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Be Smart.

Joe Hanson

We give you deep answers to simple questions about science and the rest of the universe. And also dad jokes. Be Smart is hosted by Joe Hanson, PhD. He's a molecular biologist and an award-winning science communicator and journalist

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  • Yesterday · 10 min

    Are the Nobel Prizes Still Meaningful in the 21st Century?

    PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateOKAY ↓ More info and sources below ↓ The Nobel Prizes reward the greatest accomplishments of the human race. Right? Then why haven't they changed much in 100+ years? Do they really represent how science is done? And why so few women? References and more: Molly Oldfield - The Secret Museum http://amzn.to/173lLpj Georgia Lupi Nobel Prize infographic: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/11/29/giorgia-lupi-noble-prizes-visualization/ Alfred Nobel's will: http://www.nobelprize.org/alfred_nobel/will/will-full.html Top 10 Nobel snubs: http://www.scientificamerican.com/slideshow.cfm?id=10-nobel-snubs Nobel Prize controversies (like Johannes Fibiger) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize_controversies Women who have won science Nobels http://mentalfloss.com/article/53186/14-women-whove-won-science-nobel-prizes-marie-curie The Nobel ignores how modern science works: http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/aerospace/astrophysics/nobel-for-higgs-boson-discovery-ignores-how-modern-science-works Nobel prize and myth of the "lone genius" http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/the-curious-wavefunction/2013/10/08/nobel-complexity/ Thomas Edison on success: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/02/11/thomas-edison-on-sleep-and-success/ Steve Jobs on creativity: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.02/jobs_pr.html Open letter to Nobel committee: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17863-open-letter-to-the-nobel-prize-committee.html#.Ul8DHWT5n6Q Thumbnail art via catwalker/Shutterstock ----------- Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 36 min

    Something Strange Happens When You Flatten the Earth…

    Thank you to Squarespace for supporting PBS. Go to https://www.squarespace.com/besmart for a free trial and use code BESMART to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Follow me to @pbsterra and watch Overview to celebrate Earth Month with PBS: https://youtu.be/ivoV1rwiYJk PBS Earth Month Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnNZYWyBGJ1F8ofFm4H9UTrHxqU8zngK4 Imprisoned for heresy, Gerardus Mercator later created a map that transformed navigation forever. We explore why his projection distorts the world, how it solved a deadly problem for sailors, and the astonishing mystery of how he used math that hadn’t even been invented yet to do it all. Be Smart explores science questions you didn’t even know you wondered about. It is hosted and produced by Joe Hanson, PhD. We post new videos all the time, so please subscribe! If you enjoyed this video, hit the ‘like’ button, leave a comment, or watch another of our videos! References: https://sites.google.com/view/mercator-mystery-references/home 0:00 A Prisoner of the Inquisition 1:52 The Navigation Crisis 4:22 Who Was This Mercator Guy, Anyway? 8:02 Globes & Heresy 10:45 Why Flat Maps Are Mathematically Impossible 13:27 The Math Mystery Behind the Mercator Map 16:11 How Mercator Used Math That Didn't Exist Yet 19:40 You're Using This Map Right Now 22:56 Is This Map Harmful? CONNECT WITH ME ____________________________________ Website: https://www.itsokaytobesmart.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart/ https://www.instagram.com/drjoehanson/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/itsokaytobesmart A big thanks to our Brain Trust patrons: Baerbel Winkler, Brent Lopez, dani bowman, David Johnston, Ed Eyden, Eric Meer, Greg Olson, Holly, Brett, and Ashe Bullion, Jaap Westera, Karen Haskell, Marcus Pingel, Mike and Patty Loftis, Paul Weir, Reuben Brewer SPONSORSHIP INQUIRIES ____________________________________ Please email biz@itsokaytobesmart.com Stock video and images provided by Shutterstock, Artlist, and MotionArray Music provided by APM Written Joe Hanson Edited by Steven Simone Produced by Least Square Media and Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 7 min

