Catchin' some ZZZs

Good morning Staker! We hope you’re enjoying a little downtime. Over the next few days we’re taking a look back at some of the year’s most interesting, amusing, and informative stories. But don’t worry, we’ve still got a new game of trivia for you! 😂 Enjoy!

Let’s get into it!

Travelling everyman Rick Steves has done it all, and in a recent blog post, he made sure to pass along a key piece of advice: when it comes to travelling Europe, it’s better to take the train than rent a car.

“The European train system shrinks what is already a small continent, making the budget whirlwind or far-reaching tour a reasonable and exciting possibility for anyone,” he wrote.

“The system is generally slick, with well-signed stations, easily accessed schedules, and efficient connections between popular destinations."

It really is a marvel, particularly for North Americans who once had a bustling rail system, but innovation for which has slowed nearly to a halt in recent decades. If you want to connect from one city in Europe to another, there’s almost definitely an easy-to-access and easy-to-understand train system to get you from A to B.

On top of that, driving in Europe can get fairly confusing and requires you to take control and remain fully attentive.

On the other hand, "You can forget about parking hassles [on the train], confusing road signs, speed limits, bathroom stops, and Italian drivers,” Steves says. “Watch the scenery instead of fixing your eyes on the road, and maybe even enjoy a glass of the local wine."

The way America’s highway system is built certainly takes the cake on this one, but the roles are reversed when it comes to railways.

A study conducted by researchers at the Max Planck Institute analyzed 700,000 hours of podcasts and YouTube videos published before and after ChatGPT went live in late 2022, and found statistically significant increases in the use of certain words.

Words such as “delve,” “tapestry,” “nuance,” “explore,” “compelling,” and “robust” are all typically used by ChatGPT, particularly when prompted to rewrite something to make it sound more academic or authoritative on a topic.

One example covered by the Planck researchers found uses of the word “delve” rose 51%.

Advocates for this potentially paradigm-shifting transformation say it’s a good thing, allowing for stronger and more persuasive communication between people—particularly those with a subpar grasp of the language.

On the other hand, there could come a point at which ChatGPT is no longer amplifying or enhancing the human voice, but becomes the dominant voice as humans lose theirs.

“Spearman’s g” is the term scientists use to describe the concept of human intelligence. It’s basically the fundamental form of intelligence that all human intelligence is measured against.

However, there is no actual consensus on what general intelligence actually is, and some say it doesn’t even matter, because the true value of an intellect is what it renders rather than how intellectual it may be in comparison to some elusive “general intelligence.”

In other words, what matters is “effective intelligence,” and one of its biggest advocates is behavioural scientist T. Alexander Puutio, Ph.D., who teaches organizational performance and leadership at Harvard and Columbia.

Puutio says effective intelligence can be observed, though it’s nearly as difficult to measure as “Spearman’s g.” However, what’s important is how we hone such an intellect, which Puutio says is like sharpening a knife; the less friction, the duller it remains.

Take listening to a podcast versus reading a book; you likely don’t feel the exertion of mental energy as much with the former as you do with the latter, and that’s because you aren’t working your mental faculties as hard. As a result, you probably aren’t learning as much.

And it’s worth remembering that cognition is also maintained and improved through movement. You’ve read all the stories about exercise as a maintenance tool for preventing cognitive decline, haven’t you? 🤔

The intellect is truly a use-it-or-lose-it superpower, and effective intelligence is defined both by training and by using the mental muscles you’ve got.

Humans may have arrived about 320 million years after birds, but we’ve taught them a thing or two when it comes to speaking the language.

Now obviously each species speaks its own distinct language, using various calls to attract a ladybird or warn others of danger in the area; however, it turns out when it comes to commonly used “words,” these feathered creatures—just like humans—obey what’s called Zipf’s law of abbreviation (ZLA).

The law dictates that the most common words tend to be the shortest ones (a, the, of, I, me, etc.). By the same token, lesser-used words tend to be longer. For example, have you ever read the word “antidisestablishmentarianism” in Stake Your Day? Smile and wave as it floats by and likely never returns!

In the case of birdsong, a new study published in PLOS Computational Biology by researchers at the University of Manchester suggests birds indeed follow the same rule.

“Studying ZLA in birdsong is far more complex than in human language,” study co-author Rebecca Lewis, a conservation scientist at Chester Zoo in the U.K., said in a press statement.

“Our research has taught that it’s important to look across a wide range of species when looking for language patterns and we hope ZLAvian will make it easier for other researchers to explore these patterns in more birds but also other animals in the future.”

Travellers have been ravenously soaking up as much sun and logging as many miles as possible since pandemic restrictions were lifted. It’s been rewarding and satisfying for many, but the downsides have been things like overcrowding, dirt, noise, and overall chaos in some of the world’s most popular destinations.

That’s why many are looking to escape the hustle and bustle of the typical hotspots, and why travel group Travelbag curated a list of the world’s most tranquil, serene, and beautiful destinations in the world.

Topping the company’s list of tranquil destinations was Queenstown, New Zealand, which received a score of 94.4 out of 100 for green space quality, given its pristine location next to Lake Wakatipu and the Southern Alps. If you can recall some of the most idyllic and peaceful places from the first Lord of the Rings movie, you’re likely imagining an area somewhere near Queenstown.

The city also received a 91.67 for cleanliness, and was only edged out by the Seychelles Islands in terms of how little light pollution it has. Overall, in fact, Seychelles came in second place as the most tranquil place to travel.

Kyoto, Japan; Banff, Canada; and Cairns, Australia each tied for third place, followed by Whistler, Canada in fourth, making Canada the only country with two locations in the top five.

A la carte

Oops…looks like there was a tech glitch yesterday and the link to the game was the same as Monday’s. Here’s the correct link for Tuesday’s game. We’ll give everyone a chance to give it a go and be added to the draw.

As for today’s trivia, it’s another mixed bag! Movies, TV, music…we got it all!

Complete the game and earn a shot at a $25 eGift Card ;)

Winner for both Tuesday’s and today’s game will be notified on Thursday afternoon. Keep an eye on your inbox and don’t forget to check your spam folder!*