Dinosaur Bone Moguls, Spider-tailed Vipers and Seasonal Crimes

This week’s episode is a reminder that humans will try to make money from anything, and nature will always be stranger than we expect. We jump from dinosaur bones as luxury investments, to an AI school that claims it can speed up learning, to a snake with a tail that looks like a spider, and then to crime patterns that change with the seasons. First up: dinosaur fossils. Dinosaur skeletons are being bought and sold like high-end art, with buyers ranging from celebrities to finance types who want something rare for their collection. Then we head to Iran for the spider-tailed viper, a snake that uses its tail like bait. The tail looks like a spider, so birds get curious and come closer, and the snake strikes. It’s clever, unsettling, and a good reminder that behaviour can be just as important as bones when it comes to evolution. We also look at Alpha School, which says AI can help kids finish core learning in a couple of hours, then spend the rest of the day on skills and personal interests. It sounds exciting, but we keep one eyebrow raised, because, well, it’s called “Alpha School”. We finish with seasonal crime, where burglary peaks in winter in the UK but summer in North America, and bike theft spikes in summer because that’s when bikes are everywhere and easiest to steal. CHAPTER MARKERS: 00:00 Intro 01:48 Record Fossil Auction Prices 05:36 Who Buys and Public Access 08:54 Is It a Good Investment 10:20 Spider Tailed Viper 16:31 Alpha School and Two Hour Learning 19:48 Social Media Grading 20:37 Unpaid Grit Assignments 21:46 Heart Rate Test 25:57 Crime Seasonality Explained 32:35 Biggest Seasonal Crime SOURCES: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2027-89047-001?doi=1 https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.70308 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43762-023-00094-x https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-much-should-a-dinosaur-cost/ https://www.sciencealert.com/extremely-rare-rapunzel-syndrome-can-cause-a-hairball-so-large-it-requires-surgery https://www.swinburne.edu.au/news/2016/10/what-is-rapunzel-syndrome-and-why-do-some-people-eat-hair/ https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-alpha-school-education-heart-monitor https://alpha.school/the-program/#love https://buildcognitiveresonance.substack.com/p/special-report-my-so-called-alpha See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.