Curiosity Daily Podcast: Mass Hysteria, Why You Say “Like,” Beauty’s Moral Value

Episode Show Notes:

Additional resources from neurologist Suzanne O'Sullivan and further reading about the 2011 "mass hysteria" at LeRoy Junior-Senior High School:

• Pick up "The Sleeping Beauties And Other Stories of Mystery Illness" here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/606597/the-sleeping-beauties-by-suzanne-osullivan/
• NHS page: https://www.uclh.nhs.uk/our-services/find-consultant/dr-suzanne-osullivan
• Follow @Suz_OSullivan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Suz_OSullivan

• Neale Gulley. (2012, June 23). School’s end clears up New York students’ mystery twitching. U.S. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-students-twitcnew-york-h/schools-end-clears-up-new-york-students-mystery-twitching-idUSBRE85M0DF20120623

Verbal tics and filler words by Ashley Hamer (Listener question from Kitty in San Francisco)

• So, Um, How Do You, Like, Stop Using Filler Words? (Published 2017). (2021). The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/24/us/verbal-ticks-like-um.html
• ‌Enfield, N. (2018, January 9). A linguist explains why it’s okay to say “um” and “uh.” Quartz; Quartz. https://qz.com/work/1175505/a-linguist-explains-why-its-okay-to-say-um-and-uh/
• ‌Liberman, M. (2014). Language Log» More on UM and UH. Upenn.edu. https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=13713 ‌
• Dr. Jena Barchas-Lichtenstein. (2017, March). A linguistic anthropologist explains why Christopher Mele’s New York Times article on filler words is wrong and banning phrases like “like” and “um” could be sexist. Quartz; Quartz. https://qz.com/921004/lets-stop-demonizing-filler-words/

We see beautiful things as having more moral worth by Cameron Duke

• Moral standing | ethics | Britannica. (2021). In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/moral-standing
• Klebl, C., Luo, Y., & Bastian, B. (2021). Beyond Aesthetic Judgment: Beauty Increases Moral Standing Through Perceptions of Purity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 014616722110236. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672211023648
• Williams, P. H., Burgess, N. D., & Rahbek, C. (2000). Flagship species, ecological complementarity and conserving the diversity of mammals and birds in sub-Saharan Africa. Animal Conservation, 3(3), 249–260. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2000.tb00110.x
• Young, E. (2021, August 11). Here’s Why We Believe That Beautiful Animals Are More Deserving Of Our Protection. Research Digest. https://digest.bps.org.uk/2021/08/11/heres-why-we-believe-that-beautiful-animals-are-more-deserving-of-our-protection/
• Episode about funny memes to protect ugly species: https://www.curiositydaily.com/rub-some-dirt-on-it-to-heal-wounds-funny-memes-can-save-endangered-species-and-space-changes-the-shape-of-astronauts-hearts/

Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer. Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.