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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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  • Tuesday · 11 min

    Why Is Blue So Rare In Nature?

    Duh, except for the sky… and the ocean… Don't miss our next video! SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Uploaded 09-01-18 Among living things, the color blue is oddly rare. Blue rocks, blue sky, blue water, sure. But blue animals? They are few and far between. And the ones that do make blue? They make it in some very strange and special ways compared to other colors. In this video, we'll look at some very cool butterflies to help us learn how living things make blue, and why this beautiful hue is so rare in nature. SPECIAL THANKS: Smithsonian Institution - National Museum of Natural History Bob Robbins, Ph.D. - Curator of Lepidoptera Juan Pablo Hurtado Padilla - Microscope Educator Richard Prum, Ph.D. - Yale University Vinothan Manoharan, Ph.D. - Harvard University SOURCES: Bagnara, J. T., Fernandez, P. J., and Fujii, R. (2007). On the blue coloration of vertebrates. Pigment Cell and Melanoma Research, 20(1), 14-26. Cuthill, I. C., Allen, W. L., Arbuckle, K., Caspers, B., Chaplin, G., Hauber, M. E., ... and Mappes, J. (2017). The biology of color. Science, 357(6350), eaan0221. Kinoshita, S., Yoshioka, S., and Miyazaki, J. (2008). Physics of structural colors. Reports on Progress in Physics, 71(7), 076401. Kinoshita, S. (2008). Structural colors in the realm of nature. World Scientific. Prum, R. O., Quinn, T., and Torres, R. H. (2006). Anatomically diverse butterfly scales all produce structural colours by coherent scattering. Journal of Experimental Biology, 209(4), 748-765. Vukusic, P., and Sambles, J. R. (2003). Photonic structures in biology. Nature, 424(6950), 852-855. Vukusic, P., Sambles, J. R., Lawrence, C. R., and Wootton, R. J. (1999). Quantified interference and diffraction in single Morpho butterfly scales. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 266(1427), 1403-1411. ----------- FOLLOW US: Merch: https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter:@DrJoeHanson @okaytobesmart 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, Ph.D. Producer/editor/animator: Jordan Husmann Producer: Stephanie Noone and Amanda Fox Produced by PBS Digital Studios Music via APM Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Tuesday · 9 min

    Is Your Brain Too Worn Out For Video Games?

    Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Get your #ididascience shirt here! http://dftba.com/besmart ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Vintage arcade footage courtesy of: http://patrickscottpatterson.com/ Special thanks to Dreamhack Austin 2016: http://dreamhackaustin.com/ Thank you to our commentators: @Totalbiscuit https://www.youtube.com/cynicalbrit @EGiNcontroL https://www.facebook.com/GeoffRobinsoniNcontroL References: Thompson, Joseph J., Mark R. Blair, and Andrew J. Henrey. "Over the hill at 24: persistent age-related cognitive-motor decline in reaction times in an ecologically valid video game task begins in early adulthood." PloS one 9.4 (2014): e94215. Thompson, Joseph J., et al. "Video game telemetry as a critical tool in the study of complex skill learning." PloS one 8.9 (2013): e75129. Lewis, Joshua M., Patrick Trinh, and David Kirsh. "A corpus analysis of strategy video game play in starcraft: Brood war." Proceedings of the 33rd annual conference of the cognitive science society. 2011. ESA Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry 2016 http://essentialfacts.theesa.com/ ---- Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment or check us out at the links below! Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/okaytobesmart http://twitter.com/jtotheizzoe Follow on Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Follow on Instagram: http://instagram.com/jtotheizzoe Follow on Snapchat: YoDrJoe ----------------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is written and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Follow me on Twitter: @jtotheizzoe Produced by PBS Digital Studios: http://www.youtube.com/user/pbsdigitalstudios Music via APM Stock images from SciencePhoto http://www.sciencephoto.com/ and Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com Stock footage from Videoblocks (unless otherwise noted) http://www.videoblocks.com​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Tuesday · 14 min

    Are Humans Still Evolving?

