The “Bone Collector” 36:06

22 days ago36:06

36:06

This week, on Break It Down: a planet with a very rare tail is being boiled apart, the first physical evidence of a gladiator fighting a lion discovered in Britain, scientists are tattooing tardigrades (for science), what’s happening in your brain during a mind blank, the grim fashion of “bone collector” caterpillars, and five health risks associated with tobacco use that don’t include lung cancer. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Boiled-apart planet Gladiator VS lion Tattooed tardigrades Mind blanks Bone collector caterpillars Tobacco effects CURIOUS magazine Subscribe for CURIOUS Live Whale earwax Should you crack your knuckles?…

IFLScience - Break It Down

1
Dire Wolves, Intersex Whales, And That Dangerous Asteroid’s Unusual Origin 39:01

5 weeks ago39:01

39:01

This week on Break It Down: old skin samples have revealed the first-ever evidence for an intersex Southern right whale, a dangerous asteroid that might hit the Moon has an unusual origin, what dire wolf “de-extinction” really means and how it’s helping red wolves, a mushroom that contains one of the most bitter compounds known to humans, a promising new candidate to topple debilitating long COVID, and is time an illusion? So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Intersex whale Dangerous asteroid Dire wolves and red wolves Should we de-extinct species? Animal cloning as a conservation tool Get 35% off with code POD35 * A very bitter mushroom Long COVID treatment candidate Is time an illusion? Octopus in a bottle Grapefruit and medication The Big Questions We Have Questions *Terms and Conditions: 35% OFF PROMO CODE: POD35 offer for 1 billing period of an All Access Subscription : Annual, 2-Year, or Monthly paid subscriptions only on iflscience.com. Valid from April 4, 2025, until April 30, 2025, 12:00 am EST. To apply the promo code, you must enter it prior to completing checkout. Your credit card will be automatically charged upon checkout completion, and your subscription will continue until you cancel auto-renew. You can cancel at any time. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the billing period, and you will not be charged upon renewal. If you choose to renew, no action is required, and the full amount will be billed at the start of the renewed term. Taxes may apply. Promo codes are not transferable/redeemable for cash or credit. Membership paid subscriptions are only available in Canada, USA, United Kingdom, and Australia. Our standard terms & conditions apply.…

IFLScience - Break It Down

1
Near-Death Experiences, Loch Ness Camera Trap, And Why No Frozen Dinosaurs? 36:23

6 weeks ago36:23

36:23

This week on Break It Down: study uncovers the biological basis of near-death experiences, what a camera trap captured after 55 years in Loch Ness, why it’s taken humans so long to orbit over Earth’s poles, what a sediment core from the “Great Blue Hole” can tell us about the Caribbean’s climatic past and future, why you shouldn’t offer cola to isolated communities, and why are there no frozen dinosaurs? With damn good reason. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Near-death experiences Loch Ness camera trap Loch Ness holograms Loch Ness DNA Subscription offer Orbiting Earth's poles Chundering in space Drilling the great blue hole Don’t offer cola to isolated tribes Why no frozen dinosaurs? How fast to fossil Fossil octopus CURIOUS magazine Keep an eye out for NHM videos Deep sea beasties *Terms and Conditions: 35% OFF PROMO CODE: POD35 offer for 1 billing period of an All Access Subscription : Annual, 2-Year, or Monthly paid subscriptions only on iflscience.com. Offer ends April 30, 2025, 12:00 am EST. To apply the promo code, you must enter it prior to completing checkout. Your credit card will be automatically charged upon checkout completion, and your subscription will continue until you cancel auto-renew. You can cancel at any time. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the billing period, and you will not be charged upon renewal. If you choose to renew, no action is required, and the full amount will be billed at the start of the renewed term. Taxes may apply. Promo codes are not transferable/redeemable for cash or credit. Membership paid subscriptions are only available in Canada, USA, United Kingdom, and Australia. Our standard terms & conditions apply.…

