Consider the spider - Many Minds
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- Title
- Consider the spider
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- <p class="MsoNormal"><span style= "font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> Maybe your idea of spiders is a bit like mine was. You probably know that they have eight legs, that some are hairy. Perhaps you imagine them spending most of their time sitting in their webs—those classic-looking ones, of course—waiting for snacks to arrive. Maybe you consider them vaguely menacing, or even dangerous. Now this is not all completely inaccurate—spiders do have eight legs, after all—but it's a woefully incomplete and drab caricature. Your idea of spiders, in other words, may be due for a refresh. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style= "font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> My guest today is <a href="https://www.ximenanelson.com/">Dr. Ximena Nelson</a>, Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Canterbury, in New Zealand. Ximena is the author of the new book, <em style= "mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href= "https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691255026/the-lives-of-spiders"> The Lives of Spiders</a></em>. It’s an accessible and stunningly illustrated survey of spider behavior, ecology, and cognition. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style= "font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> In this conversation, Ximena and I do a bit of ‘Spiders 101’. We talk about spider senses—especially how spiders use hairs to detect the minutest of vibrations and how they see, usually, with four pairs of eyes. We talk about <em style= "mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">web-making</em>—which, by the way the majority of spiders don't do—and <em style= "mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">silk-making</em>—which all do, but for more reasons than you may realize. We talk about how spiders hunt, jump, dance, pounce, plan, decorate, cache, balloon, and possibly count. We talk about why so many spiders mimic ants. We take up the puzzle of “stabilimenta”. We talk about whether webs constitute an extended sensory apparatus—like a gigantic ear—and why spiders are an under-appreciated group of animals for thinking about the evolution of mind, brain, and behavior.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style= "font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> Alright friends, this one is an absolute feast. So let's get to it. On to my conversation with Dr. Ximena Nelson. Enjoy!</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style= "font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style= "font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> A transcript of this episode will be available soon.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style= "font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><em><u><span style= "font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">Notes and links</span></u></em></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style= "font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">3:00 – A <a href= "https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/living-world/2023/everyone-should-start-counting-spiders"> general audience article</a> about our “collective arachnid aversion” to spiders. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style= "font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">8:00 – An <a href= "https://bioone.org/journals/the-journal-of-arachnology/volume-51/issue-2/JoA-S-22-011/A-road-map-of-jumping-spider-behavior/10.1636/JoA-S-22-011.full"> academic article</a> by Dr. Nelson about jumping spider behavior. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style= "font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">8:30 – In addition to spiders, Dr. Nelson also studies kea parrots (e.g., <a href= "https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(17)30156-2.pdf"> here</a>). </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style= "font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">12:00 – A <a href= "https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/50000-spider-species-inhabit-earth-but-more-may-be-lurking-180979900/"> popular
- Publication Date
- 2024-05-30T04:25:00+00:00
- Status
- completed
- Website
- https://manyminds.libsyn.com/consider-the-spider
- Length
- 77:44
- File
- /podcasts/Many Minds/1717043100-4813.mp3
- Size
- 106.77 MB
- Bitrate
- 187-CBR
- Channels
- 1
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