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Curiosity Weekly

Forcing Functions and “Super Thinking,” Rosalind Franklin’s Story, and Dogs Smelling Fear

Curiosity Weekly

Warner Bros. Discovery

Science

4.6 • 963 Ratings

🗓️ 25 July 2019

⏱️ 9 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Learn about the truth behind Rosalind Franklin’s contributions to science; a mental model called “forcing functions” you can use to be more thoughtful and produce better results; and, whether dogs can smell fear.

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In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes:

Additional resources from Gabriel Weinberg and Lauren McCann:

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Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/forcing-functions-and-super-thinking-rosalind-franklins-story-and-dogs-smelling-fear

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Hi, we're here from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter in just a few minutes.

0:05.0

I'm Cody Gough.

0:05.7

And I'm Ashley Hamer.

0:06.9

Today you learn about the truth behind Rosalind Franklin's contributions to science

0:11.1

and whether dogs can smell fear.

0:13.0

You'll also learn about a mental model you can use to be more thoughtful and produce better results,

0:18.0

with special guests Gabriel Weinberg and Lauren McCann.

0:21.0

But satisfy some curiosity.

0:23.0

Roslyn Franklin was a scientist whose momentous contribution to our understanding of the structure

0:27.9

of DNA was only recognized after her death.

0:31.3

But there's some misconceptions around her story.

0:34.1

We're releasing today's podcast in what would be her 99th birthday, so let's celebrate

0:39.1

by revisiting history and reminding you why you should care about this pioneering scientist.

0:44.0

Rosalin Franklin was born in London in 1920 and received a PhD from Cambridge University in

0:50.0

1945. After World War II she worked in the lab of Jacques Merring, a French engineer who was

0:56.0

well known in the field of x-ray crystallography. That's a technique that determines the atomic

1:01.1

structure of substances

1:02.5

by shooting them with beams of x-rays,

1:04.9

then using their diffraction pattern

1:06.5

to see the arrangements of their atoms.

1:09.0

This technique became a powerful weapon

1:11.2

in Franklin's arsenal, and she used her impressive skills while

...

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