SYSK Choice: How DNA Predicts Our Psychological Traits & Why People’s Sense of Direction Varies

It’s become trendy to fill your car tires with nitrogen instead of plain old compressed air. In fact, there are now green caps for the valve stems to indicate that a tire has nitrogen in it. It can cost over $10 to fill up a tire with nitrogen so this episode begins with a quick discussion on whether it not it is worth it. https://www.consumerreports.org/tire-buying-maintenance/should-you-use-nitrogen-in-car-tires-a6260003694/ Science is learning more and more about human DNA. And the latest research indicates that almost everything about you has some inherited, genetic, DNA-ish component to it, whether that be biological or psychological or anything else. As an example, how well you do in school may largely be inherited but not necessarily in the way you think. This is according to Robert Plomin, Professor of Behavioral Genetics at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience at King’s College in London and author of the book, Blueprint: How DNA Makes Us Who We Are (https://amzn.to/3gV9GtR) . Listen as he reveals the very latest in how your genes influence so much of who you are.  Some people claim to have a good sense of direction while others claim to have a lousy one. Is “sense of direction” a real thing? Is it really a sense at all? And if it is, why do some people have a good one and others not? That’s exactly what Michael Bond set out to discover. Michael is a science writer, former Senior Editor at New Scientist and author of the book, From Here to There: The Art and Science of Finding and Losing Our Way (https://amzn.to/3DOY8Cu). Michael is here to discuss with me why some of us are better than other at getting from here to there.  Pear season runs from late summer into early winter. And if you like pears, you know that knowing when they are ripe can be tricky. However, there is a reliable test to tell a pear’s ripeness and if you listen to this episode, you too will know it. https://www.foodnetwork.com/healthyeats/in-season/2011/10/how-can-you-tell-if-a-pear-is-ripe PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! Delete Me helps you keep your personal info private by removing it from hundreds of data broker websites that sell our data online. You tell Delete Me exactly what info you want deleted, and their privacy experts take it from there! It’s really that simple to protect yourself. DeleteMe makes it easy! Right Now get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to https://joindeleteme.com/something and use promo code SOMETHING20 Sometimes in life we’re faced with tough choices, and the path forward isn’t always clear. If you’re thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. It’s entirely online, so it’s convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule. Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist. Let therapy be your map, with BetterHelp Visit https://BetterHelp.com/SOMETHING today to get 10% off your first month! With HelloFresh, you get farm-fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and seasonal recipes delivered right to your doorstep. Go to https://HelloFresh.com/50something and use code 50something for 50% off plus free shipping! Your business was humming, but now you're falling behind. Teams buried in manual work. NetSuite gives you the POWER of having all of your information in one place to make better decisions and now has an UNPRECEDENTED offer to make that possible! Right now, download NetSuite’s popular KPI Checklist, designed to give you consistently excellent performance - absolutely free, at https://NetSuite.com/SYSK ! U.S. Cellular knows how important your kid’s relationship with technology is. That’s why they’ve partnered with Screen Sanity, a non-profit dedicated to helping kids navigate the digital landscape. For a smarter start to the school year, U.S. Cellular is offering a free basic phone on new eligible lines, providing an alternative to a smartphone for children. Visit https://USCellular.com/BuiltForUS ! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices