[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So people are more afraid of insects\Nthan they are of dying.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At least, according to a 1973 book \Nof lists survey which preceded all those
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,online best, worst, funniest lists\Nthat you see today.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Only heights and public speaking exceeded\Nthe six-legged as sources of fear.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I suspect if you had put spiders \Nin there, the combinations of insects
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and spiders would have just\Ntopped the chart.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I am not one of those people.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I really love insects.\NI think they're interesting and beautiful,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and sometimes even cute.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I'm not alone.\N
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For centuries, some of the greatest minds \Nin science from Charles Darwin to E.O. Wilson
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have drawn inspiration from studying some\Nof the smallest minds on earth.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, why is that?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What is that keeps us coming\Nback to insects?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some of it of course, is just the sheer\Nmagnitude of almost everything about them.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're more numerous than \Nany other kind of animal.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We don't even know how many species\Nof insects there are because new ones
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are being discovered all the time.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are at least a million,\Nmaybe as many as 10 million.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This means that you could have an insect\Nof the month calendar
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and not have to reuse a species \Nfor over 80,000 years.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Take that pandas and kittens!
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,More seriously, insects are essential.\NWe need them.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's been estimated that 1 out of every 3\Nbites of food is made possible
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by a pollinator.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Scientist use insects to make fundamental\Ndiscoveries about everything
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the structure of our nervous systems,\Nto how our genes and DNA work.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But what I love most about insects\Nis what they can tell us about
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,our own behavior.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Insects seem like they do \Neverything that people do.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They meet, they mate, they break up.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they do so with what looks \Nlike love or animosity.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But what drives their behaviors is really\Ndifferent than what drives our own,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that difference can be\Nreally illuminating.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's nowhere where that's more true\Nthan when it comes to one of our most
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,consuming interests --\Nsex.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I will maintain and I think I can\Ndefend what may seem like
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a surprising statement.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think sex in insects is more \Ninteresting than sex in people.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the wild variety that we see makes us\Nchallenge some of our own assumptios
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about what it means to be male and female.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Of course, to start with, a lot of insects\Ndon't need to have sex at all to reproduce.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Female aphids can make little, tiny clones\Nof themselves without ever mating.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Virgin birth, right there.\NOn your rose bushes.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When they do have sex, even their sperm\Nis more interesting than human sperm.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are some kinds of fruit flies whose\Nsperm is longer than the male's own body.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that's important because the males \Nuse their sperm to compete.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, male insects do compete with weapons,\Nlike the horns on these beetles.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But they also compete after \Nmating with their sperm.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dragonflies and damselflies have penises\Nthat look kind of like Swiss Army knives
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with all of the attachments pulled out.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they use these formidable devices like\Nlike scoops, to remove the sperm
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from previous males that \Nthe female has mated with.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, what can we learn from this?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Alright, it is not a lesson in the sense\Nof us imitating them or of them setting
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an example for us to follow.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Which given this, is probably just as well.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And also did I mention sexual cannibalism\Nis rampant among insects?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, no that's not the point.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But what I think insects do, is break \Na lot of the rules that we humans have
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about the sex roles.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So people have this idea that nature\Ndictates kind of a 1950s sitcom version
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of what males and females are like.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So that males are always supposed to be \Ndominant and aggressive, and females
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are passive and coy.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But that's just not the case.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So for example, take katydids, which are\Nrelatives of crickets and grasshoppers.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The males are very picky of who they \Nmate with because they not only transfer
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sperm during mating, they also give\Nthe female something called a nuptial gift.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can see two katydids \Nmating in these photos.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In both panels, the male's the one on\Nthe right and that sword like appendage
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the female's egg-laying organ.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The white blob is the sperm and the green\Nblob is the nuptial gift, and the male
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,manufactures this from this own body\Nand it's extremely costly to produce.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It can weigh up to a third \Nof his body mass.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I will now pause for a moment \Nand let you think about what it would be
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like, if human men --\Neverytime they had sex
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had to produce something that weighed\N50, 60, 70 pounds.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Okay, they would not be able \Nto do that very often.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And indeed, neither can the katydids.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so what that means, is the katydid\Nmales are very choosy about who they
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,offer these nuptial gifts to.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, the gift is very nutritious\Nand the female eats it during
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and after mating.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, the bigger it is, the better\Noff the male is because that means
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more time for his sperm to drain into her\Nbody and fertilize her eggs.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it also means that the males are very\Npassive about mating, where as the females
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are extremely aggressive and competitive,\Nin an attempt to get as many as these
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,nutritious nuptial gifts as they can.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, it's not exactly a \Nstereotypical set of rules.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even more generally though, males are \Nactually not all that important
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the lives of a lot of insects.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the social insects --\Nthe bees and wasps and ants
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the individuals that you see everyday,\Nthe ants going back to your sugar bowl,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the honey bees that are flitting\Nfrom flower to flower.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All of those are always female.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,People have had a hard time getting their\Nhead around that idea for millennia.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The ancient Greeks knew that there was\Na class of bees, the drones, that are
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,larger than the workers, although they \Ndisapproved of the drones' laziness
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because they could see that \Nthe drones just hang around the hive
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,until the mating flight --\Nthey are the males.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They hang around the hives until\Nthe mating flight, but they don't
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,participate in gathering nectar or pollen.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Greeks couldn't figure out \Nthe drones sex, and part of the confusion
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was that they were aware of the stinging\Nability of bees, but they found it
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,difficult to believe that any animals \Nthat bore such a weapon could
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,possibly be a female.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aristotle tried to get involved as well.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He suggested, OK, well if the stinging\Nindividuals are going to be the males,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then he got confused because that would \Nhave meant that males were also taking
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,care of the young in the colony\Nand he seemed to think that would be
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,completely impossible.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He then concluded that bees had the organs\Nof both sexes in the same individual,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is not that farfetched.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are some animals that do that, but \Nhe never really did get it figured out.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And you know, even today, my students\Nfor instance call every animal they see
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,including insects, a male.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And when I tell them that the ferocious\Narmy ant soldiers with their giant
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,jaws, used to defend the colony are all \Nalways female, they seem to not
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,quite believe me.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Certainly all of the movies --\NAntz, Bee Movie
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,portray the main character in the social\Ninsects as being male.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, what difference does this make?\NI mean, these are movies.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're fiction.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They have talking animals in them, what\Ndifference does it makes if they talk
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like Jerry Seinfeld?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think it does matter and it's a problem\Nthat actually part of a much deeper
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one that has implications for medicine,\Nand health and a lot of other aspects
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of our lives.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You all know that scientists use \Nwhat we call model systems,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which are creatures --\Nwhite rats or fruit flies
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are kind of stand-ins for all other\Nanimals including people.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the idea is, that what's true\Nfor a person will also be true
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for a white rat.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By in large, that turns \Nout to be the case.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But you can take the idea \Nof a model system too far.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And what I think we've done, is use males,\Nin any species, as though they are
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the model system.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The norm.\NThe way things are supposed to be.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And females as a kind of variant --\Nsomething special that you only study
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,after you get the basics down.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so back to the insects.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think what that means, is that people\Ncould not see what was in front of them.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because they assumed that the world's \Nstage was largely occupied by male players
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and females would only have minor,\Nwalk-on roles.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But when we do that,\Nwe really miss out on a lot
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of what nature is like.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And we can also miss out on the way\Nnatural, living things incudling people
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can very.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I think that's why we've used males\Nas models in a lot of medical research,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,something that we know now to be a problem\Nif we want the results to apply
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to both men and women.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, the last thing I really love about\Ninsects is something that a lot of people
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,find unnerving about them.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They have