Be Smart.

Be Smart.

By Joe HansonScienceEducationNatural Sciences
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Be Smart. episodes

  • What Colour is the Universe?
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    Hint: It's not black
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    When you stare up at the night sky, you might think that the universe is really black, but that's just because our eyes aren't sensitive enough to see the billions and billions of multicolored stars out there. Ever wonder why certain stars are certain colors? And what color is our sun, really? If we looked at enough stars, could we figure out the average color of the universe?
    Read more:
    Stellar classification: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_classification
    What color is the sun: http://casa.colorado.edu/~ajsh/colour/Tspectrum.html
    Star colors in hex code: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/03/10/a-hex-on-star-colors/#.VPPRvVPF-xA
    Color of the Milky Way: http://www.news.pitt.edu/milkywaycolor
    Average color of the universe (cosmic latte): http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap020702.html
    Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment below!
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    -----------------
    It's Okay To Be Smart is written and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D
    Follow me on Twitter: @DrJoeHanson
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    Email me: itsokaytobesmart AT gmail DOT com
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    Produced by PBS Digital Studios: http://www.youtube.com/user/pbsdigitalstudios
    Joe Hanson - Creator/Host/Writer
    Joe Nicolosi - Director
    Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKate Eads - Associate Producer
    Andrew Matthews - Editing/Motion Graphics/Animation
    Katie Graham - Director of Photography
    John Knudsen - Gaffer
    Dalton Allen - Post-Production Intern
    Theme music:
    "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod
    Other music via APM
    Stock images from Shutterstock
    -----------------
    Last week's video: Attack of the Zombie Parasites https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgCQStTSMuk
    More videos:
    Why Does February Have 28 Days? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgKaHTh-_Gs
    Why Vaccines Work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aNhzLUL2ys
    Why Are Some People Left-Handed? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPvMUpcxPSA
    Where Does the Smell of Rain Come From? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGcE5x8s0B8​

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    5 min
  • Why Do We Venture to Space?
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    My ode to space exploration and Discovery... Galileo would have made a great astronaut.
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    Why do we go to space? In the beginning of our space program, the answer had a lot to do with war and paranoia. But with the dawn of the space shuttle, that all changed. Where do we go from here?
    Special thanks to the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center for letting us hang out with the shuttle Discovery
    Link to the interactive Mars panorama as seen on my phone: http://bit.ly/16ttUwr
    Historical footage via NASA
    Music: "Divider" by Chris Zabriskie
    http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Chris_Zabriskie/Divider/06_-_Divider
    Written and hosted by Joe Hanson
    Produced by PBS Digital Studios: http://www.youtube.com/user/pbsdigitalstudios
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    5 min
  • Why Does The Earth Have Levels?
    ...or why do we live on an onion made of magma?
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    Thanks to Miles Traer and Mike Osborne for geophysics help on this one!
    Why does Earth have a liquid core, and how do we know?
    http://scienceblogs.com/startswithabang/2011/09/28/why-does-the-earth-have-a-liqu/
    How many pennies would you have to stack to melt the one on the bottom? http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/2g8jj9/how_many_pennies_need_to_be_stacked_before_the/
    Why are the inner planets rocky and the outer ones are gas giants?
    http://www.quora.com/Why-are-the-inner-planets-rocky-and-the-middle-planets-large-gas-giants
    Produced for PBS Digital Studios
    Joe Hanson - Host and writer
    Joe Nicolosi - Director
    Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKate Eads - Associate Producer
    Katie Graham - Director of Photography
    Andrew Matthews - Editing/Motion Graphics
    John Knudsen - Gaffer
    Dalton Allen - Post-production Intern
    Theme music:
    "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod
    Stock images via Shutterstock
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    7 min
  • Could You Be a Chimera?

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    Uploaded 21-06-19

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    Ever feel like you aren't totally yourself? Well, maybe you aren't. In this video, we explore the idea of human chimeras. In mythology, the "Chimaera" was a beast made from different animals combined into one. But in biology, a chimera is a single organism whose body is made from parts of two or more genetically distinct individuals of the same species. Biological chimeras were once thought to be rare, but modern genetics has shown us that these genetic mashups are so common, that you yourself may actually be a chimera. And even if you don't have part of another body in you, your body is certainly not just one thing. We also discuss the idea of mosaicism and how it relates to cancer, Tasmanian devils, and circus sideshow attractions. #genetics #chimera

    Special thanks to Dr. Emily Zarka, our favorite monsterologist!

    SOURCES: https://sites.google.com/view/human-chimeras-references/home

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    13 min
  • The Reason COVID-19 Is Our Perfect Enemy (and Why We’ll Beat It)

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    Uploaded 06-05-20

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    SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 are nasty enemies. Invisible, mysterious, and deadly, they have spread around the world and caused much of humanity to hide away. Germs like these only succeed and spread because of our social evolution, and our social nature is why social and physical distancing is so deeply painful for us. But evolution has also given us the gifts we need to survive this difficult time.

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    5 min
  • What Is Nothing?

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    Uploaded 23-11-21

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    This is a video about nothing. Hope you learn something!

