Ed Yong explores the hidden features that make dog noses so incredible.

Many animals, from sharks to elephants, are champions of olfaction (smelling).

Dogs are the most famous. Through their sense of smell, dogs can tell which direction a person traveled and even can distinguish between identical twins.

Dogs can be trained to detect just about anything, including electronic devices.

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About Ed Yong:

Ed Yong is a Pulitzer Prize–winning science writer on the staff of The Atlantic, where he also won the George Polk Award for science reporting, among other honors. His first book, I Contain Multitudes, was a New York Times bestseller and won numerous awards. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, National Geographic, Wired, The New York Times, Scientific American, and more. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Liz Neeley, and their corgi, Typo.

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Expert Michael Spitzer explains how culture can “tune” your musical taste. Do humans have something like an instinct for music? The musicologist Michael Spitzer thinks so. As he points out, every person is born with an innate ability to recognize rhythm, beat in time to it, and to recognize and recall melody. Music-related abilities may be universal, but musical preferences and styles can differ greatly from culture to culture. In this Big Think video, Spitzer explores why cultures interpret music differently, and also whether the internet will have a homogenizing effect on music.

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Chapters

0:00 The musical instinct

1:13 How music is colonized and counter-colonized

3:58 Why music will never homogenize

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About Michael Spitzer: Michael Spitzer is the author of The Musical Human and professor of music at the University of Liverpool, where he leads the department’s work on classical music. A music theorist and musicologist, he is an authority on Beethoven, with interests in aesthetics and critical theory, cognitive metaphor, and music and affect. He organized the International Conferences on Music and Emotion and the International Conference on Analyzing Popular Music and currently chairs the editorial board of Music Analysis Journal. About Big Think | Smarter Faster™ ► Big Think The leading source of expert-driven, educational content. With thousands of videos, featuring experts ranging from Bill Clinton to Bill Nye, Big Think helps you get smarter, faster by exploring the big ideas and core skills that define knowledge in the 21st century. ► Big Think+ Make your business smarter, faster

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The traditional measure of evolutionary success is a population's ability to continue, adapt and grow. By that measure, humanity has been a huge success: our population is only getting bigger, and for a lot of countries, so is our average life-span. Biological anthropologist Agustín Fuentes takes issue with this measurement. In his view, the sheer number of humans living on the planet doesn't necessarily equate to success. In fact, the argument that humans are doing better than ever before is problematic, because it only considers a narrow perspective of Euro-American societies, ignoring other vast cultures and populations. Instead, Fuentes argues, evolutionary success for humans should be measured by our capacity for flourishing, which includes health, security, interaction, and well-being — and importantly, how this flourishing is distributed across our species.

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chapters:

0:00 The overpopulation myth

1:20 Niche construction, explained

4:06 Human nature: Amazing and awful

5:46 The “it’s just nature” myth

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This interview is an episode from ⁠@The-Well⁠, our publication about ideas that inspire a life well-lived, created with the ⁠@JohnTempletonFoundation⁠. Get Smarter Faster, With Daily Episodes From The Worlds Biggest Thinkers

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6 ways to heal trauma without medication, from the author of “The Body Keeps the Score,” Bessel van der Kolk Conventional psychiatric practices tell us that if we feel bad, take this drug and it will go away. But after years of research with some of the top psychiatric practitioners in the world, we’ve found that drugs simply don’t work that well for many, and our conventional ways of healing trauma need to change. In recent years, experts in the study of trauma have been experimenting with ‘new age’ healing mechanisms that are making massive waves for trauma patients. Some of these new healing methods include EDMR, yoga, theater and movement, neural feedback, and even psychedelics. Many of these methods have proven to be more effective than conventional pharmaceuticals. But just like any other health regimen, what works for you might not work for your friend or neighbor. New age trauma therapy is all an experiment, and after enough experimenting, something can eventually work, healing your trauma in a unique and effective way. About Bessel van der Kolk: Bessel van der Kolk is a psychiatrist noted for his research in the area of post-traumatic stress since the 1970s. His work focuses on the interaction of attachment, neurobiology, and developmental aspects of trauma’s effects on people. His major publication, Traumatic Stress: The Effects of Overwhelming Experience on Mind, Body, and Society, talks about how the role of trauma in psychiatric illness has changed over the past 20 years. Dr. van der Kolk is past President of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Professor of Psychiatry at Boston University Medical School, and Medical Director of the Trauma Center at JRI in Brookline, Massachusetts. He has taught at universities and hospitals across the United States and around the world, including Europe, Africa, Russia, Australia, Israel, and China. Check out Bessel van der Kolk's latest book, “The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma”

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CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) is a revolutionary technology that gives scientists the ability to alter DNA. On the one hand, this tool could mean the elimination of certain diseases. On the other, there are concerns (both ethical and practical) about its misuse and the yet-unknown consequences of such experimentation.