    How Some Animals Engineered Air Conditioning

    Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Thanks to the non-profit edX.org for sponsoring this video. Go to http://bit.ly/edXSmart to learn more from some of the top universities in the world. ↓↓↓More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Here’s a cool idea: SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub Are humans nature’s greatest architects? When we look elsewhere in nature, we find some pretty amazing animal architects. Species like ants, termites, prairie dogs, birds, and more have engineered some incredible structures. This week we look at how a few of these species have mastered physics to install air conditioning in their homes! Special thanks to Dianna Cowern AKA Physics Girl for helping us get the physics right in this video! https://www.youtube.com/user/physicswoman ----------- REFERENCES: Gould, James L., and Carol Grant Gould. Animal architects: building and the evolution of intelligence. Basic Books (AZ), 2007. Hansell, M. (2007). Built by animals: the natural history of animal architecture. OUP Oxford. Cosarinsky, M. I., & Roces, F. (2012). The construction of turrets for nest ventilation in the grass-cutting ant Atta vollenweideri: import and assembly of building materials. Journal of Insect Behavior, 25(3), 222-241. Kleineidam, C., Ernst, R., & Roces, F. (2001). Wind-induced ventilation of the giant nests of the leaf-cutting ant Atta vollenweideri. Naturwissenschaften, 88(7), 301-305. King, H., Ocko, S., & Mahadevan, L. (2015). Termite mounds harness diurnal temperature oscillations for ventilation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(37), 11589-11593. Vogel, S., Ellington, C. P., & Kilgore, D. L. (1973). Wind-induced ventilation of the burrow of the prairie-dog, Cynomys ludovicianus. Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology, 85(1), 1-14. Bahadori, M. M. (1978). Passive cooling systems in Iranian architecture. Sci. Am.;(United States), 238(2). ----------- FOLLOW US: Merch: https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter: @okaytobesmart @DrJoeHanson Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Instagram: @DrJoeHanson Snapchat: YoDrJoe ----------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Director: Joe Nicolosi Writer: Joe Hanson Producer/editor/animator: Andrew Matthews Producer: Stephanie Noone and Amanda Fox Produced by PBS Digital Studios Music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 8 min

    What's The Most Lethal Creature On Earth?

    Besides humans, of course. ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Subscribe to It's Okay To Be Smart: http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub Gates Foundation info on the world's deadliest animal, mosquitoes: http://www.gatesnotes.com/Health/Most-Lethal-Animal-Mosquito-Week Bill Gates' TED talk on malaria and education: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/mosquitos-malaria-and-education-bill-gates Meet the people who are trying to eradicate Dengue mosquitoes using bioengineering: http://www.radiolab.org/story/kill-em-all/ Why do mosquitoes bite some people more than others? http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-do-mosquitoes-bite-some-people-more-than-others-10255934/ FULL close-up video of a mosquito biting: http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/08/06/heres-what-happens-inside-you-when-a-mosquito-bites/ Why don't we just kill all the mosquitoes? http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/07/why-dont-we-just-kill-all-the-mosquitoes/277859/ http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100721/full/466432a.html Half of all people may have been killed by malaria: http://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/17/science/parasites-take-the-biological-spotlight.html Mosquitoes just hate the smell of DEET: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2518096/ Joe Hanson - Host and writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKate Eads - Associate Producer Katie Graham - Camera Editing/Motion Graphics - Andrew Matthews Gaffers - John Knudsen/Philip Sheldon Intern - Dalton Allen Theme music: "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod Stock images via Shutterstock Produced for PBS Digital Studios ----------- Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 11 min

    Why Do You Love Your Family?

    Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Don't miss our next video! SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub You can learn more about your personal DNA story by going to https://23andMe.com/okay ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Why do we love people we're related to? Compared to strangers, why do we feel such a deep sense of connection with our family members? Sure, they're nice to us, we take care of each other, and we often live with them, but there has to be a deeper biological reason. That reason, unsurprisingly is evolution. In this video, I explain why taking care of our family, or even dying for them, makes sense in the eyes of evolution. SOURCES: This video covers more than a half century of evolutionary biology theory and observation, but here's some reading if you'd like to learn more: Dawkins, Richard. (1976) "The Selfish Gene" http://amzn.to/2Dhd257 Fisher, R. A. (1930). "The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection" http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/880368061 Haldane, J.B.S. (1932). "The Causes of Evolution." London: Longmans, Green & Co. Hamilton, W. D. (1963). "The evolution of altruistic behavior." The American Naturalist, 97(896), 354-356. Hamilton, W. D. (1964). "The genetical evolution of social behaviour I." Journal of Theoretical Biology, 7(1), 1-16. ----------- FOLLOW US: Merch: https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter: @okaytobesmart @DrJoeHanson Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Instagram: @DrJoeHanson Snapchat: YoDrJoe ----------- It's Okay To Be Smart is hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Director: Joe Nicolosi Writer: Stephanie Keep Producer/editor/animator: Andrew Orsak Producer: Stephanie Noone and Amanda Fox Produced by PBS Digital Studios Music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 9 min

