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