The Psychology of Crowds & Where Did Life Come From?

Oct 24, 2024

In this discussion, Dan Hancox, author of "Multitudes: How Crowds Made the Modern World," dives into the psychology of crowds, exploring how shared experiences can transform individuals and even trigger mob behavior. He challenges traditional views on crowd mentality, revealing both the joyous and dark aspects of collective action. Meanwhile, Mario Livio, an astrophysicist and former Hubble Space Telescope researcher, tackles profound questions about the origins of life on Earth and the quest for extraterrestrial existence, contemplating what it truly means for life to emerge.

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Intro

00:00 • 5min

The Psychology of Crowds

04:37 • 9min

Understanding the Dynamics of Crowd Behavior

13:41 • 5min

Crowd Contagion: Chaos and Celebration

19:10 • 6min

The Psychology of Riots and Origins of Life

24:48 • 8min

The Origins of Life and Cosmic Possibilities

33:11 • 12min

Creating Life and Cosmic Perspectives

45:08 • 7min

Most of us have heard that the speed at which you drive can impact your gas mileage but by how much? My guess is you probably believe it isn’t a lot. This episode begins by explaining how much slowing down will save you on gas – and it is more than you think. And if you have a bike rack on your car – you really have to hear this. https://abc7.com/archive/9151803/

There is something about a crowd. When you go to a concert or sporting event, you feel a kinship with the crowd. And the crowd has an energy to it that is hard to describe. Crowds also have a dark side. A crowd can turn into a mob and a mob can become violent. How does that happen? Is there such a thing as a mob mentality that makes people do things they would otherwise never do? Here to look at the science of crowds is Dan Hancox. He has thoroughly researched the topic and wrote a book about it titled Multitudes: How Crowds Made the Modern World (https://amzn.to/40axzVW).

Life comes from other life. New plants come from existing plants, you came from your parents – all life comes from existing life. If that is so, then where did the first life forms come from? Also, while life is abundant here on earth, we have yet to discover life anywhere else in the universe that we can see. Why not? Here to tackle these questions is Mario Livio. He is an astrophysicist who worked with the Hubble Space Telescope and is the author if seven books, - his latest (which he co-authored with Jack Szostak), is titled Is Earth Exceptional?: The Quest for Cosmic Life (https://amzn.to/4dSpSGY).

If you are a Venmo user, you’ve surely noticed that you can see when other people use the service. You can see who they pay and how much they pay – and Consumer Reports doesn’t like this a bit. Listen as I reveal what Consumer Reports says is the potential problem of everyone seeing your transactions and I will tell you how to make your details private. https://www.consumerreports.org/electronics/privacy/how-to-make-your-venmo-information-private-a6507250342/

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