Mike and Greg converse on the subject of the geology and geography of Arizona and the red rocks of Sedona. The rocks tell the story of the ages of the earth, and this is a pretty chapter. We also talk about the end of ScienceBlogs, which has been a seminal collective that set the tone in many ways for a new means of science communication through social media. And finally, Greg interviewed Shanthan Kesharaju, who has created an Amazon Echo Skill to tutor in mathematics. There are implications for the future of how we use adaptive systems to teach skills and develop our minds, with the possibility of staving off dementia in patients as well.
We are back!
[caption id="attachment_321" align="alignright" width="199"] Bill Schutt, auther of Pump: A Natural History of the Heart[/caption]
Join us with part one of an interview with zoologist and author Bill Schutt, as we discuss his latest book, Pump: A Natural History of the Heart, a delightful and informative exploration of the heart, in all its (anatomical) forms.
We have changed our format a little, and hope you enjoy it. Feedback is welcome as long as you are nice about it.
Material discussed in this and the next episode:
Pump: A Natural History of the Heart
Meteorite Crash-Landed in Canada Woman's Bed
COVID-19 slows birth rate in U.S., Europe
Bat guts become less healthy through diet of 'fast food' from banana plantations
Threatened rattlesnakes' inbreeding makes species more resistant to bad mutations
Dr. Karen Stollznow is a linguist who earned her PhD at the University of New England, in Australia. She hosts the skeptical podcast Monster Talk with Blake Smith (subscribe, you'll thank us!) She is also a prolific author, having published academic works, non-fiction as well as fiction.
In this episode, we open with the ways in which we judge and stereotype each other based on the dialect and language that we use and move on to the meanings of words and how the change in time and space. Not only does the cafe lose the accent after a time, but bad words turn good and good words turn bad. It's hysterical, how that works.
We marked this episode "explicit" because we discuss some of the words that are not used in polite language and how the relative offense of using some words varies based on where the speaker is as well as how the audience may be.
Check out her Amazon Author's Page Here and also check out Monster Talk.