    Follow me to @pbsorigins! https://www.youtube.com/c/pbsorigins We’re on PATREON! Join the community https://www.patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Uploaded 19-05-22 We’re living longer. Dying less. Human life expectancy has doubled in just a couple centuries. Machines and meals and medicines keeping us alive long past the age where we can make babies. Does this mean our species is no longer under the influence of natural selection? Have humans stopped evolving? ----------- Special thanks to our Brain Trust Patrons: Ali Freiburger Mehdi Damou Barbora Bei Ken Board Clinger-Hamilton Family Attila Pix Burt Humburg DeliciousKashmiri Roy Lasris dani bowman David Johnston Salih Arslan Baerbel Winkler Robert Young Amy Sowada Eric Meer Dustin Karen Haskell 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Tuesday · 7 min

    The Science of Rainbows

    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 ↓ Uploaded 01-07-13 Dorothy went over one. LeVar Burton read to us under one. In a song, Kermit the Frog connected us to one. Even Mork's suspenders were made of them. Our culture, and our skies, are full of rainbows, but do you know how they form? Do we all see the same rainbow? Could cyborg-enhanced mantis shrimp eyes someday see a bigger rainbow? The answer to all these questions involves a little physics, and the number 42. Written and hosted by Joe Hanson Produced by Painted On Productions (http://www.paintedon.com/) ----------- 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Tuesday · 18 min

    Why the Plastic Pollution Problem Is So Much Worse Than You Think

    Can we really clean our way out of this problem? We’re on PATREON! Join the community https://www.patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Uploaded 06-01-22 There’s been a lot of talk on YouTube lately about ocean plastic pollution and #TeamSeas. But there hasn’t been enough talk about the **ridiculously unthinkable scale of the ocean plastic pollution problem** or how it intersects with other environmental issues like climate change. And here’s a big spoiler alert: Nearly all environmental scientists agree that ocean plastic pollution isn’t a problem we can clean our way out of. So what CAN we do? That’s what this video is about. Detailed references and annotations: https://sites.google.com/view/besmart-plasticpollution/home We’d like to thank the following researchers for helpful interviews and background materials for this episode: Winnie Lau - Pew Charitable Trusts Dr. Max Liboiron - Civic Laboratory for Environmental Action Research (CLEAR) Dr. Miriam Goldstein 0:00 Intro 1:21 History of plastic 2:59 How much plastic are we making? 4:28 Plastic is petroleum 5:29 How much plastic is in the ocean? 7:38 How plastic gets to the ocean 9:09 Can we clean our way out of this? 10:30 The ACTUAL solutions 13:09 Final thoughts ----------- Special thanks to our Brain Trust Patrons: Barbora Bei Ken Board The Clinger-Hamilton Family Attila Pix Burt Humburg DeliciousKashmiri Brian Chang Roy Lasris dani bowman David Johnston Salih Arslan Baerbel Winkler Robert Young Amy Sowada Eric Meer Dustin Karen Haskell AlecZero 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Tuesday · 11 min

    Why Is Sleep Necessary?

    Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate …and how did it evolve in the first place? Tweet ⇒ http://bit.ly/OKTBSsleep Share on FB ⇒ http://bit.ly/OKTBSsleepFB ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Why do we sleep? We spend a third of our lives in slumber, but science has yet to determine exactly why we have do it. Here’s a look at how sleep works, why we’re not getting enough sleep, what happens if you DON’T sleep, and an idea about where sleep came from in the first place. Follow me to The Good Stuff’s sleep playlist: https://youtu.be/RHCcM7LyZdc?list=PLsRLUurFnvvUCysDQrFvGL0nxN6Eha93s Also check out BrainCraft: https://youtu.be/yv-XNKK9laE https://youtu.be/ZPpvS9wDOcA For more, read: “Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep” by David K. Randall http://amzn.to/1MB38dt "The Universal Pastime: Sleep and Rest Explained" by Dr Richard Horner http://amzn.com/B00NT9O60O Cool research on melatonin in sea worm larvae: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/02/science/the-evolution-of-sleep-700-million-years-of-melatonin.html Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment or check us out at the links below! Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/okaytobesmart http://twitter.com/jtotheizzoe Follow on Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Follow on Instagram: http://instagram.com/jtotheizzoe Follow on Snapchat: YoDrJoe ----------------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is written and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Follow me on Twitter: @jtotheizzoe Email me: itsokaytobesmart AT gmail DOT com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart For more awesome science, check out: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Produced by PBS Digital Studios: http://www.youtube.com/user/pbsdigitalstudios Joe Hanson - Creator/Host/Writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen Inc. Kate Eads - Producer Andrew Matthews - Editing/Motion Graphics/Animation Arts & Labor - Motion Graphics Katie Graham - Camera John Knudsen - Gaffer Theme music: “Ouroboros” by Kevin MacLeod Other music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock, stock footage from Videoblocks (unless otherwise noted)​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Tuesday · 9 min

    Why Do We Smile?

    Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Several jokes were harmed in the making of this video Don’t miss our next video! SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓ More info and sources below ↓ T-SHIRTS! http://dftba.com/besmart Laughing is a universal human behavior, one that transcends borders of language and culture. But it's also REALLY WEIRD. Why do we do it? The answer has less to do with humor than you might think Learn more: "Laughter: A Scientific Investigation" by Robert Provine http://amzn.to/1fzZQLy "Ha! The Science of When We Laugh and Why" by Scott Weems http://amzn.to/1etLLyv Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment or check us out at the links below! Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/okaytobesmart http://twitter.com/jtotheizzoe Follow on Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Follow on Instagram: http://instagram.com/jtotheizzoe ----------------- 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 by PBS Digital Studios: http://www.youtube.com/user/pbsdigitalstudios Joe Hanson - Creator/Host/Writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKate Eads - Producer Andrew Matthews - Editing/Motion Graphics/Animation Katie Graham - Camera John Knudsen - Gaffer Theme music: "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod Other music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock, stock footage from Videoblocks ----------------- 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​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Tuesday · 7 min

    Why Are Cicadas So Excellent At Math?

    Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Subscribe so you don't miss any cool science ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub Follow me to Gross Science: http://youtu.be/IDBkj3DjNSM ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Do periodical cicadas "know" how to calculate prime numbers? One of the strangest life cycles in all of biology, explained! Special thanks to Samuel Orr (www.motionkicker.com) for the beautiful cicada footage! Learn more about magicicadas at http://www.magicicada.org/ Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment or check us out at the links below! Our website: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Follow on Instagram: http://instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://instagram.com/okaytbesmart ----------------- It's Okay To Be Smart is written and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D Email me: itsokaytobesmart AT gmail DOT com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart For more awesome science, check out: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com 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 - Producer Andrew Matthews - Editing/Motion Graphics/Animation Katie Graham - Camera John Knudsen - Gaffer Theme music: "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod Other music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock, stock footage from Videoblocks ----------------- 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Tuesday · 10 min

    Why Do Disney Princesses All Look Like Babies?

    Thanks to Wix for supporting PBS Digital Studios. To learn more: https://Wix.com/go/OKAY Help us out and complete the 2018 PBS Digital Studios survey! https://to.pbs.org/2018YTSurvey ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Uploaded 07-08-18 I noticed something weird about Disney Princesses lately. Naturally, I had to examine it through the lens of science. The answer led me to new knowledge about human development, the domestication and taming of animals, and why we find things cute in the first place. You’ll never look at cartoons the same way again Siberian silver fox footage courtesy of Lee Alan Dugatkin and Lyudmila Trut. Check out their book “How to Tame a Fox (and Build a Dog)” to learn more, it’s great! https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/H/bo25568406.html Skull reproductions courtesy of Boneclones: https://boneclones.com/ REFERENCES: Gould, Stephen Jay “Biological Homage to Mickey Mouse” https://faculty.uca.edu/benw/biol4415/papers/Mickey.pdf Bogin, B. (1990). The evolution of human childhood. Bioscience, 40(1), 16-25. PDF: http://bit.ly/2vDb3Vy Somel, M., Franz, H., Yan, Z., Lorenc, A., Guo, S., Giger, T., ... and Webster, M. J. (2009). Transcriptional neoteny in the human brain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(14), 5743-5748. ----------- 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: Andrew Matthews Writer: Andrew Matthews 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Tuesday · 7 min

    Barrage of the Cosmic Space Junk!

    Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate No Sandra Bullocks were harmed in the making of this video. Tweet this video ⇒ http://bit.ly/OKTBSjunk Share on FB ⇒ http://bit.ly/OKTBSjunkFB ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Window chip in the ISS: http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2016/05/Impact_chip The extent of space debris: http://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Videos/2013/04/Space_debris_story Where did all that debris come from? http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/where-did-all-that-space-debris-come-from/ USSTRATCOM space surveillance fact sheet: https://www.stratcom.mil/factsheets/11/Space_Control_and_Space_Surveillance/ This is cool: http://stuffin.space/ Every satellite orbiting Earth, visualized: http://qz.com/296941/interactive-graphic-every-active-satellite-orbiting-earth/ 8 weird pieces of space junk: http://www.wired.com/2009/02/spacestuff/ Project West Ford: http://www.wired.com/2013/08/project-west-ford/ STK animation courtesy of Analytical Graphics, Inc. Get yourself an awesome IOTBS shirt! http://dftba.com/besmart ---------------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is written and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment or check us out at the links below! Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter: http://twitter.com/okaytobesmart http://twitter.com/jtotheizzoe Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Instagram: http://instagram.com/jtotheizzoe Snapchat: YoDrJoe Produced by PBS Digital Studios Music via APM Stock images from SciencePhoto http://www.sciencephoto.com/ and Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com Stock footage from Videoblocks (unless otherwise noted) http://www.videoblocks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Tuesday · 6 min

    When Will We Stop Consuming Oil?

    Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Check out our whole series on ENERGY! http://bit.ly/1BnH5zu Subscribe: http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub Twitter: @okaytobesmart ↓ More info and sources below ↓ We've heard news of "peak oil" and "the end of the oil age" for years now, but we keep coming up with ways to find and pump more of it to the surface. Rising CO2 levels and the changing climate that results from burning fossil fuels mean that we should probably stop using oil sooner rather than later, though Let's take a look at history and see how we've used different fuels, so that we might figure out when and how to make oil a thing of the past LEARN MORE: Special thanks to Sheril Kirshenbaum and the Webber Energy Group at the University of Texas at Austin for their help with this series. http://www.webberenergygroup.com/ Check out their awesome online course "Energy 101" to learn about energy and energy policy from A to Z! http://www.energy101.com/ And to find out what people think about energy, check out the UT Energy Poll: http://www.utenergypoll.com/ Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment or check us out at the links below! Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/okaytobesmart http://twitter.com/jtotheizzoe Follow on Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Follow on Instagram: http://instagram.com/jtotheizzoe ----------------- 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 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 Theme music: "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod Other music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock, stock footage from Videoblocks ----------------- Last week's video: Does the Moon Orbit the Earth? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cJ3AemeUFM 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Tuesday · 16 min

    Is Earth's Most Important Ocean Current Doomed?

    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 ↓ Uploaded 19-04-21 Head over to Animal IQ on Terra: https://youtu.be/Nc3mUNkJZZk Celebrate Earth Day with other PBS Channels! https://bit.ly/32nmIsp We’re on PATREON! Join the community ►► https://www.patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub Ocean currents are our planet’s circulatory system, and they keep everything from ecosystems to the climate healthy. But we’re changing Earth in ways that threaten to disrupt and even break critical ocean currents like the planet-wide Great Ocean Conveyor. This could have devastating effects on our future. In this video, we explain how ocean currents work, how climate change is threatening to disrupt them, and what we can do to stop that from happening. References: https://sites.google.com/view/ocean-conveyor-belt/home ----------- Big Thank you to our Brain Trust Patrons: Andrew Campbell Robert Brian Chang Roy Lasris Javier Soto dani bowman David Johnston Zenimal Salih Arslan Baerbel Winkler Robert Young Amy Sowada Benjamin Teinby Eric Meer Peter Ehrnstrom Dustin Marcus Tuepker Karen Haskell AlecZero 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Tuesday · 7 min

    Could Planet Minecraft Possibly Exist?

    Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate This episode is brought to you by Dropbox https://www.dropbox.com/ Tweet ⇒ http://bit.ly/OKTBSmcraft Share on FB ⇒ http://bit.ly/OKTBSmcraftFB ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Gravitational field of a cubic planet: Chappell, James Michael, et al. "The gravity field of a cube." Physics International 3.2 (2012): 50. http://search.proquest.com/openview/6c982d4a364d8b7d7829ec389e2a907e/1?pq-origsite=gscholar More: http://www.askamathematician.com/2011/05/q-what-would-earth-be-like-to-us-if-it-were-a-cube-instead-of-spherical-is-this-even-possible/ https://possiblywrong.wordpress.com/2011/09/09/if-the-earth-were-a-cube/ 1884 claim of cubic planet discovery: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=940DE5D91038E033A25755C1A9679D94659FD7CF Hats off to the Minecraft wiki community at Gamepedia for collecting stats about the Minecraft world! http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Minecraft_Wiki Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment or check us out at the links below! Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/okaytobesmart http://twitter.com/jtotheizzoe Follow on Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Follow on Instagram: http://instagram.com/jtotheizzoe Follow on Snapchat: YoDrJoe ----------------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is written and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Follow me on Twitter: @jtotheizzoe Email me: itsokaytobesmart AT gmail DOT com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart For more awesome science, check out: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Produced by PBS Digital Studios: http://www.youtube.com/user/pbsdigitalstudios Joe Hanson - Creator/Host/Writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen Inc. Kate Eads - Producer Andrew Matthews - Editing/Motion Graphics/Animation Katie Graham - Camera John Knudsen - Gaffer Theme music: “Ouroboros” by Kevin MacLeod Other music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock, stock footage from Videoblocks (unless otherwise noted)​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Tuesday · 11 min

    Is Space a Thing?

    Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Uploaded 20-06-17 Try 23andMe: http://www.23andme.com/okay Don’t miss our next video! SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Since the days of Ancient Greece, philosophers and scientists have been wondering: What is space? Is the absence of things… a thing? These questions continued to fascinate physicists in the modern era, leading Isaac Newton, Ernst Mach, and Albert Einstein to wonder about the true nature of the fabric of the cosmos. The search for an answer led them to some of the greatest theories in physics. This week, we ask if space and time are really real, and how they come together to make “spacetime”! ----------- READ MORE: “The Fabric of the Cosmos” by Brian Greene http://amzn.to/2tF9fZO (Public library: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/681349969) ----------- 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: Andrew Matthews Writer: Andrew Matthews 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Tuesday · 4 min

    Why Does the Wind Blow Through?

    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 ↓ Wind. Always there. Where does it come from? Click here to SUBSCRIBE, it's FREE! -- http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub Wind is everywhere. The air is constantly moving, sometimes gently, sometimes violently. Why? Pressure, temperature and rotation come together to make wind in some *cool* and unexpected ways. Written and hosted by Joe Hanson Produced by Painted On Productions (http://www.paintedon.com/) ----------- 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

  • Tuesday · 6 min

    Cuttlefish: Psychedelic Camouflage Chameleons of the Sea

    Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Now you "sea" them, now you don't! Cuttlefish are more than the chameleons of the sea, these cephalopods take camouflage to a whole new level. Follow Joe during Big Blue Live! Twitter @DrJoeHanson @okaytobesmart Instagram: @DrJoeHanson Facebook: facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart ----------------- It's Okay To Be Smart is written and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D Follow me on Twitter: @DrJoeHanson Email me: itsokaytobesmart AT gmail DOT com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart For more awesome science, check out: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Produced by PBS Digital Studios: http://www.youtube.com/user/pbsdigitalstudios Joe Hanson - Creator/Host/Writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen Inc Kate Eads - Producer Andrew Matthews - Editing/Motion Graphics/Animation Katie Graham - Camera John Knudsen - Gaffer Theme music: "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod Other music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock, stock footage from Videoblocks (unless otherwise noted)​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Tuesday · 5 min

    How Did the Grand Canyon Get Formed?

    Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate It's a long story… ↓ More info and sources below ↓ How do you make a Grand Canyon? Thanks to Mike from PBS Idea Channel and Jamin from PBS Game/Show for hanging out at the Grand Canyon with me! https://www.youtube.com/user/pbsideachannel https://www.youtube.com/user/pbsgameshow Special thanks to Raymond Schillinger for great camera work! I was in Arizona recently for Phoenix Comic-Con, and had the amazing pleasure of seeing one of Earth's greatest natural wonders… the Grand Canyon. More than a mile deep, and several miles across, it just defies belief. But I couldn't help but think, the Colorado River down at the bottom isn't that big. How did it cut a canyon so massive? How old is the Grand Canyon? Here's its story http://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/nature/geologicformations.htm Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment or check us out at the links below! Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/okaytobesmart http://twitter.com/jtotheizzoe Follow on Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Follow on Instagram: http://instagram.com/jtotheizzoe ----------------- 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 by PBS Digital Studios: http://www.youtube.com/user/pbsdigitalstudios Joe Hanson - Creator/Host/Writer… and camera for this one! Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKate Eads - Producer Andrew Matthews - Editing/Motion Graphics/Animation Theme music: "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod Other music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock, stock footage from Videoblocks ----------------- Last week's video: Why Are The Bees Dying? https://youtu.be/rKQNx0av7eY?list=PLsmqeqKj7M-pINcPqJd8d1eRKlqm6QVjA 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Tuesday · 20 min

    The 12 Days of Evolution - Complete Collection!

    Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate All 12 days… in ONE video! Prefer the individual videos? Go here: http://bit.ly/OKTBS12daysPL ↓ More info and sources below ↓ I *highly* recommend these books: “Undeniable” by Bill Nye http://amzn.to/1TK3wZs “Why Evolution Is True” by Jerry Coyne http://amzn.to/1TK3zV3 WEBSITES/TEACHING RESOURCES: - Berkeley’s “Understanding Evolution” http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/home.php - The National Center for Science Education http://ncse.com/ Don’t miss a single one of our 12 Days of Evolution! Follow along with this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsmqeqKj7M-rZe1C9PUon8V-VQ1tZj5NF Darwin illustration credit: Nicku / Shutterstock Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment or check us out at the links below! Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/okaytobesmart http://twitter.com/DrJoeHanson Follow on Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Follow on Instagram: http://instagram.com/DrJoeHanson ----------------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is written and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Joe Hanson - Creator/Host/Writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen Inc. Kate Eads - Producer Andrew Matthews - Editing/Motion Graphics/Animation Katie Graham - Camera John Knudsen - Gaffer Music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock, stock footage from Videoblocks (unless otherwise noted)​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Tuesday · 6 min

    Why Did We Blow On Nintendo Consoles?

    Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Check out http://youarenotsosmart.com/ for more on cognitive biases Books by David McRaney: http://amzn.to/1pQqmQh and http://amzn.to/1qrGRpM Did blowing on NES cartridges actually do anything? http://mentalfloss.com/article/12589/did-blowing-nintendo-cartridges-really-help http://gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/15044/why-did-you-have-to-blow-into-an-nes-cartridge-to-make-it-work http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?117240-DP-MYTHBUSTERS-Blowing-in-NES-Cartridges Mario speedrun video via akyeren: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Boq3ghiTKHA The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary: http://www.wired.com/2014/04/fantastically-wrong-vegetable-lamb-tartary/ Mice from dirty laundry and other spontaneous generation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_generation Here's another video testing the effectiveness of blowing into NES cartridges: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNi4A2KGOfw 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 Video game music: Rolemusic: Ants Rolemusic: Bacterial Love Rolemusic: Ladybug Castle Rolemusic: Another Beek Beep Beer Please Stock images via Shutterstock Produced by PBS Digital Studios: http://www.youtube.com/user/pbsdigitalstudios ----------- Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Monday · 9 min

    The Largest River On Earth Is In The Sky

    Learn more about your personal DNA story by going to https://23andMe.com/okay SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Uploaded 23-10-18 What’s the largest river on Earth? If you said “the Amazon”… you’re only half right. Scientists have discovered an even bigger river in South America, and it’s in the sky above the Amazon rainforest. Turns out, this sky river is the reason there’s a rainforest at all… REFERENCES: Dr. Scot T. Martin, Gordon McKay Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering and Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University. Dr. Antonio Donato Nobre, National Institute for Space Research, Brazil. Centro de Ciência do Sistema Terrestre TED Talk: “The Magic of the Amazon, a river that flows invisibly all around us.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01jYiXbpnoE “The Future Climate of Amazon.” Scientific Assessment Report. Articulación Regional Amazônica (2014). Sao Jose dos Campos – SP Edition ARA, CCST-INPE e INPA Andreae et al. “Biogeochemical cycling of carbon, water, energy, trace gases, and aerosols in Amazonia: The LBA‐EUSTACH experiments.” Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres (2002). https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JD000524 Dettinger, M. D., Ralph, F. M., Das, T., Neiman, P. J., and Cayan, D. R. (2011). Atmospheric rivers, floods and the water resources of California. Water, 3(2), 445-478. Pöhlker, C., Wiedemann, K. T., Sinha, B., Shiraiwa, M., Gunthe, S. S., Smith, M., ... and Elbert, W. (2012). Biogenic potassium salt particles as seeds for secondary organic aerosol in the Amazon. Science, 337(6098), 1075-1078. https://authors.library.caltech.edu/34067/2/Pohlker.SM.pdf Ter Steege, H., Pitman, N. C., Sabatier, D., Baraloto, C., Salomão, R. P., Guevara, J. E., ... and Monteagudo, A. (2013). Hyperdominance in the Amazonian tree flora. Science, 342(6156), 1243092. ----------- FOLLOW US: Twitter: @DrJoeHanson @okaytobesmart Instagram: @DrJoeHanson Merch: https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart SEND US STUFF: It’s Okay To Be Smart PO Box 303356 Austin, TX 78703 USA 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: Sarah Keartes Creative Director: David Schulte Editor/animator: Sara Roma 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Showing 141–160 of 374 episodes