Why Useless Knowledge Can Be So Useful

[@douglasboyle6544]

It all goes back to Isaac Asimov's famous words "The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'"

[@c.jishnu378]

Truly Shakespeare.

[@Kx0195]

Because human beings are a short-sighted, parasitic species to the planet and its' other species. I think it was Ricky Gervais who said something along the lines of "its our responsibility to kill ourselves for the benefit of everything else on the planet"

[@Ezullof]

Like almost everything Aasimov said and wrote, it looks very smart, but it's incredibly stupid. Eureka is what happens once we figure out the explanation for That's funny.

[@linhho8113]

​@@Ezullof You didn't get the point, what matter is not the answer but the question and the act of asking the right question.

[@williamwolf2844]

​@@Ezullof thank you for your comment about how stupid azimov is. It seems that you're super smart. He wrote 200 books. Please share with us the names of some of the books that you wrote so we can learn and become just as smart as you are. Thank you.

[@JanStrojil]

Saying that applied research is the only thing that matters is like saying that harvest is the only useful farming activity.

[@Tapeholder]

Very amazing metaphor. I will definitely use it when i go to interview in university to study engineering.

[@DuyNguyen-ks8dc]

awesome quote!

[@henryhuynh9182]

Exactly, applied vs pure research shouldn't be presented as a dichotomy. You can't apply the knowledge you don't know exists.

[@Matty002]

omg this is an amazing analogy

[@babyitsAP]

It's not though. That's a fallacy. I hope you hear heard though

[@xyuv6769]

I love how science can be picked up where it was left off and then continue to improve and get better from there.

[@SmittenKitten.]

Standing on the shoulders of giants!

[@robinblake7845]

Hey, thank you for this video. I'm a high school biology teacher and the last few years have been a struggle to convince students knowledge for the sake of knowledge is valuable. This gives me a real world example of the power of curiosity. Thank you

[@anthonyleblanc8915]

As a high school geometry teacher, I agree. My least favorite question is "When am I ever going to use this?" Even if I give them a concrete example of it being used in the real world, the response to that is, "Well I'm not going to do that when I get older."

[@johnnyboi5941]

I once read a response to this question that went something like “High school math is ‘useless’ the same way lifting dumbbells is ‘useless.’ While lifting weights serves no direct purpose, it’s good exercise that can help you in real life, like carry groceries or move a couch. Math is like weightlifting for your brain, and doing it helps you in problem solving.”

[@ambulocetusnatans]

With the current cultural environment, things are likely to get worse. Many students are likely to come to class with preconceived notions about certain issues, that may be at odds with objective reality. A simple statement about the ways things are, may have unintended consequences. A book that I think may be helpful for teachers these days is titled " How Minds Change" by David McRaney. It explores various methods of helping others to reach better conclusions in a non-confrontational manner

[@jursamaj]

But if you go back and listen to these examples, you'll notice that the people doing the work of discovering things are rarely the ones who get any value out of it. Scientists rarely get rich off the science. Investors do. So what any reasonably intelligent student is going to hear is "if you work hard at science, you can make somebody else rich". That's not the motivation you're reaching for.

[@nichendrix]

@jursamaj Only if getting rich is your endgame, most people don't want Anna get rich, they wanna get well off, but not have to deal with the stress that come witg big money, and some people aren't even motivated by money at all. An extreme case is Perelman, a Fields Medalist and Milenium prize winner, lives basically as a very poor people, becauae he refus d to receive the prizes he won. When asked why, he stated that at that moment he knew more about how the universe work than anyone else in the world, and what was money compared to the thrill that gave him.

[@LordAziki]

This is also why it's important for the results of research to be as accessible as possible. The easier seemingly-useless information is to find, the more likely somebody will stumble upon that information and use it to save lives.

[@unwatchedspacebum]

yeah, more and more, studies are hidden behind paywalls, once our world has transitioned to a post-money society and is a unified world government we may have complete access to all research data without restriction...except for weapons tech and dangerous viral/genetic stuff, like that will matter to hackers with conviction and time on their hands.

[@racecarrik]

What drives me up the wall is we choose to give scientists very little funding yet their discoveries directly improve everyone's lives. It's like humanity doesn't want to advance to a better world.

[@cherrydragon3120]

Its infuriating indeed

[@JuanGonzalez-iw1hi]

It's all the money game. Our society isn't for making the world a better place it's for increasing profit and those rarely go hand in hand

[@OldmanNix]

Yet people run to donate money to their preferred religion, content creator or politician.

