The Science of Plot Twists

The Science of Plot TwistsTop of Mind with Julie Rose • Season 1, Episode 827, Segment 2

Jun 5, 2018 • 19m

Guest: Vera Tobin, PhD, Assistant Professor of Cognitive Science, Case Western Reserve University, and Author of “Elements of Surprise: Our Mental Limits and the Satisfactions of Plot” Have you ever flipped to the end of a book just to find out what happens before you commit to reading it? Believe it or not, spoilers can actually enhance the audience’s enjoyment of a film or book. Cognitive scientist Vera Tobin explains why.

Other Segments

Trump Is Making Enemies of America's AlliesJun 5, 201820mGuests: Chris Karpowitz, PhD, Professor of Political Science, BYU; Grant Madsen, PhD, Assistant Professor of History, BYU As President Trump heads to the annual summit of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations, he won’t get a very warm reception. A number of Trump’s moves over the last year have angered America’s closest allies. Just last week, President Trump drew outrage from Canada, Mexico and the European Union by putting an extra tax on all steel and aluminum those countries sell into the US. The EU is planning to tax iconic US products including motorcycles, denim, cranberry juice and peanut butter in retaliation.

Guests: Chris Karpowitz, PhD, Professor of Political Science, BYU; Grant Madsen, PhD, Assistant Professor of History, BYU As President Trump heads to the annual summit of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations, he won’t get a very warm reception. A number of Trump’s moves over the last year have angered America’s closest allies. Just last week, President Trump drew outrage from Canada, Mexico and the European Union by putting an extra tax on all steel and aluminum those countries sell into the US. The EU is planning to tax iconic US products including motorcycles, denim, cranberry juice and peanut butter in retaliation.

Politically Linked CharitiesJun 5, 201812mGuest: Raymond Fisman, PhD, Slater Family Professor in Behavioral Economics, Boston University It’s not that hard to track how much businesses donate directly to campaigns and politicians, since that information has to be disclosed. But when businesses donate to a politician’s favorite charity, connecting the dots is a little trickier. Should that kind of giving be considered political, too? And disclosed like campaign donations are?

Guest: Raymond Fisman, PhD, Slater Family Professor in Behavioral Economics, Boston University It’s not that hard to track how much businesses donate directly to campaigns and politicians, since that information has to be disclosed. But when businesses donate to a politician’s favorite charity, connecting the dots is a little trickier. Should that kind of giving be considered political, too? And disclosed like campaign donations are?

The Suffocating Sea: The Dead Zone in the Arabian SeaJun 5, 201815mGuest: Bastien Queste, PhD, Marine Biogeochemist and Research Fellow at the Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia Pirates and political conflict make a large stretch of the Arabian Sea dangerous for scientists concerned about the water quality there. So a team of researchers deployed human-sized underwater drones to get a closer look at the problems lurking below the water in the Gulf of Oman, which is bordered by Oman, Iran, Pakistan and India. Their findings show a dead zone that’s grown to roughly the size of Florida.

Guest: Bastien Queste, PhD, Marine Biogeochemist and Research Fellow at the Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia Pirates and political conflict make a large stretch of the Arabian Sea dangerous for scientists concerned about the water quality there. So a team of researchers deployed human-sized underwater drones to get a closer look at the problems lurking below the water in the Gulf of Oman, which is bordered by Oman, Iran, Pakistan and India. Their findings show a dead zone that’s grown to roughly the size of Florida.

ChatterBaby: An Instruction Manual for Your Baby?Jun 5, 201813mGuest: Ariana Anderson, PhD, Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehvioral Science, UCLA, and the Director of the Laboratory of Computational Neuropsychology in the Medical Psychology-Neuropsychology Division, UCLA Babies don’t come with instruction manuals, so one of the first challenges for new parents is learning how to interpret their child’s cries. Now there’s an app for that called ChatterBaby. UCLA statistician Ariana Anderson has created an algorithm that can tell the difference between a cry of pain and a cry that means “Feed me!”

Guest: Ariana Anderson, PhD, Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehvioral Science, UCLA, and the Director of the Laboratory of Computational Neuropsychology in the Medical Psychology-Neuropsychology Division, UCLA Babies don’t come with instruction manuals, so one of the first challenges for new parents is learning how to interpret their child’s cries. Now there’s an app for that called ChatterBaby. UCLA statistician Ariana Anderson has created an algorithm that can tell the difference between a cry of pain and a cry that means “Feed me!”

Mother of a Potential ShooterJun 5, 201824mGuests: Liza Long, Freelance Writer, Mental Health Activist, and Author of “The Price of Silence: A Mom’s Perspective on Mental Illness”; Eric Walton, Son of Liza Long, High School Grad, and Presenter of the TED talk “Surviving With Mental Illness”

Guests: Liza Long, Freelance Writer, Mental Health Activist, and Author of “The Price of Silence: A Mom’s Perspective on Mental Illness”; Eric Walton, Son of Liza Long, High School Grad, and Presenter of the TED talk “Surviving With Mental Illness”