"The technique could be misused in horrible ways," says counter-terrorism expert Richard A. Clarke. Clarke lists biological weapons as one of the potential threats, "Threats for which we don't have any known antidote." CRISPR co-inventor, biochemist Jennifer Doudna, echos the concern, recounting a nightmare involving the technology, eugenics, and a meeting with Adolf Hitler.

Should humanity even have access to this type of tool? Do the positives outweigh the potential dangers? How could something like this ever be regulated, and should it be? These questions and more are considered by Doudna, Clarke, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, psychologist Steven Pinker, and physician Siddhartha Mukherjee.

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TRANSCRIPT:

0:41 Jennifer Doudna defines CRISPR

3:47 CRISPR’s risks

4:52 Artificial selection vs. artificial mutation

6:25 Why Steven Pinker believes humanity will play it safe

9:20 Lessons from history

10:58 How CRISPR can help

11:22 Jennifer Doudna’s chimeric-Hitler dream

- Our ability to manipulate genes can be very powerful. It has been very powerful.

- This is going to revolutionize human life.

- Would the consequences be bad? And they might be.

- Every time you monkey with the genome you are taking a chance that something will go wrong.

- The technique could be misused in horrible ways.

- When I started this research project, I've kind of had this initial feeling of what have I done.

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Peter Schwartz, the futurist behind Minority Report, explains 3 steps for predicting what comes next.

It's very easy to imagine how things might go wrong, but it's much harder to imagine how things might go right.

"Futurists" are those who study the future so that the people alive today can make better decisions for tomorrow.

It is impossible to get all of the predictions right. The point of futurism, however, is to envision multiple scenarios in which we can test our decisions so that we are ready for whatever actually occurs.

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This video is part of The Progress Issue, a Big Think and Freethink special collaboration.

In this inaugural special issue we set out to explore progress — how it happens, how we nurture it and how we stifle it, and what changes are required in how we approach our most serious problems to ensure greater and more equitable progress for all.

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About Peter Schwartz:

Peter Schwartz is an internationally renowned futurist and business strategist, specializing in scenario planning and working with corporations, governments, and institutions to create alternative perspectives of the future and develop robust strategies for a changing and uncertain world. As Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning for Salesforce, he manages the organization’s ongoing strategic conversation.

Peter was co-founder and chairman of Global Business Network. He is the author of several works. His first book, The Art of the Long View, is considered a seminal publication on scenario planning. Peter has also served as a script consultant on the films "The Minority Report," "Deep Impact," "Sneakers," and "War Games." He received a B.S. in aeronautical engineering and astronautics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York.

-------------------------------

About Big Think | Smarter Faster™

► Big Think

The leading source of expert-driven, educational content. With thousands of videos, featuring experts ranging from Bill Clinton to Bill Nye, Big Think helps you get smarter, faster by exploring the big ideas and core skills that define knowledge in the 21st century.

Go Deeper with Big Think:

►Become a Big Think Member

Get exclusive access to full interviews, early access to new releases, Big Think merch and more

►Get Big Think+ for Business

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Virginia Postrel, author of The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World, describes how the pursuit of textiles has led to a vast variety of innovations throughout history. Notably, the launch of the Industrial Revolution started with the machines that mechanized the spinning of thread.

The term luddite, which has now come to mean “people who have [an] ideological opposition to technology,” started with textiles. The original Luddites of the 19th century were weavers who rioted when they began losing their jobs to power looms.

Postrel states that human beings throughout the world and across history independently discovered different processes for creating cloth. She goes on to say that “weaving is something that is deeply mathematical… It seems to be this kind of human activity that’s thinking in ones and zeros that’s anticipating our modern computer age.”

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VIRGINIA POSTREL:

Virginia Postrel is an author and speaker whose work spans a broad range of topics, from social science to fashion, concentrating on the intersection of culture, commerce, and technology. Postrel has also been a columnist for The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and Forbes and its companion technology magazine, Forbes ASAP. Her latest book, The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World, examines the development of technology, industry, and commerce through the history of textiles, from prehistoric times to the near future.

Check out Virginia Postrel's latest book "The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World" at https://amzn.to/2RZwJu5

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Here’s how to end an angry conflict in 8 minutes, with @IrshadManjiTV. Educator Irshad Manji emphasizes that diversity is a fact of life, and it should be harnessed to unite society rather than divide it. Recognizing that humans tend to react defensively to opposing views, she offers five key skills to promote constructive conversations.