[@scriptorpaulina]

Can we tell DOGE 😭 I want to keep working with NASA

[@jorgerangel2390]

Well it is not humanity, it is the rich that control that and the idiots only care about money, progress does not matter at all

[@YSPACElabs]

Mathematics is probably another really good example of the application of "useless" knowledge. Because mathematicians have already found ways to approximate polynomial roots, break up functions into component sinusoids, and use imaginary numbers (for example), we have very convenient ways to compute things that the original discoverers would have never even thought would be an application.

[@MOSMASTERING]

Nobody had any use for lasers when they were invented at all.. just a few years later, lasers are synonymous with 'science' ! They ended up in everything from range finding to audio playback and even cooling down atoms to near absolute zero. What a game changer! The statement 'what's the point of this?' should never be used around scientists doing research, you just never know... Same with atom smashers. Critics ask why billions need to be spent on ever larger particle accelerators. But, knowing how the universe works could lead to absolutely anything.. if we got a final complete standard model and equation to describe how everything works, surely we could invent anything we wanted. Room temperature superconductors are the next holy grail breakthrough in science. It would transform our whole world overnight. No waste electricity, any speed CPUs not limited by heat, it could slow global warming enough for us to survive if we're saving 40% of all electricity transferred over power lines

[@YayComity]

Agree! Examples abound, such as in data encryption. Pure number theory discoveries of Euclid and Euler and Fermat among others from centuries ago are now absolutely critical in online banking and commerce and communication. Their discoveries are allowing us to watch this video!

[@56jklove]

but i wouldnt call mathematics useless.

[@qwerty_and_azerty]

@@56jkloveyou wouldnt but many would and that’s the problem

[@56jklove]

@qwerty_and_azerty yeah. What we call useless can be objective and subjective. It depends on what is at hand. I've had this discussion before. Knowing just to know can be pointless. Matter of fact this is just my opinion. All knowledge we attain or seek in this world, is pointless. Since we all die and we can't take it with us after we die. But in the meantime in this world. I think there is knowledge that is more important or crucial then others. I wouldn't call knowing about sports is the same as knowing how light and Electromagnetism. I agree that we live in a world where people don't care about all fields and aspects of science and that includes math. Why do u think that is?

[@ncammann]

"Science is like sex. It MAY have a productive output. But that is not why we do it." - Richard Feynman

[@Rjsjrjsjrjsj]

🤣 Don't get me wrong, I like Feynman but "we" do both for multiple reasons. Including "productive" output.

[@kellydalstok8900]

@@Rjsjrjsjrjsj Hence the capitalised MAY.

[@maxwyght1840]

And considering that Feynman was quite the womanizer and fan of strip clubs, he would be the perfect authority to make the comparison

[@philb8437]

I love this !!

[@Rjsjrjsjrjsj]

@@kellydalstok8900 I see you're reading comprehension is poor. Let me help. The relevant sentence is "But that's NOT why we do it." Understand?

[@davideverling753]

You kinda hit the nail on the head when talking about science back in the day being more like philosophy; in fact prior to the widespread adoption of terms like “science” and “scientist”, around the turn of the century, they were called “natural philosophy” and “natural philosophers” respectively. As was the case in german, only it remains that way to this day: “Naturwissenschaften“, and I swear if I hear even one joke about german words being long I won’t hesitate to take this straight to the Bundesverfassungsgericht!

[@username-gh-d]

What are you trying to say with the german term Naturwissenschaften?

[@jssamp4442]

It's funny, but you have no cause of action under German law.

[@gastonzabala8477]

krankenhaus

[@vulcanfeline]

in fact, university degrees, in the sciences, are: BSc (bachelor of science), MSc (master of science), PhD (doctor of philosophy)

[@username-gh-d]

@@vulcanfeline that's why I'm wondering. PhD's aren't that common in Germany, the Dr.-degrees are different here. And the term "Naturwissenschaften" is just "natural sciences", like you already mentioned. So if we talk about philosophy or philosophers it's mostly because someone studies or studied philosophy itself.

[@littledreamerrem7021]

I hate that the sake of knowledge for knowledge's sake is so hard to fund. My interests lie in the biology of insects, but I don't really care about the ones that are attacking crops or spreading disease. I want to know about the underdogs, the ones doing their work in the background that we'll never know about because they "don't matter." Funding is rarely put towards researching groups that don't have a direct impact on industry or health...

