Find us on Twitter at twitter.com/radiolab

Tweets from Radiolab
Return Home

Still Hanging On

Back to Episode

Two stories of falling in everyday life, and one fantastical leap:

6. Falling Asleep: Professor Frederick Coolidge argues that our tree-dwelling ancestors are to blame for a hiccup in our sleeping patterns.

7. Walking as Falling: David Eagleman explains walking as the act of calibrating our steps to turn falls into forward motion.

8. Falling Apart: Neil deGrasse Tyson takes us on a one-way trip into a black hole.

Guests:

Professor Fred Coolidge, David Eagleman and Neil deGrasse Tyson

Comments [7]

Jackson Braider from Boston, MA

The Suzanne Vega version of "Wake Up" comes from a Disney tribute album of the same name, which also includes a perfectly casted version of "When You Wish Upon a Star" featuring Ringo Starr.

Nov. 27 2011 11:32 AM
Vote this comment up Vote this comment down Score: 0/0
Sam from Drain

When falling into a black hole, your body would snap and continue to function physiologically, to some degree, for a few moments,

However, any body will lose consciousness at accelerations much less than that which would overcome the electromagnetic forces holding your flesh together. Your brain does not function when all the fluid in it is being pulled to one side. Pilots and astronauts have set some g records, and they all fainted long before anything went to pieces.

Mr Scientist just went for the ratings and made it sound like some kind of torture, even though your ability to sense physical pain would go under long before any separation of flesh.

Dec. 04 2010 06:18 PM
Vote this comment up Vote this comment down Score: 0/0
Brystol H from Charlotte, NC

@Ian Carey
That version is by Suzanne Vega. I can't seem to find it on iTunes, however.

Sep. 26 2010 08:27 PM
Vote this comment up Vote this comment down Score: 0/0
Jacob from Santa Cruz, CA

Did anybody else think about Inception while listening to the part about the hypnic jerk?

Sep. 25 2010 05:21 PM
Vote this comment up Vote this comment down Score: 0/0
Ian Carey from Oakland, CA

Whose version of "Stay Awake" is that?

Sep. 22 2010 07:59 PM
Vote this comment up Vote this comment down Score: 0/0
David Gates from san antonio, tx

To go with falling to pieces in a black hole. When your body speeds up ie; approaches the speed of light, time slows down to you; but, not to everything else; so, the pain that you experence lasts forever.

Sep. 22 2010 01:48 PM
Vote this comment up Vote this comment down Score: 0/0
Skipper from The Future

I wonder, would one experience a stronger hypnic jerk if they were both falling asleep and falling in love? Or if one went skiing for the first time earlier that day? The idea being that greater activation of the idea of "falling" in the brain would add up to a stronger sensation for the hypnic jerk.

Sep. 21 2010 04:37 AM
Vote this comment up Vote this comment down Score: 0/0

Leave a Comment

Register for your own account so you can vote on comments, save your favorites, and more. Learn more.
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. We reserve the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting. By leaving a comment, you agree to New York Public Radio's Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.







URL

If you enter anything in this field your comment will be treated as spam
Location
* Denotes a required field