These include

1) taking deep breaths to facilitate rational thinking,

2) intentionally establishing common ground,

3) genuinely inquiring about the other person's perspective,

4) actively listening to learn rather than to win, and

5) encouraging further dialogue by asking "Tell me more."

Adopting these skills can lead to healthier outcomes in contentious conversations and foster collaboration. Ultimately, an individual's ability to engage in productive discussions depends on their motivation. It is essential to reflect on one's intentions, choosing between a genuine desire to solve problems or a need to assert moral superiority. Only by making the right choice can we hope to harness the power of diversity for the greater good.

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chapters:-

0:00 Our defensive brains

1:52 How ‘slam dunking’ backfires

3:05 The 5-part toolkit

3:27 Skill #1: Breathe deeply (give your brain oxygen)

4:06 Skill #2: Create common ground

4:40 Skill #3: Ask a sincere question

5:16 Skill #4: Listen to learn

6:15 Skill #5: “Tell me more”

7:31 The most uncomfortable question-

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About Irshad Manji: In Arabic, Irshad means “guidance.” My mission: to teach a critical mass of people the skills of moral courage — doing the right thing in the face of our fears. This mission has been a life-long journey. Growing up in a violent household, I made a commitment to use my education for good. That meant thinking for myself. At my Islamic school, I challenged dogma and got expelled at age 14. Later, studying Islam on my own, I made a truly surprising discovery: It’s possible to reconcile faith with freedom. That discovery led me to write two internationally best-selling books about reforming Islam. I recently launched my latest book, Don’t Label Me, about how to heal the Us-versus-Them divisions that are ripping apart America and much of the world. In all that I am and all that I do, I stand for the responsibility to ask questions — and the right to do so, free from fear.

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If you’ve taken a math class, it’s likely you’ve asked yourself “What am I really going to use this for?” Mathematician Talithia Williams has the answer.

The key to understanding math outside of the classroom, Dr. Williams explains, is appreciating how beautiful it really is. Much like taking an art appreciation class, if one were to take a course that highlights the real-world applications of mathematics without the pressure of daunting calculations, complex equations, or graded tests.

According to Dr. Williams, taking a course like this would reveal the aesthetic qualities of numbers and their values, and could transform our perception of math from being a subject to pass to a tool for understanding the world.

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About Dr. Talithia Williams:

Talithia Williams, PhD, is a Professor of Mathematics and the Mathematics Clinic Director at Harvey Mudd College. She develops statistical models focused on environmental issues, including a cataract model for the World Health Organization to predict surgical rates in Africa.

Known for making complex numerical concepts accessible, Williams inspires others through her dedication to STEM education. Williams has worked with NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and the National Security Agency (NSA).

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About The Well

Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional? There are no simple answers to life’s biggest questions, and that’s why they’re the questions occupying the world’s brightest minds.

Together, let's learn from them.

Subscribe to the weekly newsletter ► https://bit.ly/thewellemailsignup

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Author Richard Reeves debunks multiple gender pay gap myths, on both sides of the debate. The gender pay gap has narrowed significantly over the last few decades, with 40% of women now earning more than the median man. But the gap still exists. Why? The main driver is no longer discrimination but rather the different patterns of work between men and women, says Richard Reeves, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Women's earnings decline significantly after having children, as they take more time out of the labor market or work part-time during critical career development years. To further address the gender pay gap, Reeves argues that society should reduce the impact of time away from the labor market, redesign career ladders for more flexibility, and encourage shared parenting responsibilities. Policies such as paid leave for both parents and support for fathers' involvement in childcare are crucial to achieving true gender equality, says Reeve.

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CHAPTERS:

0:00 What is the gender pay gap?

1:13 Is it caused by discrimination?

2:01 Is it a myth?

3:07 “The economic equivalent of being hit by a meteorite”

4:20 How to fix the parent gap

6:14 The deep problems of equality

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About Richard Reeves: Richard V. Reeves is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, where he directs the Future of the Middle Class Initiative and co-directs the Center on Children and Families. His Brookings research focuses on the middle class, inequality and social mobility. Richard writes for a wide range of publications, including the New York Times, Guardian, National Affairs, The Atlantic, Democracy Journal, and Wall Street Journal. He is the author of Dream Hoarders (Brookings Institution Press, 2017), and John Stuart Mill – Victorian Firebrand (Atlantic Books, 2007), an intellectual biography of the British liberal philosopher and politician. Dream Hoarders was named a Book of the Year by The Economist, a Political Book of the Year by The Observer, and was shortlisted for the Goddard Riverside Stephan Russo Book Prize for Social Justice. In September 2017, Politico magazine named Richard one of the top 50 thinkers in the U.S. for his work on class and inequality.

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