    CRISPR and the Future of Human Advancement

    Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Part 4 of our special series on Human Ancestry. Watch it all ►► http://bit.ly/OKTBSHuman Watch Mutant Menu on BrainCraft: https://youtu.be/NrDM6Ic2xMM ↓↓↓More info and sources below ↓↓↓ In part 4 of our special series on human ancestry and evolution, we look into the future. Now that genetic engineering tools like CRISPR allow us to edit our genes, how will that impact human evolution going forward? Are designer babies or eugenics around the corner? Welcome to a world of nonrandom mutation and unnatural selection. ----------- REFERENCES: WHO fact sheet on obesity risks and death vs underweight: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/ Jinek, M., Chylinski, K., Fonfara, I., Hauer, M., Doudna, J. A., & Charpentier, E. (2012). A programmable dual-RNA–guided DNA endonuclease in adaptive bacterial immunity. Science, 337(6096), 816-821. Knoepfler, P. (2015). GMO Sapiens: the life-changing science of designer babies. World Scientific. Enriquez, J., & Gullans, S. (2015). Evolving Ourselves. Oneworld Publications. ----------- FOLLOW US: Merch: https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter: @okaytobesmart @DrJoeHanson Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Instagram: @DrJoeHanson ----------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Director: Joe Nicolosi Writer: Joe Hanson Producer/editor/animator: Andrew Matthews Producer: Stephanie Noone and Amanda Fox Produced by PBS Digital Studios Music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 11 min

    There's Proof of Evolution Hiding in Your DNA

    Learn more about your personal DNA story by going to https://23andMe.com/okay Don't miss our next video! SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Humans are special, and we got that way thanks to evolution and natural selection. The proof is right there in our bodies! From anatomy to genes, here are some stories of how you got to be the way you are. References: Miller, Kenneth R. "The Human Instinct: How We Evolved to Have Reason, Consciousness, and Free Will" Simon & Schuster (2018) https://amzn.to/2JD3d3c Booth, H. A. F., & Holland, P. W. (2004). Eleven daughters of NANOG. Genomics, 84(2), 229-238. Brawand, D., Wahli, W., & Kaessmann, H. (2008). Loss of egg yolk genes in mammals and the origin of lactation and placentation. PLoS biology, 6(3), e63. Freyer, C., & Renfree, M. B. (2009). The mammalian yolk sac placenta. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution, 312(6), 545-554. Yunis, J. J., & Prakash, O. (1982). The origin of man: a chromosomal pictorial legacy. Science, 215(4539), 1525-1530. ----------- FOLLOW US: Twitter: @DrJoeHanson @okaytobesmart Instagram: @DrJoeHanson Merch: https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart BOOKS WE’VE FEATURED: http://smart-books.tumblr.com/ ----------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Director: Joe Nicolosi Writer: Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Creative Director: David Schulte Editor/animator: Derek Borsheim Producers: Stephanie Noone and Amanda Fox Produced by PBS Digital Studios Music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 4 min

    The Universe in a Chalice of Wine (Richard Feynman Remixed)

    PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateOKAY ↓ More info and sources below ↓ A poet once said, "The whole universe is in a glass of wine." We will probably never know in what sense he said that, for poets do not write to be understood. But it is true that if we look in glass of wine closely enough we see the entire universe There are the things of physics: the twisting liquid which evaporates depending on the wind and weather, the reflections in the glass, and our imagination adds the atoms. The glass is a distillation of the earth's rocks, and in its composition we see the secrets of the universe's age, and the evolution of the stars. What strange array of chemicals are in the wine? How did they come to be? There are the ferments, the enzymes, the substrates, and the products. There in wine is found the great generalization: all life is fermentation. Nobody can discover the chemistry of wine without discovering the cause of much disease. How vivid is the claret, pressing its existence into the consciousness that watches it! If in our small minds, for some convenience, divide this glass of wine, this universe, into parts - physics, biology, geology, astronomy, psychology, and so on - remember that nature does not know it! So let us put it all back together, not forgetting ultimately what it is for. Let us give one more final pleasure: drink it and forget it all! Get Feynman's Lectures on Physics in book form: http://bit.ly/OKfeynman "The Universe in a Glass of Wine" ... a poem by Richard Feynman, as delivered in the Feynman Lectures on physics. Watch them all here: http://io9.com/watch-a-series-of-seven-brilliant-lectures-by-richard-f-5894600 Clips used in this video: http://bit.ly/1ckkLsz Joe Hanson - Host Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen Inc Katie Graham - Director of Photography Bryan Poyser - Editor Sound Design - Lyman Hardy, Stuck On On Produced for PBS Digital Studios ----------- Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 7 min

    There's No Such Thing As Ice

    Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate If cold isn't real, then how can I feel it? Subscribe to It's Okay To Be Smart: http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jtotheizzoe Follow on Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Follow on Instagram: http://instagram.com/jtotheizzoe You've felt cold before. Sometimes it's cold outside. But what if I told you that "cold" isn't real? There's no substance or quantity called "cold" in science. We can't measure the amount of "cold" in something. Instead it's about what's NOT there. In this week's video, learn the difference between heat and temperature, why a wind makes us feel colder, and what it's like to live as a mass of jiggling atoms. This is the physics of cold Cool PBS NOVA episode on the search for absolute zero: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2jSv8PDDwA Richard Feynman on jiggling atoms: http://youtu.be/v3pYRn5j7oI The movement of atoms in a wind: http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/chem03/chem03448.htm Why a breeze feels cool: http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/72163/why-does-a-breeze-of-wind-make-us-feel-cooler Density of the interstellar medium: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstellar_medium Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment below! ----------------- It's Okay To Be Smart is written and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.DFollow me on Twitter: @jtotheizzoe Email me: itsokaytobesmart AT gmail DOT com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Google+ https://plus.google.com/+itsokaytobesmart For more awesome science, check out: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Produced for PBS Digital Studios Joe Hanson - Creator/Host/Writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKate Eads - Associate Producer Andrew Matthews - Editing/Motion Graphics 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: How many smells can you smell? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yEtBps-BnI More videos: Why Are Some People Left-Handed? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPvMUpcxPSA Why Did We Blow on NES Games? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gf9mtXnJfM The Science of Game of Thrones - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Utu-LpJn3Is There Was No First Human - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdWLhXi24Mo How The Elements Got Their Names - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtg9p6A6xnY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 8 min

    Where Did Earth's Water Come From?

    To learn more about Brilliant, check out https://brilliant.org/BeSmart/ Give us a hand and SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Why is Earth is a blue planet? Because it’s covered in water! Where did Earth’s water come from? Of course, water isn’t unique to our planet. The origin of water traces beyond the solar system to the earliest days of the universe. Here’s the story of the galaxy’s H2O. Special thanks to: David O’Brien, Planetary Science Institute Wendy Panero, The Ohio State University Karen Meech, Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii Shmuel Bialy, Tel Aviv University Avi Loeb, Harvard University Ilse Cleeves, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics References: Bialy, S., Sternberg, A., & Loeb, A. (2015). Water Formation During the Epoch of First Metal Enrichment. The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 804(2), L29. Bradford, Charles M., et al. "The water vapor spectrum of APM 08279+ 5255: X-ray heating and infrared pumping over hundreds of parsecs." The Astrophysical Journal Letters 741.2 (2011): L37. Cleeves, L. Ilsedore, et al. "The ancient heritage of water ice in the solar system." Science 345.6204 (2014): 1590-1593. ----------- FOLLOW US: Twitter: @DrJoeHanson @okaytobesmart Instagram: @DrJoeHanson Merch: https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart ----------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Director: Joe Nicolosi Writer: Marcus Woo Creative Director: David Schulte Editor/animator: Karl Boettcher and Derek Borsheim Producers: Stephanie Noone and Amanda Fox Produced by PBS Digital Studios Music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 4 min

    Why is the Sky Whatever Color?

    PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateOKAY ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Why is the sky blue? Or any color, for that matter? Click here to SUBSCRIBE, it's FREE! -- http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub It's a question that you'd think kids have been asking for thousands of years, but it might not be that old at all. The ancient Greek poet Homer never used a word for blue in The Odyssey or The Iliad, because blue is one of the last colors that cultures pick out a word for In this episode, I'll tell you not only why the sky is blue, but why it's red at sunset. It turns out, those colors are all part of the same sunbeam. And when you're looking at a blue sky, you could be sharing a special moment with someone thousands of miles away. Next time a kid (or the kid inside you) wants to know why the sky is blue, you'll have science to back you up! (We know that the Earth turns the wrong direction in the animation, sorry about that. Something weird happened when we were programming the animation and it got reversed. Or maybe time travel!) References for this episode: http://dft.ba/-4Wus Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment below! Written and hosted by Joe Hanson Produced by Painted On Productions (http://www.paintedon.com/) Music: Johnny Ripper "Speak (with Ekoda)" Kansas Bible Company "Hang Niner" Clips used: "Nature - Time 4 Timelapse" - http://vimeo.com/39145634 "Far and Wide" - http://vimeo.com/27027505 ----------- Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 3 min

    The Sun Is A Magnet!

    Sunspots, solar flares, coronal mass ejections, OH MY! Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Subscribe to It's Okay To Be Smart: http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓ More info and sources below ↓ As massive magnetic fusion reactors go, the sun is pretty awesome. How a CME forms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsXqNNQsS7I More on solar storms from Bad Astronomy: http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/02/05/solar_eruption_a_sun_storm_leaves_behind_twisted_chaos.html http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/02/21/coronal_rain_streams_of_ionized_gas_rain_on_sun_after_a_solar_flare.html Anatomy of solar storms: http://www.space.com/12047-solar-flares-sun-storms-space-weather-infographic.html All the sun science you've ever wanted: http://solarcellcentral.com/sun_page.html Footage via NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, ESA/Hubble, and Pond5 Joe Hanson - Host and writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKate Eads - Associate Producer Editing/Motion Graphics - Andrew Matthews Music: "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod Artwork/photos via Shutterstock Produced for PBS Digital Studios ----------- Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 7 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? Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Subscribe to It's Okay To Be Smart: http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub 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 ----------- Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 19 min

    Can a Billion Oysters Restore New York City?

    Heroes on the half shell… Oyster power? SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ When people picture New York City they see skyscrapers, subways, and a concrete jungle. But the Big Apple is really a seaside city built on an archipelago. In the wake of a century of industrial pollution and climate change-fueled superstorms like Hurricane Sandy, New York’s waterways need help. Learn how Billion Oyster Project is working to restore one of the world’s greatest lost ecosystems in order to clean up New York’s water and protect it from an uncertain climate future. Learn more about Billion Oyster Project: https://www.billionoysterproject.org/ Join our Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart ----------- High fives to all our Brain Trust Patrons: Ed Eyden Jennifer Burton Charles Horton, Jr Holly, Brett, and Ashe Bullion Jaap Westera Mehdi Damou Barbora Bei Burt Humburg dani bowman David Johnston Baerbel Winkler Eric Meer Karen Haskell Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 9 min

    Are We All Family?

    Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate This is part 3 of our special series on Human Ancestry! Watch the entire series here ►► http://bit.ly/OKTBSHuman ↓↓↓More info and sources below ↓↓↓ In part 3 of our special series on human ancestry, we investigate how closely related we all really are. Basic math tells us that all humans share ancestors. But you’ll be amazed at how recently those shared ancestors lived. Thanks to genetic data in the 21st century, we’re even discovering that we really are all descended from one mother. ----------- REFERENCES: Chang, Joseph T. "Recent common ancestors of all present-day individuals." Advances in Applied Probability 31.04 (1999): 1002-1026. Jorde, Lynn B. "Genetic variation and human evolution." (2003). Rohde, Douglas LT. "On the common ancestors of all living humans." (2003) Rohde, Douglas LT, Steve Olson, and Joseph T. Chang. "Modelling the recent common ancestry of all living humans." Nature 431.7008 (2004): 562-566. Stringer, Chris. “Lone survivors: How we came to be the only humans on earth.” Macmillan, 2012. http://amzn.to/2oIFg3q (Library: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/855581724) Tattersall, Ian. “Masters of the planet: the search for our human origins.” Macmillan, 2012. http://amzn.to/2pOZrKS (Library: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/733231407) ----------- FOLLOW US: Merch: https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter: @okaytobesmart @DrJoeHanson Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Instagram: @DrJoeHanson Snapchat: YoDrJoe ----------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Director: Joe Nicolosi Writer: Joe Hanson Producer/editor/animator: Andrew Matthews Producer: Stephanie Noone and Amanda Fox Produced by PBS Digital Studios Music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 6 min