IFLScience - Break It Down

1
Magic Mushroom Medicine, Neptune’s Aurora Confirmed, And First-Ever Shark Sounds 37:09

7 weeks ago37:09

37:09

This week on Break It Down: a new study has become the first to document what sound a shark makes, Neptune has been confirmed to have an aurora thanks to the best telescope ever, a pipeline construction site turned up the terrifying claw of a new species of therizinosaur, why people are trying to prevent measles with Vitamin A (and why it won’t work), 400-million-year-old fossils may belong to a new branch on the tree of life, and the growing role of psilocybin in new medications inspired by magic mushrooms. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Shark sounds Hear a coral reef Sharks existed before Saturn’s rings Neptune’s aurora New therizinosaur Measles and Vitamin A Supplements and liver injury New branch of life? Magic mushroom medicine We Have Questions – How do you rediscover a “lost species”? Videos galore Melanistic penguin CURIOUS magazine…

IFLScience - Break It Down

1
Unknown Lifeforms, How To Live To 117, And Handstanding Sauropods? 39:14

8 weeks ago39:14

39:14

This week on Break It Down: An unknown lifeform has been making micro-burrows in the Namibian desert, the secret to living until 117 has been revealed, sauropods were not doing handstands in Texas 100 million years ago (boooo), should we be attempting to de-extinct animals, an Australian man achieves a double world-first with a titanium heart transplant, and would you rather go to space or the deepest part of the ocean? We speak to one of the only people on Earth to do both! So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Unknown lifeform Living to 117 Sauropod footprints Sauropod handstands De-extinction Titanium heart Spacewalks and deep ocean Cougar photo We Have Questions Blood Rain…

IFLScience - Break It Down

1
Woolly Mice, 3D-Printed Penises, And The World’s Worst Sting 38:52

10 weeks ago38:52

38:52

This week on Break It Down: Colossal Biosciences creates the “woolly mouse” in their mission to de-extinct the mammoth, scientists 3D-print functional penises (and have the babies to prove their efficacy), that gaping hole in the ozone layer really is repairing, IFLScience asks why so few international organizations have responded to Trump and Musk’s attack on US science, humans have been making bone tools 1 million years longer than we realized, and what’s the most painful bug sting? One brave scientist penned poetic descriptions of their experiences. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Woolly mouse Elephant pluripotent stem cells Vaccine for baby elephants 3D-printed penis Ozone hole recovering Attack on science response Bone tool use 4 worst insect stings Blob-headed fish CURIOUS magazine…

IFLScience - Break It Down

1
Rat Sommeliers, Glass Brain, And Internet On Mars 31:58

11 weeks ago31:58

31:58

This week on Break It Down: the curious tale of a lump of glass that turned out to be a human brain, the US sees its first measles death in 10 years, rats make great sommeliers, the evolutionary origins of feathers in dinosaurs, AI bots start speaking a secret language to each other, and could we get internet on Mars? Quite possible. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Brain glass Brain in a bucket Measles death Rat sommeliers Hamsters quaffing wine Dinosaur feathers AI language Twin telepathy Mars internet CURIOUS Polar bear dens More podcasts! Bobbly giraffe…

IFLScience - Break It Down

1
Most Dangerous Animal, Tomb Discovery, And How To Break Habits 35:30

12 weeks ago35:30

35:30

This week on Break It Down: the first ancient Egyptian royal tomb has been discovered since Tutankhamun over 100 years ago, a brand new ‘dangerous animal’ scale reveals the realistic threat of different creatures, architects are operating on land and at the deepest parts of the ocean (they just don’t look how you imagine), a Paralympian becomes the first astronaut with a disability to be cleared for a space mission, the Moon is getting 4G for the first time ever, and how do you break a habit? We find out. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down … Links: Ancient Egyptian tomb Crespo scale Animal architects Termite mounds Paralympian astronaut Moon internet Breaking habits Intelligent snake We Have Questions Murderous turtles Chia egg…