[@RRrr-m5x]

You could collect insects. I found out recently that most of the species that aren't described and don't even have names are insects. So if you collect and pin them properly you could add to the field. You have to check how to pin and put the info correctly cause if you don't they're useless.

[@PhotonBeast]

And the 'ones that don't matter' often do. Their impact is often more subtle than the marquee ones but no less important or impactful.

[@proton8689]

Almost all bugs can or might matter.

[@littledreamerrem7021]

@proton8689 I agree wholeheartedly.

[@iggypei]

insects are sooo frickin cool... personally I want to make robotic insects someday. they are so small and yet are able to work together and create things (especially in eusocial insects as in the case of ants, which are also fricking cool). i am terrified of cockroaches, and most insects that fly, but I have to admit that watching them from a distance is fascinating...

[@Metalkatt]

Let nerds be nerds. Let the curious be curious. I remember one of the emeritus professors from Nottingham talking about how nobody thought the beginnings of MRI research were ever going to go anywhere... and now we all treat MRIs as a (very expensive) normal thing.

[@NI5M0]

The problem with this is that Germany and Japan had nerds with no oversight in WW2. Where do you draw the line?

[@jssamp4442]

@@NI5M0 With ethical review boards. Nobody said no oversight, just ease up on the profit requirement.

[@arifbagusprakoso2308]

I agree, as long as they don't use up my money in form of tax money.

[@jssamp4442]

@arifbagusprakoso2308 But you are willing to benefit from the discoveries they make and the technologies derived from them. You want the benefits but don't want to pay for it.

[@lukehahn4489]

@@NI5M0 explain how 1930-40's Axis "nerds" are responsible for MRI technology. Citations please. Can you?

[@Elanthiel]

When superconductivity was discovered, the scientists who first got that working thought that it was a funny quirk of quantum physics but would never be useful. Now every hospital has an MRI machine. The magnet in an MRI depends on superconductivity for its strength.

[@Algabatz]

I once visited the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, Mass. and was told that of the pupils they accepted every year, based on the project research they were proposing, they always accepted one that had a crazy project that nobody ever believed in, the reason being that they usually ended up learning an incredibly lot from researching the projects that were never going to succeed. The funny thing is that now and again the crazy projects actually pan out.

[@tom4ivo]

The currency of scientists is knowledge, not money. They're willing to put a lot of time and effort into learning new knowledge, especially in their area of interest. Most of them became research scientists because there was something they wanted to find out, and if they have to do research that doesn't take them in that direction, they will be less than enthusiastic about it.

[@kellydalstok8900]

I just can’n imagine being so incurious about the world that you can look at science only in the light of what its economic benefits are.

[@tom4ivo]

@@kellydalstok8900 It's not about economic benefits. Scientific curiosity leads to technological innovation, which leads to disruptive technologies, which threaten the position of the people and companies that are in power. Disruptive technologies rarely benefit the ones who are in control. Consequently, they'll do what they can to make sure things don't change. Incremental improvements that don't really change who benefits are okay, which is why there is a strong push to do research that is predictably productive. The people who run things make choices based on whether it will lead to them staying in charge or not, even if those choices are against the interests of the general public. They control the money that can be used to influence universities, government agencies, and congress to have things go the way they want. The book "Why Nations Fail" has examples of this, and how it affects economies. The book contains highlights of the research the authors did that earned them the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics, and shows the connection between political power and economic power.

[@chillaxer8273]

Current science is not about knowledge. Its about controlled information that lazy/sick people gobble up as "facts" Simple control method. But yes true science is wonderful

[@StuffandThings_]

I feel this. I'm a massive nerd and have a truly insatiable curiosity, and with the internet this has led to me acquiring a huge amount of random bits of knowledge. Sometimes I'll have a lightbulb moment drawing on some little obscure factoid I learned and stashed away in my subconscious _years_ prior. Having a ton of miscellaneous knowledge stashed away is such a boon for coming up with new and unique ideas, its so frustrating that people see aimless miscellaneous research as a waste of time.

[@ElijahHarmonofficial]

I have been telling my students for years to just learn because you never know when it will become useful. Thanks for making this video.

