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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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October 11 · 7 min
How Atom Bombs Can Help Us Detect Art Forgery
Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Uploaded 02-01-18 Want more cool art videos? Check out The Art Assignment http://bit.ly/ArtAssnmt Don’t miss our next video! SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ It’s been estimated that 1 in 10 works of fine art are forged or misattributed. The truth is, no one really knows how much fake art is out there, because many art counterfeiters are so skilled that their paintings are almost indistinguishable from the real works. But even counterfeiters can’t beat physics! From atomic bomb remnants to ancient atoms, here’s some of the amazing ways that science can detect fake art. SOURCES: “The Scientist and the Forger: Insights into the Scientific Detection of Forgery in Paintings” by Jehane Ragai (2015) Ragai, J. (2013). The Scientific Detection of Forgery in Paintings. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 157(2), 164-175 ----------- 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: Matthew Caplan, Ph.D. Producer/editor/animator: Jordan Husmann 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
October 11 · 12 min
I'm Uncertain How to Feel About 2023
SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ 2023 was a wild year with everything from scorching temperatures to massive wildfires. Even with more renewable energy than ever, 2023’s climate data still seems really bad. So how should we think about climate change today? And what can we do about it? Learn what climate scientists think about 2023’s climate milestones, what the models tell us about the future of Earth’s climate, and how we can tackle climate doomerism. 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 Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
October 11 · 6 min
Reasons to be Upbeat (Thanks to Science!)
Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Links to all these awesome stories below! Finish 2016 on a high note and SUBSCRIBE! http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Want to wear your love for science? We’ve got merch: http://dftba.com/besmart 1. Gravitational waves: http://www.nature.com/news/gravitational-waves-1.19321 2. AlphaGo beats Lee Sedol: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/03/the-invisible-opponent/475611/ 3. CRISPR tested in a human: http://www.nature.com/news/crispr-gene-editing-tested-in-a-person-for-the-first-time-1.20988 4. Minimal synthetic organism: http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/03/synthetic-microbe-lives-less-500-genes 5. SpaceX rocket landings: http://www.space.com/33461-spacex-rocket-landings-video-supercut.html 6. Closest known exoplanet: https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1629/ 7. Alzheimer’s drug trial success: http://www.sciencealert.com/a-new-alzheimer-s-drug-just-hit-a-major-milestone-in-a-human-clinical-trial 8. Three-parent baby born: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2107219-exclusive-worlds-first-baby-born-with-new-3-parent-technique/ 9. Paris climate agreement goes into effect: https://www.wired.com/2016/12/2016-pivotal-year-war-climate-change/ 10. Antarctic ozone hole is healing: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-36674996 11. Ross Sea becomes largest marine protected area: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/10/ross-sea-marine-protected-area-antarctica/ 12. Giant pandas are no longer endangeredL http://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/giant-panda-no-longer-endangered 13. Wild tigers on the rise: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160410-tiger-numbers-rise-wwf-conservation-double-population/ 14. Cool new species: http://www.livescience.com/54546-chewbacca-beetle-from-new-guinea.html http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/06/02/480437128/insect-named-for-ruth-bader-ginsburg-is-step-toward-equality-of-the-6-legged-sex http://www.livescience.com/55563-game-of-thrones-dragon-ant.html http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-38325099 15. Casper the ghost octopus: http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/03/06/check_out_ghost_like_octopus_dubbed_casper_that_could_be_new_species.html 16. Ghost shark filmed: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/12/pointy-nosed-blue-chimaeras-ghost-sharks/ 17. LIchen symbiosis decoded: http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/07/how-a-guy-from-a-montana-trailer-park-upturned-150-years-of-biology/491702/ 18. Jeremy the backwards snail finds a partner: http://www.wired.co.uk/article/snail-jeremy-left-handed-love 19. Solar powered plane flies around world: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/26/solar-impulse-plane-makes-history-completing-round-the-world-trip 20. New glasses for colorblind people: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601782/how-enchromas-glasses-correct-color-blindness/ 21. Juno mission updates: https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/ 22. Rosetta completes comet mission: http://gizmodo.com/watch-rosetta-s-entire-mission-to-a-comet-in-just-four-1790438586 23. Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko’s year in space: https://www.nasa.gov/content/a-year-in-space ---------------- 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