IFLScience - Break It Down

1
Dolphin Pee Party, Inside Asteroid Response, And That Ancient Mummy Smell 40:39

13 weeks ago40:39

40:39

This week on Break It Down: Amazon river dolphins are saying it with urine proudly sprayed directly into the air, an inside look at the planetary defense response to asteroid 2024 YR4 (and no, it isn’t too late), find out what mummies smell like thanks to a team of “sniffers”, whale song follows Zipf’s Law, red light therapy – does it actually work? And say hello to kama muta, the emotion we've all felt but probably don’t know the name for. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Dolphin pee Asteroid 2024 YR4 Ancient mummy smell Whale song Blue whale whispers Red light therapy Kama muta We Have Questions Vengeful Valentine’s…

IFLScience - Break It Down

1
Science Under Attack, Dino-Era Ducks, And Do We Own Our Bodies? 41:33

14 weeks ago41:33

41:33

This week on Break It Down: the world's oldest runestone might have been carved by a woman in a language that predates the Vikings, asteroid 2024 YR4 has a 2.3 percent chance of hitting Earth in 2032 (but we’re not panicking yet), an ancient jawbone might reveal a new branch of the hominid family tree, science in the US is under attack after a slew of executive orders from the Trump administration, a fossil from Antarctica suggests ducks have been swimming around for a lot longer than we thought and we explore whether we actually own our bodies. So sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Oldest runestone Asteroid New human relative Why are we the only surviving human species? Science under attack Dino-era ducks Do we own our bodies? Wound Man CURIOUS Magazine Worst diving accident Rescued frogs…

IFLScience - Break It Down

1
Covid Lab Leak, Mouse With Two Dads, And Are We Living In A Simulation? 44:20

15 weeks ago44:20

44:20

This week on Break It Down: A CIA report says the origins of COVID being a lab leak is “likely” but what does that really mean? The Doomsday Clock ticks closer to humanity's destruction, asteroid Bennu’s sample contains the building blocks of life (but not aliens), the oldest poison arrow dates back 7,000 years, a mouse with two male parents survives to adulthood in a world first, “boomerasking” might be the social snub of 2025, and we enter The Vault to explore why people believe in the Simulation Hypothesis. So sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: COVID lab leak Doomsday Clock Bennu samples Bennu lid is stuck Oldest poisoned arrow Mouse with two dads Boomerasking Phubbing Simulation Hypothesis CURIOUS Magazine Science Hoaxes Salamander Toes…

IFLScience - Break It Down

1
Pompeii’s Worst Day, Peeing Together, And The GOAT Dinosaur Movie? 37:17

16 weeks ago37:17

37:17

This week on Break It Down: a new timeline shows exactly when and how the eruption of Vesuvius spread, chimps have been observed going to the bathroom together all at the same time, trust in science remains high worldwide despite recent global events, sex differences between male and female brains are present as early as newborn babies, and did COVID lockdowns actually affect the temperature on the Moon? Finally, what’s the best dino movie of all time? We asked the experts to find out. So sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links Pompeii Trust in science Covid and the Moon Sex differences in brains Chimps pee together Just in case pee Yawning is contagious Best dino movie Fire melanism Rare black king penguin Corals on the move Curious magazine Subscribe to IFLS…

IFLScience - Break It Down

1
Thylacine De-Extinction, Tattooed Mummies, And A Meteorite World-First 29:43

17 weeks ago29:43

29:43

This week on Break It Down: lasers revealed 1,200-year-old mummies’ sweet tats, the mission to de-extinct the thylacine takes a leap forward, video footage of a meteorite hitting someone’s garden might be a world first, China announces plans to build the solar power station equivalent of “Three Gorges Dam” in space, researchers discover an Iron Age society ruled by women, and how did dinosaurs have sex? We find out from palaeontologist Riley Black what we do (and don’t) know so far. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Tattooed mummies Thylacine de-extinction Meteorite strike Can you keep meteorites you find? Solar power in space Iron Age women Dinosaur sex How did dinosaurs have sex? Podcast Alligators’ penile jack-in-a-box How did the chicken lose its penis? We Have Questions Subscribe Skrunkly crab Sunfish popcorn larva…

IFLScience - Break It Down

1
Precious Penis Bone, North America’s Oldest Dino, And The Mystical Metal Of "Atlantis" 28:16

18 weeks ago28:16