[@hazardousmaterial5492]

About 10 years ago, a professor in my college class mentioned an anegdote about a certain topic that we were covering. This year, i encountered a situation at my job where this information was actually useful and helped us to solve a problem. All knowledge could one day be helpful, and your brain will pull it deep feom your memory when you encounter a similar situation

[@TheBlackZodiacGhost]

Small correction: Gila monsters are one of the few lizards with medically significant venom. Venom in low doses have been found within varius monitor lizard species among others in recent years.

[@iLLuminatedWithDren]

Nope. Only 3 venomous lizards. Mexican beaded lizard. Gala monster. Komodo dragon. Only ones that have actual venom glands.

[@user255]

​@@iLLuminatedWithDren No, he is right. Currently we know many more. Example Varanus griseus has medically significant venom.

[@briebel2684]

@@iLLuminatedWithDren While they are not lizards, Garter Snakes were also long thought to be completely non venomous. But they are. A mild neurotoxin that helps to subdue their small prey, but isn't really that dangerous to humans. Point being, sometimes things are indeed venomous even if conventional knowledge says they aren't.

[@gg-gn3re]

@@iLLuminatedWithDren you can't even spell gila correctly when it's written all over the video and the person you're replying to. How can you trust yourself to make any type of correct thought?

[@swayback7375]

There is some proof that the saliva of almost all lizards has some medically significant venom-like qualities. Many snakes, like garter snakes are well known for being venomous, but that venom has no noticeable effect on humans. It’s very human of us to label things based on our understanding of them, but we know our understanding of most things is incomplete…

[@handanyldzhan9232]

It usually takes decades for a scientist to win a Nobel Prize for a discovery. Its value is only understood much later.

[@ouch1011]

I am far from a scientist, but I like to watch things that can teach me something (which is why I subscribe to this channel). As such, I’ve collected a lot of useless knowledge over the years. I know a little about a lot of things. I’ve found that to be super useful because it has helped me to have at least semi-informed responses to a LOT of different, unusual scenarios in my life. It’s kind of like knowing how to perform CPR. Most people will never need to perform CPR on someone else, so it could be seen as useless knowledge for the vast majority of people, but if you do end up in a scenario where someone needs CPR, that bit of useless knowledge can be literally life-saving.

[@mitchellwilley7208]

its funny you made this video, the other day my now ex-friend was saying that me learning physics and chemistry was stupid and that i would never use it and that i was wasting my time. I highly disagreed.

[@asfsfas2435]

depends on what kind of job you get

[@salty_slug]

That's wild lol, physics and chemistry are used daily, even for that ex-friend's health and safety XD

[@Thanos-hp1mw]

is he your ex-friend precisely because he said that lol

[@ytunnuyt]

This is something I have been thinking about for a long time, research should be made for the sake of knowledge itself as you can never know what possible applications we could find in the future for things that seem useless today Beautiful video btw, it really brought a smile to my face

[@MrsAlexisAgnew2019]

Joe is right: it may not be immediately obvious that knowledge gained today will be useful tomorrow. But I am living proof of it (in the workforce): the skills I gained from cold-calling and door-knocking in past sales jobs now help me as volunteer recruiter at a nonprofit to network with others and build relationships. I would never have thought these worlds would collide, yet here we are.

[@jillcrowe2626]

Thank you for your work. I feel the same way. We can do so much good in the world.

[@MrsAlexisAgnew2019]

@@jillcrowe2626You as well!

[@leeannkaiser2782]

The more diverse knowledge you have, the more creative you can be with your outlook, in thinking critically to solve problems or invent solutions. Many things humans face are complex and require someone to make associations across multiple variables. Accumulating data and having diverse knowledge is priceless!

[@DomyTheMad420]

11:30 politicians should be fired when they say stuff like that. some old fool once wasted his entire life studying lines, the stars and mathematics he had no idea he'd basically found our sciences you never know what you'll get

[@originaldylanbaxter]

Yeah, but Kentucky.

[@Etrancical]

Ya, politicians should, but their entire platform is to run on misinformation because it takes seconds to make up nonsense but hours to disprove it per person. The average person is unwilling to do deeper research and will take their words at face value no matter how wrong.

[@arifbagusprakoso2308]

Well, if you consider the opportunity cost, 700k can be used to solve many many many society problems.

[@anonymousperson7536]

The only people who can fire politicians are voters, and voters have been convinced they can feel smart by opposing "big government".