October 11 · 11 min
Ask Joe Matters #6
Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Subscribe so we can hit 1 MILLION! http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub Get yourself an awesome I DID A SCIENCE shirt! http://dftba.com/besmart ↓ More info and sources below ↓ How far would ocean viruses stretch? http://www.virology.ws/2009/10/19/ten-cool-facts-about-viruses/ Follow Aaron Pomerantz! Twitter @AaronPomerantz YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHr0u7Jsktou2CFl2GhTxYA http://www.thenextgenscientist.com/ Videos referenced in this episode: Is Big Data Getting Too Big? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTMkc0bLRlI Musical Tesla Coils in Slow Motion! Featuring Physics Girl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGhNgeg9IAw Is Ultron Inevitable? Ft. Vsauce3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Irmtk5QG8s Could Planet Minecraft Actually Exist? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5N7d8mcQk4 Why Are You Multicellular? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdVc2J_OwDc The Most Important Moment in the History of Life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf06MlX8yik Traveling Light (from Vsauce3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOoFkwj91pk Do Plants Think? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm6zfHzvqX4 Why Do We Have To Sleep? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mufsteNrTI Hurricanes: Engines of Destruction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xtu2_ziBI_w I don’t know why anyone would want to read this, but here’s my dissertation: http://bit.ly/2cU8DuN ---------------- 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
October 11 · 4 min
How Bees Can Observe the Invisible
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 ↓ Bees see the world in some very interesting ways Click here to SUBSCRIBE, it's FREE! -- http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub To begin this video, we launched a little confetti to celebrate the fact that I am now "Dr. Joe", since I successfully defended my Ph.D. in molecular biology! Woo! But you don't have to call me "Doctor." Anyway, spring is in the air!! We're all thawing out from winter's chill, and for bees and flowers this season is about one thing: Feeding and fertilizing. Bees are amazing social insects, and their relationship with flowers is one of nature's coolest examples of "mutualism". It got me wondering: How do bees see the world? Enjoy this look at how bees see in ultraviolet and even sense electric fields! References for this episode: http://dft.ba/-5Am1 Written and hosted by Joe Hanson Produced by Painted On Productions (http://www.paintedon.com/) Clips used: Louie Schwartzberg - The hidden beauty of pollination https://vimeo.com/27328081 Jay Woo - October 1st https://vimeo.com/50513099 Music: Edvard Grieg "Morning Mood" Special thanks to Klaus Schmitt for allowing us to use his awesome UV flower photos: All images used © Dr Schmitt, Weinheim Germany, http://uvir.eu ----------- 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
October 11 · 6 min
Why Does Music Captivate Us?
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 does music give us all the feels? Click here to SUBSCRIBE, it's FREE! -- http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub Why does music make us feel happy or sad? Or angry or romantic? How can simple sound waves cause so much emotion? I went from my comfy chair to the streets of Austin to investigate how it might be written into our neuroscience and evolution. Modern neuroscience says our brains may be wired to pick certain emotions out of music because they remind us of how people move! Humans are the only species we know that creates and communicate using music, but it's still unclear how or why we do that, brain-wise. Is it just a lucky side effect of evolution, like Steven Pinker says? Or is it a deeper part of our evolutionary history, as people like Mark Changizi and Daniel Levitin argue? New evolutionary science says that we may read emotion in music because it relates to how we sense emotion in people's movements. We'll take a trip from Austin to Dartmouth to Cambodia to hear why music makes us feel so many feels. The connections between movement and music go far beyond dance moves! Mike over at Idea Channel has a different opinion, head on over and check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWWYE4eLEfk References for this episode: http://dft.ba/-5ECR Special thanks to Dartmouth's Thalia Wheatley and Beau Sievers, who did the research. You can read more about it here: http://wheatlab.virb.com/dynamics http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2012/12/18/why-does-music-move-us-so/ 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
October 11 · 5 min
My Afternoon With A Giant Pacific Octopus!