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    19 min
  • A Slice of Pizza Knowledge!
    How does math keep a folded slice from drooping? And what does pizza have to do with the speed of light?
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    How a 19th Century Math Genius Taught Us the Best Way to Hold a Pizza Slice:
    http://www.wired.com/2014/09/curvature-and-strength-empzeal/
    Planet Money pizza price comparison: http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2014/02/26/282132576/74-476-reasons-you-should-always-get-the-bigger-pizza
    Measure the speed of light with your microwave: http://io9.com/5526055/use-your-microwave-to-measure-the-speed-of-light
    Produced for PBS Digital Studios
    Joe Hanson - Host, writer, editing, graphics
    Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen Inc
    Kate Eads - Associate Producer
    John Knudsen - Gaffer, Camera
    Theme music:
    "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod
    Stock images via Shutterstock
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    6 min
  • Why Are Some Folk Left-Handed?
    We've got two perfectly good hands attached to two perfectly good arms, so why do most people prefer to use one over the other for common tasks?
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    David Wolman's "A Left Hand Turn Around the World" http://amzn.to/1wYqOS2
    (lots more references in there!)
    Chris McManus' "Right Hand, Left Hand" http://amzn.to/1umztyL
    The best collection of the science of handedness on the internet: Right, Left, Right, Wrong - http://www.rightleftrightwrong.com/index.html
    Genetic link between handedness and body asymmetry: http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.1003751
    A gene associated with handedness and schizophrenia: http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/v12/n12/abs/4002053a.html
    Genetic theories of handedness: http://www.rightleftrightwrong.com/theories_genetic.html
    Produced for PBS Digital Studios
    Joe Hanson - Host and writer
    Joe Nicolosi - Director
    Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKate Eads - Associate Producer
    Katie Graham - Director of Photography
    Andrew Matthews - Editing/Motion Graphics
    Dalton Allen - Post-production intern
    John Knudsen - Gaffer
    Theme music:
    "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod
    Stock images via Shutterstock
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    7 min
  • The Science Behind A Game of Thrones
    Valar more-curious!
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    ↓ More info and sources below ↓
    WINTER:
    Seasons of Westeros and the 3-body problem: http://arxiv.org/pdf/1304.0445v1.pdf
    Other possible explanations for the seasons: http://io9.com/5906300/5-scientific-explanations-for-game-of-thrones-messed-up-seasons
    Why those other reasons are wrong:
    http://bit.ly/1hYuRDJ
    http://boingboing.net/2012/05/14/great-moments-in-pedantry-win.html
    http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019103511004064
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milankovitch_cycles
    NOTE ON MOONS AND STABILIZATION: I'm adding this comment after the video goes up: In retrospect I should have said that a moon doesn't *necessarily* have to be present to stabilize a planet. While our moon does cancel out some tugging from the other planets in the solar system, here's a recent paper shows that moonless planets can orbit with great stability even without the influence of a moon. Basically moons aren't required for stability: http://barnesos.net/publications/papers/2012.01.Icarus.Barnes.Moonless.Earth.pdf
    Even more reasons for the seasons: http://www.tor.com/blogs/2011/05/how-seasons-qworkq-in-a-song-of-ice-and-fire
    GEOLOGY:
    Generation Anthropocene's AMAZING geologic history of Westeros and Essos: http://www.stanford.edu/group/anthropocene/cgi-bin/wordpress/game-of-thrones-geology/
    VALYRIAN STEEL:
    Damascus steel: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascus_steel
    DRAGON FIRE:
    Kyle Hill's explanation for real-life dragon fire: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/but-not-simpler/2014/01/02/smaug-breathes-fire-like-a-bloated-bombardier-beetle-with-flinted-teeth/
    DRAGON FLIGHT:
    Dragon-sized birds are biologically impossible: http://wapo.st/1lBV2RE
    WILDFIRE:
    Greek fire: http://www.sciforums.com/what-is-greek-fire-t-68540.html
    Trimethyl borate flame by hkparker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OrisgbsRmg
    MILK OF POPPY:
    Opates: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium
    THE WALL:
    Compression melting of ice: http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/1qkdl0/can_ice_be_compressed_into_water/
    DIRE WOLVES:
    Canis dirus: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dire_wolf
    REAL-LIFE CHARACTERS:
    Abandon all productivity ye who click here: http://history-behind-game-of-thrones.com
    Stark/Lannister feud in real life tapestry: http://history-behind-game-of-thrones.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/porte_saint_denis170-753x1024.jpg
    Joe Hanson - Host and writer
    Joe Nicolosi - Director
    Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKate Eads - Associate Producer
    Katie Graham - Director of Photography
    Edited by Stephanie Noone and Kirby Conn from Arts & Labor
    John Knudsen - Gaffer
    Music:
    "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod
    Produced by PBS Digital Studios: http://www.youtube.com/user/pbsdigitalstudios
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    11 min
  • The Stunning Cycles of Carbon and Oxygen In Your Body
    Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you πŸ˜ƒ) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate
    Click here to dig deeper into Oxygen: http://youtu.be/1PmD2GWB4u4
    Click here to dig deeper into Carbon: http://youtu.be/1PmD2GWB4u4?t=47s
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    OXYGEN:
    Electron transport chain (O2 to water): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_transport_chain
    How Sam Ruben discovered that the oxygen that plants exhale comes from water, and not CO2: http://bit.ly/1vv1p0n
    CARBON:
    How plants convert CO2 into carbohydrates: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-independent_reactions
    Carbohydrates turn into pyruvate: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycolysis
    Pyruvate powers the citric acid cycle, turning to CO2: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citric_acid_cycle
    Joe Hanson - Host and writer
    Joe Nicolosi - Director
    Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKate Eads - Associate Producer
    Katie Graham - Director of Photography
    Andrew Matthews - Editor and motion graphics
    John Knudsen - Gaffer
    Music: "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod
    Stock images via Shutterstock
    Produced by PBS Digital Studios: http://www.youtube.com/user/pbsdigitalstudios
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    4 min

About Be Smart.

From the publisher's feed

We give you deep answers to simple questions about science and the rest of the universe. And also dad jokes.