    Putting Hurricane Harvey In Perspective

    Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Replace Harvey with Irma… still true. Don’t miss our next video! SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have affected many in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. Here's a few ways you can help if you're able: https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/how-to-help-donate-to-assist-hurricane-harvey-irma-victims/ "This Is Fine" adapted from comic by KC Green ‪I'm hanging with my new little dude for next few weeks but new @okaytobesmart vids still coming out every week thanks to my awesome team!‬ ----------- READ MORE: What is a 1000-year flood? https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-a-1000-year-flood How people respond to flood risks: http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/7978833?selectedversion=NBD11859807 Yale survey of climate change risks: http://climatecommunication.yale.edu/visualizations-data/ycom-us-2016/ Hurricane frequency and damage estimates over last century: https://www..wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_hurricane_season#Number_of_tropical_storms_and_hurricanes_per_season ----------- FOLLOW US: Merch: https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter: @okaytobesmart @DrJoeHanson Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Instagram: @DrJoeHanson Snapchat: YoDrJoe ----------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Director: Joe Nicolosi Writer: Miriam Nielsen Editor/animator: David Schulte Producer: Stephanie Noone and Amanda Fox Produced by PBS Digital Studios Music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 11 min

    How To Process Science News

    PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateOKAY ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Develop your own science truthiness detector! My favorite places to get science news: http://bit.ly/1dpkiI4 (Now as an RSS/OPML file thanks to @doodlewhale!! https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8365578/feedly.opml ) Also check out my public Twitter lists for more: http://www.twitter.com/jtotheizzoe Those were all real headlines at the beginning. Proof: Universe hologram: http://huff.to/1beW6W8 Chimp/pig humans: http://dailym.ai/1bSQNit Popcorn: http://huff.to/IYEUha LHC/black hole: http://bit.ly/1ce3VRX Squeezing breasts: http://bit.ly/JLTV6L Alcohol = heroin: http://cbsn.ws/19ftjXx Calamari pregnancy: http://bit.ly/1cU5VgQ Autism and freeways: http://bit.ly/1beWtQo Cats: http://bit.ly/J80hME Semen as antidepressant: http://bit.ly/18ZNIwT Quantum afterlife: http://dailym.ai/IYFYBH More reading: How to read about science: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/12/how-to-read-about-science/281855/ This is a science news article: http://www.theguardian.com/science/the-lay-scientist/2010/sep/24/1 Real science and health news: http://scienceblogs.com/startswithabang/2012/02/07/real-science-and-health-news-f/ Baloney detection kit: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/03/16/baloney-detection-kit/ Do the Double X double take: http://www.doublexscience.org/science-health-medical-news-freaking-you-out-do-the-double-x-double-take-first/ PHD Comics: Science news cycle: http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1174 Music: Podington Bear - "Pretty Build" Joe Hanson - Host and writer Produced for PBS Digital Studios ----------- Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 11 min

