How to Make the Most of Your Negativity Bias (w/ John Tierney)
Curiosity Weekly
Warner Bros. Discovery
4.6 • 964 Ratings
🗓️ 3 November 2020
⏱️ 13 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Learn about two new neuroscience studies that show why birds are so dang smart. Then science writer John Tierney will talk negativity bias and how you can use it to your own benefit.
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Two new bird-brain studies show why birds are so smart by Grant Currin
- Ackerman, J. (2016). The Genius of Birds. United States: Penguin Publishing Group.
- Tracing cerebral cortex evolution. (2018). Max-Planck-Gesellschaft; www.MPG.de. https://www.mpg.de/12027342/molecular-atlas-reptile-brain
- Suzana Herculano-Houzel. (2020). Birds do have a brain cortex—and think. Science, 369(6511), 1567–1568. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abe0536
- Stacho, M., Herold, C., Rook, N., Hermann Wagner, Axer, M., Katrin Amunts, & Onur Güntürkün. (2020). A cortex-like canonical circuit in the avian forebrain. Science, 369(6511). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abc5534
- Nieder, A., Lysann Wagener, & Rinnert, P. (2020). A neural correlate of sensory consciousness in a corvid bird. Science, 369(6511), 1626–1629. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abb1447
Additional resources from science writer John Tierney:
- Pick up "The Power of Bad: How the Negativity Effect Rules Us and How We Can Rule It" on Amazon
- John Tierney on Twitter
- John Tierney on the New York Times
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, you're about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from Curiosity.com. |
| 0:06.5 | I'm Ashley Hamer. |
| 0:07.5 | And I'm Natalia Reagan. |
| 0:08.5 | Today you learn about two new neuroscience studies that show why birds are so dang smart. |
| 0:13.6 | Then science writer John Tierney will talk negativity bias |
| 0:16.9 | at how you can use it to your own benefit. |
| 0:19.8 | Let's satisfy some curiosity. |
| 0:21.8 | Man, birds are smart, dangerously smart. |
| 0:27.0 | Just ask the mouse I had to wrestle out of Jeunette's mouth. |
| 0:30.0 | Jeunette's a chicken, by the way. |
| 0:31.0 | Now that might come as a bit of a surprise given that |
| 0:34.3 | bird brain is an insult in that in the United States alone nearly a billion birds |
| 0:38.8 | die every year from flying into windows. Maybe we should be blaming the windex. |
| 0:44.2 | Scientists believe the bird brain stereotype |
| 0:46.3 | for a long time, but some new insights from Avian |
| 0:49.3 | neuroscience has shown that our feathered friends |
| 0:52.2 | are more thoughtful than they sometimes appear. |
| 0:55.0 | Over the years, birds have demonstrated the ability to use tools, soft puzzles, pick locks, do simple math, |
| 1:02.0 | categorize objects, plan for the future, and even dance to a beat. |
| 1:07.5 | Some even lay eggs on their humans' desks, but that's an extra story for a different day. |
| 1:13.5 | Yet despite all these impressive feats, |
| 1:15.6 | a lot of neuroscientists were unconvinced of their genius. |
... |
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