[@maxwyght1840]

Anyone who thinks feeding cocaine to quail birds has any merit should be arrested for animal abuse and charged with drug trafficking.

[@MawdyDev]

Hey parents and teachers! If your child/student asks you a question, answer it, no matter how unimportant it may seem to you! Nurture their curiosity and confidence to ask questions. The later in life they get, the harder it will be to start doing this. Don't expect other adults in their life to do it for you! A curious child grows into an intelligent adult. Don't stunt them! Edit, for clarification: If you don't know the answer, it's ok to admit that you don't know! Teach them how to research things on the internet. It will save you a lot of time if they already know how to read and type!

[@tealkerberus748]

"I don't know! Let's find out" is one of the most useful phrases in parenting.

[@anthonysaunders345]

It always concerns me how little lawmakers and policy-makers value science. The classic example is how much NASA spends each year, and yet few actually are aware of how much R&D in this field has had direct benefits to us all.

[@kensmith5694]

You could replace "science" with "knowledge" and you would be very correct. They don't value the lessons of history or math or the sciences. They have only two priorities (1) Get elected (2) get re-elected

[@lordgarion514]

If you haven't seen it, wiki has a great article called NASA spin-offs about all the things NASA has given us. And it's broken down by categories.

[@zacharyhenderson2902]

Write your congressman

[@anthonysaunders345]

@lordgarion514 I have! I just didn't want to list them all on FB.

[@anthonysaunders345]

Right? I was going to, and then decided unless someone demanded examples, then I would.

[@galvera]

Excellent perspective! I remember when I was writing My Capstone paper to conclude undergrads about having these discussions with my mentor and trying to make the point that size that is not applied science is not useful. now that has been 5 years since I graduated and I see tremendous value in science that has apparently no application in the short term

[@raphaelgarcia9576]

This is my favorite episode you’ve made so far. Bravo!!

[@drsaddomia]

Thank you, Anglerfish and Gila Monsters! I am slowly thinning out. 🎉

[@lourias]

Just from this title, it exemplifies my life. I remember tid-bits of information. I am not a master of anything, but I know just enough to know when I need help. I ask questions, I anticipate the next move or step in a process. When I regurgitate information, I hope it will be just in the nick of time to make somebody else's life better and easier.

[@IanStreet]

Thank you for making this video, Joe. Always important to highlight the reason for curiosity-based research & how it fuels humanity (& our economy. The ROI on curiosity turns out to be huge). Research might sound silly until it suddenly isn’t any more.

[@miguelhernandez6733]

Man, I loved this video and it might one of the most important this channel has made

[@VivekSinghkr]

Thanks!

[@MomongaMH]

Your videos are always awesome, I wish they got the recognition they deserved. Your content is cherished and greatly appreciated ❤

[@GhostyOcean]

I remember "seeking knowledge for the sake of knowledge" was a huge topic in my uni "Philosophy in STEM" course

[@zainekatsumi]

I clicked right away because I thought this was gonna explain how useful having useless knowledge is like I know too much stuff but also forget my reports if I was asked to do so. But I can deny the fact that having knowledge is a great thing.

[@zenithparsec]

The more you know, the more you can know. All research is important.

[@DrZedDrZedDrZed]

One of your best videos ever Joe. Gets to the heart of your sign off.❤

[@jacobeason1363]

I loved this video!!! I feel so encouraged:)) I’ve studied perspective drawing and have found some small but exciting evidence for polynomial perspective. Pure research if you will and I can’t wait for someone to find a way to apply it beyond just art!

[@danielle78730]

yes, yes, yes!! i'm an armchair "expert" in just about anything my mind has in mind at any given moment and am currently publishing my 11th collection of poetry, while also working on AI as well as the concept and math of an astrophysics theory. just goes to show, i suppose, what it just goes to show! ;) PS - i was in the process of writing a comment on art here only moments before your post!

[@silvers3139]

Great video you changed the way I was thinking about non purpose driven research.

[@Little-bird-told-me]

Knowledge has this thing called serendipity, it becomes useful in unintented ways. Steve Job attended caligraphy classes and today we have myriad of fonts to choose from. No knowledge is wasted

[@dany_fg]

every piece of knowledge is useful, we just haven't find a use for some of those yet

[@jacobaeden]

serving my coping mechanism of not feeling smart enough by knowing random fun facts

[@wezul]

The pie chart at 1:17 adds up to 100%, so does that mean nobody in the US is underweight anymore?