Join the community ►► https://www.patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub More below: Joe went behind the scenes at Monterey Bay Aquarium to meet the Giant Pacific Octopus, a powerful and curious creature that challenges many of our notions of intelligence! ----------- FOLLOW US for more curiosity: 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/ Books from our episodes: http://smart-books.tumblr.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
October 11 · 7 min
Mindfulness in the Digital Age
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 ↓ In a world of distractions, how do we pay attention? It seems like every week someone tells us how the internet and the digital age are overloading our brains. Sure, sometimes it feels like we're being fed more information than we can handle, that we're paying attention to the wrong things. Are we giving our brain a fair shot? I explore some science that show how paying attention can be a bad thing, and then some science about how paying attention can be a very helpful thing Special cameos by Hank Green and Mike Rugnetta! Further reading: The original Simons and Chabris experiment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo The cocktail party effect: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/03/07/173613681/hear-that-in-a-din-of-voices-our-brains-can-tune-to-one The illusion of attention: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/neurophilosophy/2011/aug/11/neuroscience-psychology How is the internet changing our brains? (Harold Rheingold and more) http://www.edge.org/q2010/q10_index.html#responses Sherry Turkle - Alone Together http://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together.html 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
October 11 · 17 min
The Strange Science of Why We Dream
Take the PBS Digital Studios audience survey: https://to.pbs.org/2021survey We’re on PATREON! Join the community https://www.patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Uploaded 22-12-21 It would be a lot easier to study the science of dreaming if we weren’t asleep every time we did it. Why do we dream? What does dreaming do for our brains? How did dreaming evolve? Here’s a look at the current theories from psychology and neuroscience. References: Barrett, D. (2017), Dreams and creative problem-solving. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., 1406: 64-67. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.13412 Carlo Cipolli, Roberto Bolzani, Cesare Comoldi, Rossana De Beni, Iino Fagioli, Bizarreness Effect in Dream Recall, Sleep, Volume 16, Issue 2, March 1993, Pages 163–170, https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/16.2.163 Eagleman DM, Vaughn DA (2021). The Defensive Activation Theory: REM Sleep as a Mechanism to Prevent Takeover of the Visual Cortex. Frontiers in Neuroscience. 15:632853. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2021.632853 El-Solh, A. A. (2018). Management of nightmares in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder: Current perspectives. Nature and Science of Sleep, 10, 409–420.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30538593/ Hughes, J. Donald. (2000). Dream Interpretation in Ancient Civilizations. Dreaming. 10. 7-18. 10.1023/A:1009447606158. Káli, S., Dayan, P. Off-line replay maintains declarative memories in a model of hippocampal-neocortical interactions. Nature Neuroscience 7, 286–294 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1202 Montangero, Jacques and Ivanyi, Corinne and Saint-Hilaire, Zara. (2003). Completeness and accuracy of morning reports after a recall cue: Comparison of dream and film reports. Consciousness and cognition. 12. 49-62. 10.1016/S1053-8100(02)00029-6. Stickgold, R., Malia, A.; Maguire, D., Roddenberry, D., O'Connor, M. (2000). Replaying the Game: Hypnagogic Images in Normals and Amnesics. Science. 290 (5490): 350–353. doi:10.1126/science.290.5490.350. Valli, K., Revonsuo, A., Pälkäs, O., Ismail, K. H., Ali, K. J., and Punamäki, R.-L. (2005). The threat simulation theory of the evolutionary function of dreaming: Evidence from dreams of traumatized children. Consciousness and Cognition, 14(1), 188–218. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15766897/ van der Linden, S. The Science Behind Dreaming. Scientific American. July 26, 2011 Erin J. Wamsley, PhD, Karen Perry, MD, Ina Djonlagic, MD, Laura Babkes Reaven, MD, Robert Stickgold, PhD, Cognitive Replay of Visuomotor Learning at Sleep Onset: Temporal Dynamics and Relationship to Task Performance, Sleep, Volume 33, Issue 1, January 2010, Pages 59–68, https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/33.1.59 ----------- Special thanks to our Brain Trust Patrons: Barbora Bei Ken Board T Clinger 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
October 11 · 12 min
How Your Brain Makes Time Pass Fast or Slow
