Mimetic Desires, Testing Witness Memories, Fermilab’s Ferret
Learn about why you want things just because others do too; a way to reduce wrongful convictions; and Fermilab’s ferret.
February 09, 2022
“Mimetic desires” are things you want because others want them — here’s how to spot them by Steffie Drucker
- Reese, H. (2021, November 8). Mimetic desire: How to avoid chasing things you don’t truly want. Big Think; Big Think. https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/mimetic-desire-luke-burgis/
- Caprino, K. (2021, June 4). How To Identify Your True Desires And Stop Imitating Everyone Else’s. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathycaprino/2021/06/04/how-to-identify-your-true-desires-and-stop-imitating-everyone-elses/?sh=15125424699e
- Girard, Rene | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2015). Utm.edu. https://iep.utm.edu/girard/
- Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire by Luke Burgis – Summary & Quotes. (2021). Matthewvere.com. https://www.matthewvere.com/notes/wanting-the-power-of-mimetic-desire#toc-thick-desires
- Mimetic Theory | What It Is. (2019). Mimetic Theory. https://mimetictheory.com/what-it-is-2/
To reduce wrongful convictions, test a witness’s memory only once by Grant Currin
- One and done: Researchers urge testing eyewitness memory only once. (2021, November 3). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/933794
- Wixted, J. T., Wells, G. L., Loftus, E. F., & Garrett, B. L. (2021). Test a Witness’s Memory of a Suspect Only Once. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 22(1_suppl), 1S18S. https://doi.org/10.1177/15291006211026259
- Kimball, S. (2021, January 28). US Supreme Court turns down Texas death row case concerning police hypnosis. Jurist.org; – JURIST – News – Legal News & Commentary. https://www.jurist.org/news/2021/01/us-supreme-court-turns-down-texas-death-row-case-concerning-police-hypnosis/
In the 1970s, one of Fermilab’s particle accelerator techs was a ferret named Felicia by Cameron Duke
- Felicia helps out. (2016, October 5). News. https://news.fnal.gov/2016/10/felicia-helps-out/
- Pinkowski, J. (2019, April 2). Why Physicists Tried to Put a Ferret in a Particle Accelerator. Atlas Obscura; Atlas Obscura. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/felicia-ferret-particle-accelerator-fermilab
- Searcy, M. (Fall 2014). A fuzzy concept. The University of Chicago Magazine. https://mag.uchicago.edu/science-medicine/fuzzy-concept
- Spichak, S. (2021, July 13). The Ferret Who Ran Inside the Fermi Particle Accelerator. Medium; History of Yesterday. https://historyofyesterday.com/the-ferret-who-ran-inside-the-fermi-particle-accelerator-fec5b3136b0b
Follow host Cody Gough on Giveo and at https://academicpodcasts.com. 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.
Next Up
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Personality-Predicting Eye Movements, a Mysterious Battery, and “English As She Is Spoke”
In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes:
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Quitting Smoking May Reawaken Healthy Cells, Why You Yawn During Exercise, and Telling the Age of Crime Scene Fingerprints
Learn about how quitting smoking may reawaken healthy cells; how researchers figured out how to tell the age of crime scene fingerprints to help investigators; and why you sometimes yawn while exercising or singing.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Fighting Coronavirus with Llamas, Why Rain Stops Rocket Launches, and Listener Questions About Cold Things
Learn about why NASA doesn’t launch rockets in the rain (which is why there was a delay launching the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley); why llamas are so promising for protecting humans against viruses like COVID-19; and why things get cold — when they’re wet, when you’re chewing mint gum, and when you blow air through narrowed lips.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Human Bones on the Red Market (w/ Brian Switek), Stop Venting Anger, and Asparagus Pee
Learn about the shadowy “red market” of bones, with help from author Brian Switek. You’ll also learn why venting your anger is unhealthy, and what you should do instead; and, why asparagus makes your pee smell weird.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Throbbing Pain Has Nothing to Do With Your Pulse
Learn about why social egalitarians are more likely to discriminate against older adults; why throbbing pain has nothing to do with your pulse; and why naturally gluten-free food is labeled gluten-free.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: GPS’ Past and Future (w/ Hugo Fruehauf) and Benefits of Napping Without Actually Falling Asleep
Hugo Fruehaf, one of the inventors of GPS, discusses the dark origins of GPS and how far we’ve come since. Plus: learn why quiet wakefulness makes it okay to take a nap without actually falling asleep.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Achieve Your Goals Faster, Why We Eat 3 Meals a Day, and the NATO Phonetic Alphabet
Learn about the complicated history of the NATO phonetic alphabet; why we eat three meals a day; and how you can use a technique called Functional Imagery Training to achieve your goals faster.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Why Facts Don’t Win Arguments, SETI 101, Self-Control Pitfalls
Learn why self-control isn’t always good for you; why you can’t win an argument using facts; and what SETI is looking for.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Book Towns, Chlorine Trifluoride, and Why You Shouldn’t Take Your Phone Out in Class
In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes:
Curiosity Daily Podcast: 5-Minute Hack to Beat Procrastination, Spider Benefits and Dangers, and Philosophical Disciplines
Learn a 5-minute hack for beating procrastination from Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom; why spiders are good for your home, and the most humane way to get rid of them; and a primer on a few philosophical disciplines to get you started in the world of philosophy.