[@KJMcLaws]

We're so overweight, the underweights are a rounding error.😂

[@malumy]

They accidentally made "other" to "normal weight range", when 1.6% should be "underweight", leaving 25.3% as "normal"

[@Cynthia63636]

Thin people aren't ugly so they're not important to acknowledge

[@panivino28]

Hey Joe! Great work! Thanks to you, we "smart people" are being nourished with knowledge and wisdom

[@jamescarrico1233]

I've always loved to learn just for the sake of learning. There is no useless knowledge, some knowledge is just more or less useful in certain situations. but that's what we are, the learning animal. We don't have big claws, big teeth, or horns. We control our environment and our world because we learn. We are data machines. We learn and then teach each other what we've learned and overtime that knowledge becomes more and more useful.

[@GaryLiseo]

One of my friends suffers from a rare autoimmune deficiency where his body is unable to process glucose, causing him to have seizures. I wonder if something like these findings could one day lead to a cure of sorts for conditions like this.

[@mikitz]

The thing is that for every groundbreaking invention/theory, you'll end up having a thousand utterly moronic ideas.

[@BKing007]

Very fun and well put together, love the comments section for turning out to be this good as well

[@brnhnd07]

Thank you so much for this video. I have learned about those two animals in the past. No relation and I would never guess if they are about to save my life and I'll be able to see my family for just a little bit longer. God bless, science

[@abhyaravya421]

I always used to think these science videos that I spent most of my time on are useless I should be watching things that are useful for me in personal life that led me to watch most useless videos and reels, thanks to this video it gives me a new perspective.

[@williamsutton6738]

Brand new sentence: “People are becoming anorexic because of lizard spit, and that’s *almost* a good thing.”

[@jingthethief]

the algorithm has brought a wonderful video to my attention this day. thank you sire, for this video. it was pure awesome.

[@therongjr]

5:54 - Phylogenetically, all snakes are lizards. So there are PLENTY of venomous lizards! (Go argue with Clint's Reptiles about it, if you're into that kinda thing.)

[@besmart]

And we're all just fish yadda yadda yadda I know, I know 😂

[@stefansauvageonwhat-a-twis1369]

@@besmart some of the most fun yaddas around!

[@068himangshukakati6]

​@@stefansauvageonwhat-a-twis1369 so you are also a fan of Clint's work. Me too, and frankly I would love to see a talk between Joe and Clint .

[@wizardsuth]

I just wish people would stop feeding chips to the dinosaurs on the beach.

[@epif1]

​@besmart and fishes in turn are stardust 😂😂😂

[@kenzou776]

As a teacher, this is so true. I'd even argue this extends to real life. Seemingly 'useless' things that I've learned in school that I hated, somehow came around and helped me in completely different areas of life.

[@2bfrank657]

I remember all the kids in maths class asking "when am I ever going to need this?". I don't know about them, but I've made plenty of use of the maths I learned in school. The benefits are obvious once you're actually using it, but you have to learn it first.

[@BrianPseivaD]

I literally spend my life learning, this is because once your dead that information cannot be destroyed so therefore the more you learn then the more of you will be left once all your physical matter decays and turns to dust!

[@TheOriginalDevaad]

Modern lichdom. The pursuit of immortality exists in many forms.

[@colorbugoriginals4457]

I've always told my kids to keep learning, no matter what it is. You never know how knowledge can transfer over and it's frequent that it does. I also train dogs and have to remind people that no "trick" is useless, anything new a dog learns can be incorporated into other things.

[@user255]

Small correction: Gila monster is *not* only venomous lizard. There are several others in genera varanus, heloderma, iguana and lepidophyma.

[@luddity]

Komodo Dragons too.

[@wizardsuth]

@@luddity Yes, their saliva was only recently recognized as containing a venom which inhibits clotting and tends to induce shock. This combined with bacteria in their mouths makes it more likely that the wounds they inflict will become infected and eventually kill their prey, allowing the dragons to feed without having to fight. They're very patient hunters.

[@user255]

@@luddity They belong to genus varanus, which I already mentioned. The genus has other venomous lizards as well, not just Komodo Dragons.

[@vivianriver6450]

I've gathered that we have many more trained scientists and would-be aspiring scientists than we have funded research positions for them to fill. Maybe it's time to change that!