    Ebola Explored

    What you need to know about one of nature's scariest viruses. Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Don’t miss our next video! SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub Read David Quammen's "Ebola": http://amzn.to/1wBLmzw Ebola infection/death simulation from Washington Post: http://bit.ly/ebola_sim Read the original 1976 case report describing the first Ebola patient: http://1.usa.gov/1svWp7i Ebola outbreak disease info and case counts: http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/index.html Ebola Deeply (a calm take on Ebola news): http://www.eboladeeply.org/ How contagious is Ebola? http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/10/02/352983774/no-seriously-how-contagious-is-ebola Ebola outbreak and symptoms FAQ from WHO: http://bit.ly/1td3TBn Can Ebola go airborne? No. http://www.virology.ws/2014/09/18/what-we-are-not-afraid-to-say-about-ebola-virus/ Ebola: What we should and shouldn't be worried about http://www.wired.com/2014/10/ebola-virus-infection-transmission-death-explained/ Hi-tech Ebola treatments: http://arstechnica.com/science/2014/08/bio-high-tech-treatment-for-ebola-may-have-saved-two-us-citizens/ The political effects of Ebola in West Africa: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/14/world/africa/ebola-virus-outbreak.html?_r=0 Maps of infectious disease vs. public health spending: http://ted.tumblr.com/post/99654182795/heres-what-we-should-talk-about-when-we-talk 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 Graham Hutchins - Editing/Motion Graphics John Knudsen - Gaffer Theme music: "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod Stock images via Shutterstock ----------- Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 10 min

    Who Built the Metric System (and Why It Isn't As Perfect as You Think)

    Meter? …or Metre? Try CuriosityStream and learn something new today: http://curiositystream.com/smart ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Why is a meter a meter? The meter is the world’s ultimate measure, but how did it become “the” meter? What is this measurement based on? The story of this revolution in measurement traces its roots to the French Revolution. Scientists decided that an equal and united people should have equal and united measures. So they sent a pair of young astronomers out to measure the world, and invent the meter. Little did they know they’d find nothing but war, deception, and strife along the way. As a result of this ill-fated mission, the meter carries an error that still persists today. Still think the metric system is so perfect? Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate ----------- LEARN MORE: This episode would not have been possible without one incredible book: “The Measure of All Things” by Ken Alder. There’s so much more to this story that we couldn’t fit in the video, and this book has it all. War, madness, deception, shame, spies, the dawn of the Enlightenment, the birth of modern economics, lots more beheadings… Highly recommended! Amazon: http://amzn.to/2lNuEyD Public library: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/893130606 MORE: Interesting chronology of the meter: http://www.dozenalsociety.org.uk/metrix/chronology.html Calculating the length of a meridian arc: http://www.cantab.net/users/michael.behrend/map_formulae/alt_tr_mercator/pages/meridian_arc.html Williams, Jeffrey H. “Quantifying Measurement: The Tyranny of Numbers.” Morgan & Claypool Publishers, 2016 Murdin, Paul. “Full meridian of glory: perilous adventures in the competition to measure the Earth.” Springer Science & Business Media, 2008. ----------- FOLLOW US: Merch: https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter: @okaytobesmart @DrJoeHanson Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Instagram: @DrJoeHanson ----------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Director: Joe Nicolosi Writer: Joe Hanson Producer/editor/animator: Andrew Matthews Producer: Stephanie Noone and Amanda Fox Produced by PBS Digital Studios Music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 8 min

    We Can Bring Back Extinct Species… But SHOULD WE?

    Try 23andMe: http://www.23andme.com/okay Make sure we don’t go extinct and SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓↓↓More info and sources below ↓↓↓ De-extinction, or using the power of modern biotechnology to bring back extinct species like mammoths and dinosaurs, would be cool. But is it really as easy as the movies make it look? Or do the cruel hands of time make it impossible? This weel we look at the technical and ethical hurdles behind the science of de-extinction and reverse engineering species that are no longer around. Hybrid reptile/chicken skull scans courtesy of Bhart-Anjan Bhullar Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate ----------- REFERENCES: Shapiro, B. (2015). How to clone a mammoth: the science of de-extinction. Princeton University Press. Sherkow, J. S., & Greely, H. T. (2013). What if extinction is not forever?. Science, 340(6128), 32-33. Zimmer, C. (2013). Bringing them back to life. National Geographic, 223(4), 28-41. ----------- FOLLOW US: Merch: https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter: @okaytobesmart @DrJoeHanson Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Instagram: @DrJoeHanson ----------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Director: Joe Nicolosi Writer: Shaena Montanari, Ph.D. Producer/editor/animator: Andrew Orsak Producer: Stephanie Noone and Amanda Fox Produced by PBS Digital Studios Music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Showing 21–40 of 313 episodes