Escape Pod: #1 Understanding the self-awareness of dolphins
Jan 2, 2024
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Legendary gymnast Simone Biles discusses the seemingly impossible abilities of gymnasts and ballerinas, including her own record-breaking triple double. The podcast also explores the self-awareness of dolphins and whales and the intricacies of their language, as well as the complex game of Go with more possible moves than there are atoms in the universe.
Dolphins and whales exhibit self-awareness and have intricate language and vocalizations.
Ballet and gymnastics showcase the application of fundamental physics principles to achieve remarkable routines, contrary to defying gravity.
Deep dives
Rescuing a Tangled Whale
A rescue team spent five hours cutting ropes off a tangled humpback whale near the Farallen Islands. After being freed, the whale not only swam away but also circled around the rescue team, gently nudging them, conveying gratitude.
The Physics of Ballet and Gymnastics
Ballet and gymnastics demonstrate the fundamental principles of physics, contrary to the perception of defying gravity. Dancers and gymnasts use tactics like momentum conservation, balancing, angular momentum, and launching to achieve their incredible routines.
The Complexity of the Game Go and Artificial Intelligence
The game of Go, with its vast number of possible moves, highlights the limits of human calculation. Alpha Go, an AI developed by DeepMind, learned Go through trial and error, developing intuitive strategies beyond human expertise. This exemplifies how AI can excel at incredibly complex tasks, offering fresh insights and potentially revolutionizing our understanding of the universe.
This is a re-airing of a podcast originally released in January 2021.
An episode of Escape Pod all about understanding. We start by discussing the self-awareness of dolphins and whales, and the intricacies of their language and vocalisations. Then we marvel at the seemingly impossible abilities of gymnasts and ballerinas, most notably Simone Biles who performed a legendary triple double. And then we take a look at the Chinese board game Go - a game with more possible moves than there are atoms in the universe.
On the pod are Rowan Hooper, Anna Demming and Timothy Revell. Find out more at newscientist.com/podcasts