[@parthchavan6028]

As someone who is trying to become a scientist this made my day and helped thanks joe

[@shruggzdastr8-facedclown]

Quoting Yoda: "There is no 'try' - there is only do"

[@awealthofuselessknowledge]

Learning for the sake of learning never goes out of style! 😊

[@awijeetsharma3842]

0:00 He said " Thank you to delete me" and I got scared

[@ProfessorBeautiful]

Superb presentation! A critically important argument on behalf of pure research.

[@thomasmann3560]

I love this kind of content.

[@tweeprine6628]

"that might lead to an answer we don't even have the question for yet" Ah, yes. 42.

[@SivaranjanGoswami]

When you focus purely on applied research, you are stuck in finding the best permutation of what we already know. There is little scope to explore beyond what has already been discovered. As most of the world has already been explored, a small group of scientists sitting in a university laboratory cannot find something significant without financial support from the government or some private enterprise. Here comes the bureaucracy and all the debates of basic science and applied science.

[@eunomiac]

"Like most stories, this isn't just about a fish and a lizard." Fair point.

[@videoedits3584]

One day my extremely obscure niche obsession is gonna change the world

[@takingbacktheplanet]

hello Joe, Joe here... 😼. yeah, my father loves to talk about how we're "wasting" money on "silly" research... like, say, for example "why do we research otters having an appetite for urchins?" when in fact urchins are basically destroying kelp forests in the end and their unchecked appetite in a lack of predators would be devastating... keep being curious. 😼thanks! and happy new holidays/new year to you!! been watching for years and everything you do is a-m-a-z-i-n-g :) . 😍

[@Y0n3z]

i find interconnectivity of everything lives in those useless facts.

[@rmar127]

11:35 one way i can think of to increase the amount of commercial outcomes that government and research bodies are seeking is to have non experts work on the problem. Someone with a good general knowledge on many different topics is likely to come up with an idea before some with a highly specialized knowledge set. My reasoning is that a research scientist who is highly specialized, will only be looking at the problem from their perspective. However someone who is more of a generalist will see that the work Tim is doing on the 3rd floor has a complimentary application to the work that Sandra is doing on the 8th floor

[@embarrassedbraincells]

0:43 thats a news to me , government gives money for science

[@glaucusyellow]

Yeah! CDC, FDA, NIH to name a few places 🙂

[@StrawmanMeBro]

Yep, and after your taxes go toward funding, say, a new medicine, companies patent it so no one else can make it, and sell what your tax dollars paid to invent back to you for a profit.

[@benbookworm]

I know it's sarcasm, but government research is responsible for the internet and GPS. Edit to add: courtesy of our ridiculous military budget, too. Create a perceived military use for something, and you might get space race levels of funding.

[@poshrat993]

Not nearly enough

[@tecnicraze]

Yep, they do, quite a lot actually. And there is now a lot of people wanting that to stop.

[@capt.bart.roberts4975]

My father describing the amount of dexedrine he took during WW2, "You know you've taken too much when you realise you've not eaten or slept for three days."

[@Matty002]

anti intellectualism is so sad. humans are born curious, but here in the states we supress curiosity when not outright banning it via religion. asking why is how you get technology with voice commands. to think that wanting to know anything about our universe, is a waste, is depressing

[@alexwixom4599]

They say we won't use more than basic math outside of school. However, if we never see a number after graduation, the skills and ideas we learned form math are still useful and important.

[@kwanarchive]

My seventh grade teacher, Mr Macken, tried to insult me by saying small things amuse small minds (also bulied me in other ways). And here we are, where a quarter of the world's GDP comes from quantum mechanics. Computing technology paving the way for careers in software engineering. In your face, Mr Macken.

[@astroch]

The problem of funding is that private sector does not care about fundamental research, because its unknown when its gonna be profitable (specially if its behind a patent). That is why basic science relies on government support, since only the society as a whole is able and willing to invest in such a long run.

[@YuanLiuTheDoc]

Finally someone to pick on politicians in a science education channel 👏🏼 (Picking on Rand Paul makes me giggle. He didn’t even invent the Senate “Golden Fleece Award”)

[@BelialTnTn]

Gila monster costumes + spit, that sounds nice for Halloween or some other kind of party.

