Tag: talk

• The Chimps are Talking

  A study was published in Nature examining communication among chimpanzees. It found that chimps use "words," and can combine the words into "syntactic-like structures," the beginnings of phrases and sentences. Jeff and Anthony dig into how the researchers came to this conclusion, and discuss how this might alter their perception of primates. [more]

  May 29, 2023Episodes

• Lucid Dreaming and Alone with Your Thoughts

  An international team of researchers was able to achieve real-time dialogues with people in the midst of lucid dreams, according to a study published in Current Biology. Jeff and Anthony discuss whether they have experienced lucid dreaming, and if the excitement around this study is a bit overstated. Then, how difficult is it for humans to be alone with their thoughts? A new study shows just how far people will go to stop the silence. Anthony and Jeff make sense of the idea that people might hurt themselves rather than do nothing. [more]

  March 5, 2021Episodes

• Dog Buttons and Flying.. Cars?

  Bunny the dog has 5 million Tik Tok followers and an array of buttons that let's her talk to them. By pressing a button, she can construct rudimentary sentences that her owner believes constitutes a sophisticated understanding of language. Anthony and Jeff discuss the research into Bunny and other animals, and whether this technique might be used to unlock communication in pets. Then, with over a dozen companies actively working on vertical take off and landing vehicles, is the flying car future actually happening? Jeff and Anthony take a look at the current state of personal air transportation. [more]

  November 27, 2020Episodes