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 01-09-20 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 Time passes for all of us at the same rate of one second per second. But why does it sometimes feel like time is passing so fast, or so slowly? Especially during COVID? Let’s learn about how our brains keep track of and try to make sense of time, and how they get fooled. Watch our previous video about masks: https://youtu.be/0Tp0zB904Mc Our entire COVID-19 playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsmqeqKj7M-pvu23aAUn6gtvDZAymnZ0K References: https://sites.google.com/view/how-perceive-time-references/home Special thanks to our Brain Trust Patrons: AlecZero Amory Silva Amy Sowada Baerbel Winkler Benjamin Teinby Denzel Holmes Diego Lombeida Dustin Eric Meer George Gladding Jay Stephens Karen Haskell Marcus Tuepker Megan K Bradshaw Peter Ehrnstrom Robert Young Salih Arslan Vincbis Zenimal 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
October 11 · 10 min
Why Do More Species Concentrate Near the Equator?
Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Go to http://Raceforretirement.com and see how the action gap affects you. Follow all of our Peru adventures on this playlist: http://bit.ly/SmartPeru ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Special thanks to Rainforest Expeditions for hosting us! Visit http://www.perunature.com/ References: Wilson, E.O. "The Diversity of Life" http://eowilsonfoundation.org/the-diversity-of-life/ Eichhorn, Markus P. "Latitudinal gradients." Natural Systems: The organisation of life: 249-264. "Tropical Ecology" (textbook) by John Kircher (2011) http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9486.html Condamine, Fabien L., et al. "What causes latitudinal gradients in species diversity? Evolutionary processes and ecological constraints on swallowtail biodiversity." Ecology letters 15.3 (2012): 267-277. Jenkins, Clinton N., Stuart L. Pimm, and Lucas N. Joppa. "Global patterns of terrestrial vertebrate diversity and conservation." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110.28 (2013): E2602-E2610. Mannion, Philip D., et al. "The latitudinal biodiversity gradient through deep time." Trends in ecology & evolution 29.1 (2014): 42-50. Mittelbach, Gary G., et al. "Evolution and the latitudinal diversity gradient: speciation, extinction and biogeography." Ecology letters 10.4 (2007): 315-331. Wiens, John J., et al. "Evolutionary and ecological causes of the latitudinal diversity gradient in hylid frogs: treefrog trees unearth the roots of high tropical diversity." The American Naturalist 168.5 (2006): 579-596. ---------------- 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
October 11 · 20 min
Scientists Finally Figured Out What Love Is For
The dumb things we do for love make a lot more sense than you think… ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Uploaded 11-06-26 Love makes people do ridiculous things: quit jobs, cross continents, build monuments, and ignore every red flag in sight. But what if that's exactly what love evolved to do? This video explores the neuroscience, psychology, and evolutionary biology of romance to explain why love can feel irrational—and why that may have helped make us human. References: https://sites.google.com/view/purpose-of-love-references/home 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! 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, Bernadette Etienne, Brent Lopez, dani bowman, David Johnston, Ed Eyden, Eric Meer, Greg Olson, Jaap Westera, Karen Haskell, Marcus Pingel, Mike and Patty Loftis, 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
October 11 · 10 min
Why People Don't Trust Climate Science
Get the FACTS about climate change: http://youtu.be/ffjIyms1BX4 Don’t miss our next video! SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓ 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 Scientists overwhelmingly agree that our climate is changing, Earth is getting warmer, sea levels are rising, and it's primarily because of humans putting lots of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Yet 4 in 10 Americans aren't convinced. Here's what psychologists and sociologists have to say about why some people don't believe in climate science. Last week's video: Climate Science - What You Need to Know https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffjIyms1BX4 RECOMMENDED READING/SOURCES: "Don't Even Think About It" by George Marshall: http://amzn.to/1DCX6HU Also check out George Marshall's website: http://www.climateconviction.org/ "The Republican Brain" by Chris Mooney: http://bit.ly/1GJew1C "Unscientific America" by Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum: http://amzn.to/1BQsocf "Fool Me Twice" by Shawn Lawrence Otto: http://bit.ly/12Y2Gnc Want to learn about the science of climate change and why humans are causing it, but in layman's terms? I recommend these books: Climate Change: Evidence and Causes (National Academy of Sciences/Royal Society) FREE ebook: http://amzn.to/1w6itfl Global Weirdness (Climate Central) http://amzn.to/1BtZZbP How to Change Minds About Our Changing Climate (Seth Darling + Douglas Sisterson) http://amzn.to/12jjcxN Produced for PBS Digital Studios Joe Hanson - Creator/Host/Writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen Inc Kate 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 ----------- 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