[@mrjuanderfuI]

This is my favorite video of yours yours and I like all of them. The curious ones of us with no profit motive have made the most profit for capitalists. Funny huh? Yet funding is tough for the curious. If govt or capitalists can't see profits within 5 years, it's a no-go. Yet, this video shows exactly how much profit and new industries arise from one person asking a question. I wish we didn't even have to make a financial case for curiosity but here we are. Unlease the curious and everyone's lives improve!

[@TheTypeWriters-kq4pb]

Yes, yes, yes! Everything is connected in ways that we could have never imagined until we do discover them!

[@coconutcore]

Just wanted to say thank you to John Eng, for seeing what others didn’t.

[@tgeliot]

At the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, there used to be an organization called the Center for Research on the Utilization of Scientific Knowledge, which wrestled with the issue of why it took so long for "pure" discoveries to beat fruit. Alas, it folded in 1985.

[@nihil1]

About Einstein: GPS wouldn't work without him.

[@VL-om5nr]

It would , but perhaps would be less accurate and less synchronized .

[@makalehelie]

“We got Hank Greene at home” Hank Greene at home:

[@migrantfamily]

8:21 crickets - that’s golden!

[@robert_costello]

Thank you for your kind demeanor and articulate videos

[@GGGG_3333]

2:25 Dr. Sabine would be furious at the recommendation of this video 🤭

[@isyodoesthings]

Why?

[@GGGG_3333]

@isyodoesthings Cause she argued for the exact opposite point recently 😅

[@kori228]

I like learning about random stuff, but that's come at the expense of having no definite career direction so it's a good thing in my case.

[@skybluskyblueify]

Remember when a US representative complained about fruit fly research as a way to say science shouldn't be funded by the government (unless an average American can see its use right now)?

[@kensmith5694]

Yes, I expect that at some point someone will discover why wasps are so hard to get drunk.

[@FNLNFNLN]

Yeah, well, those people are taking power everywhere.

[@lordgarion514]

And he was right, the FDA itself has announced that 96% of animal studies end up being absolutely irrelevant to humans. There should be no animal research at all. It is a giant waste of money.

[@kellydalstok8900]

The protestant religion is hell bent on stamping out naturally occurring curiosity in people. Possibly because they realise that knowledge is the enemy of blind faith.

[@3nertia]

Science isn't for discovery anymore - it's for profit! Welcome to capitalism!

[@KuraMachine]

I don’t believe there is such a thing as useless knowledge. People who aren’t interested in learning think they’re above knowledge they consider useless.

[@gailaltschwager7377]

Thank you!

[@ramtailthebattlertr2066]

As long as it is done properly, there is no such thing as useless research

[@limalicious]

I'm so frustrated because I gained weight because of major digestive issues. Because of those digestive issues, I'm not able to use glucagon drugs.

[@fisrtnamelastname3083]

That really sucks man, I hope your discomfort/pain eases

[@punkdigerati]

GLP1s aren't the only incretin mimetics, most aren't on the market yet, but they're coming.

[@limalicious]

@@punkdigerati that's good to know! Hopefully they have fewer side effects.

[@udaymiglani6250]

Got goosebumps while watching the video Felt so proud of science and being in the medical profession, i could relate this completely

[@kugelblitz276]

IKR! In the medical profession most people think that only clinical skills are relevant and the theory isn't and this makes me so upset

[@peterblasek7356]

So nobody could predict that studying an organ whose main function is to regulate blood sugar and plays a huge role in our digestive system could help develop drugs that affect blood sugar and metabolism.

[@Freakiestgoat]

And how do you think they found said organ and what its functions were?

[@peterblasek7356]

@Freakiestgoat can explain what you mean?

[@dutchyjhome]

Thank you for sharing this wisdom, again...!

[@Orion-ih5xl]

I would like to study ornithology one day, but i only really want to do research to satisfy curiosity. I enjoy learning about the behaviour of birds, their mating habits, feeding habits etc. But i dislike studying their actual biology and anatomy like how many bones do they have, what are the anatomical structure

[@erwanthomas]

The anatomical structure might help you understand certain moves they make and their biology can explain certain behaviours.

[@fisrtnamelastname3083]

Don't worry, a job for you is out there! The podcaster Allie Ward once interviewed a puffinologist who specializes in their behavior!

[@Sammysapphira]

Knowledge is useless until it's not. People have asked me why I know so many "silly little things", and it's because they come in use in ways that I couldn't have possibly imagined. You can't know what you don't know.