Podcast Transcript In Greek, the word for dwarf is “nanos.” The International Bureau of Weights and Measures adopted the prefix ‘nano’ to mean one billionth. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter, and it is the scale at which some of the most groundbreaking work is being done in technology and materials science. Learn …
Podcast Transcript Located on the banks of the River Seine lies the city of Paris. Paris has a long history dating back over 2000 years. During its long history, it has seen wars, plagues, and kings and emperors. Today it is the most visited city on Earth, home to some of the world’s greatest works …
Podcast Transcript One of the most fascinating areas of mathematics and economics is game theory. Game theory involves analyzing competitive situations where multiple participants make interdependent decisions. In other words, the result will depend not just on what you decide but on what someone else decides as well. Game theory has applications not just in …
Podcast Transcript On January 28, 1986, an event occurred that would be remembered by almost everyone alive at the time. Seventy-three seconds into its flight, the Space Shuttle Challenger was destroyed by a violent explosion, killing all seven astronauts on board. In addition to being seared into the minds of those who witnessed the tragedy, …
Podcast Transcript The third Monday of February every year in the United States is a holiday that most people know as Presidents’ Day. It is not the most glamorous holiday, and most people actually forget that it exists until they wonder why they didn’t get any mail. While the day itself isn’t really one that …
Podcast Transcript If you think of the first world war, your mind probably turns to images of trench warfare and thousands of men losing their lives to try and gain just a few meters of land. However, in the first few weeks of the war, this was not at all the case. In fact, it …
Podcast Transcript In 1879, Constantin Fahlberg, a chemist at Johns Hopkins University, made an astonishing discovery. He was conducting experiments with coal tar when he forgot to wash his hands. When he started eating lunch, he noticed something odd. His fingers tasted sweet. Fahlberg’s discovery was the start of a century-long pursuit to create alternatives …
Podcast Transcript On March 5, 1770, one of the major events leading up to the American Revolution occurred. A confrontation between Boston civilians and British soldiers resulted in the deaths of five Americans. While the events of that day helped spur the cause of American independence, the events which happened after helped determine what kind …
Podcast Transcript In 1999, two social psychologists, David Dunning and Justin Kruger, published a seminal paper on a cognitive bias that can affect nearly everyone. Since the paper was published, it has given a name to something which most people have recognized and, at times, may have been guilty of themselves. However, most people who …