October 11 · 10 min
Antibiotic Resistance and the Ascent of Superbugs
----------------- It's Okay To Be Smart is written and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D Follow me on Twitter/Instagram: @DrJoeHanson @okaytobesmart 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 - Associate Producer Andrew Matthews - Editing/Motion Graphics/Animation 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, stock footage from Videoblocks ----------------- Last week's video: The Recipe For Life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuBWjY9BpEc 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
October 11 · 13 min
How Do We Measure How Vast the Universe Is?
Watch me host @HighSchoolQuizShow! https://www.youtube.com/@HighSchoolQuizShow Join our Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Since the time of the ancient Greeks, scientists have been constructing a cosmic measuring tape to measure the universe from our own backyard all the way to its ever-expanding edge: the cosmic distance ladder. In this video, we climb that ladder and explore how each rung has revealed something new and previously unthinkable about the universe we live in. References: https://sites.google.com/view/cosmic-distance-references/home 0:00 How far away are things? 1:05 Near, far, parallax that star 3:25 Island universes and Hubble's blinking star 5:51 Redshifted rainbows and the expanding universe 7:41 Supernovae and the end of everything 9:08 Conclusion: The ladder of discovery 10:00 I'm hosting a game show! ----------- 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 Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
October 11 · 7 min
Could We Recreate Ourselves?
Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Just be yourself! Or be your other self. Whichever. Subscribe: http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub Twitter: @okaytobesmart ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Is the science of Orphan Black realistic? Could we clone humans, or engineer them to have customized traits? We take a look at today's genetic engineering technologies to find out if designer babies and human cloning is, or should be, a reality BOOKS! For more on the modern science of cloning and genetic modification, read the book "Frankenstein's Cat" by Emily Anthes: http://amzn.to/1zsVizw Chinese scientists have edited the genome of human embryos (sadly this news came out after we had filmed): http://www.theverge.com/2015/4/23/8477491/human-genome-editing-embryo-china-crispr How CRISPRs work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pp17E4E-O8 Scientists call for a moratorium on human gene editing: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/20/science/biologists-call-for-halt-to-gene-editing-technique-in-humans.html?_r=1 Three-parent babies: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/29/magazine/the-brave-new-world-of-three-parent-ivf.html Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment 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 Dalton Allen - Post-Production Intern Theme music: "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod Other music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock, stock footage from Videoblocks ----------------- Last week's video: Is Ultron Inevitable? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Irmtk5QG8s 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
October 11 · 9 min
How These Ants Swept Across the U.S. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
And how we're fighting back! Don't miss our next video! SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Get yourself an awesome IOTBS shirt! http://dftba.com/besmart Special thanks to Dr. Rob Plowes from the University of Texas at Austin fire ant research lab for letting us come film their ants and phorid flies: http://www.sbs.utexas.edu/fireant/Research%20Program.html If you want to learn everything there is to know about fire ants, read "The Fire Ants" by Walter R. Tschinkel http://amzn.to/1U8jz1S Check your local library! https://www.worldcat.org/title/fire-ants/oclc/64379652 Rachel Carson - "Silent Spring" http://amzn.to/20QwWbM Fire ant raft - Matt Bennett https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA-e65i3bDs Fire ant escape rafts - Company of biologists https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxjT99l0mqw ---- 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/drjoehanson Follow on Instagram: http://instagram.com/DrJoeHanson ----------------- 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
October 11 · 5 min
How Many Stars Can We Count?
Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Counting stars from the shore of the cosmic ocean… Subscribe: http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub Twitter: @okaytobesmart ↓ More info and sources below ↓ LIKE THE SHIRT I'M WEARING? It's glow in the dark! You can get it here (along with space undies and other good stuff): https://www.etsy.com/shop/makeitgoodpdx How many stars are there in the universe? Are there more stars out there than grains of sand on Earth? Thanks to advanced space telescopes, we've been able to peer farther into deep time and the distant universe than we ever thought possible, and we might finally be able to answer these mind-boggling questions Every star visible from Earth (naked eye): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bright_Star_Catalogue Number of stars in the universe (estimated): http://www.universetoday.com/102630/how-many-stars-are-there-in-the-universe/ Hubble gigapixel image of Andromeda: http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic1502a/ Hubble eXtreme Deep Field: http://xdf.ucolick.org/ How big is the sky? http://www.badastronomy.com/bitesize/bigsky.html How much sand is there on Earth? http://www.hawaii.edu/suremath/jsand.html What would the cosmic sandbox look like? https://what-if.xkcd.com/83/ Carl Sagan's Cosmos: "The Shore of the Cosmic Ocean": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa1ImgOcOPM Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment 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 Dalton Allen - Post-Production Intern Theme music: "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod Other music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock ----------------- Last week's video: What Color Is The Universe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibVofIHq71s 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
October 11 · 5 min
Building Music From Space!
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 ↓ Check out some beautiful music made from space itself Click here to SUBSCRIBE, it's FREE! -- http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub There is no sound in space. In the near-vacuum of space, there is nothing to transmit the physical waves that we need to perceive sound. But that doesn't mean we can't MAKE sound from space. This week, I feature several artists using scientific data to create "space sonification" projects. From the longest palindrome ever created to a chorus created from Earth's magnetic field, these pieces lie at the intersection of art and science. More than just art, they allow us to perceive patterns in complex data in a completely new way Perhaps it answers the question: If the universe had a voice, what song would it sing? FULL Versions of Pieces Featured: Robert Alexander - Transit of Venus http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com/post/42845983348/robert-alexander-solar-sonification Semiconductor Films - "20 Hz" http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com/post/44264199289/20-hz-auroras-as-sound Van Allen Belt chorus http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com/post/32692373350/chorus-van-allen-belts Daniel Starr-Tambor - "Mandala" http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com/post/15977543553/mandala-a-planetary-musical-palindrome-by-daniel (this piece is the longest palndrome ever created, at 62 viginitillion notes!!) 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
October 11 · 10 min
Can You Crush a Human Using the Atmosphere?
Try Audible for 30 days visit https://www.audible.com/ok or text ok to 500 500! SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Uploaded 02-04-19 Air. I bet you never even notice that it’s there. Yet you are swimming in an ocean of it every day. If there’s a literal ton of air pressing down on you all the time, so why don’t we feel it? We look back at the history of physics to learn how we figured out air pressure, why vacuums don’t suck, and how people like Galileo, Torricelli, and Otto von Guericke changed science forever with a few simple experiments. #AirPressure #Physics #Atmosphere DISCLAIMER: Do not perform the trash bag experiment without adult supervision. Always have a helper nearby so you don’t get trapped in the bag. And never ever put your head inside a trash bag, ever. Here’s how to try it yourself: https://exploratorium.edu/snacks/feeling-pressured ----------- REFERENCES: Walker, Gabrielle. An Ocean of Air: Why the Wind Blows and Other Mysteries of the Atmosphere. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008. ----------- FOLLOW US for more curiosity: 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 http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Books from our episodes: http://smart-books.tumblr.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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