TED2019
Danielle N. Lee: How hip-hop helps us understand science
Filmed:
Readability: 4.7
1,875,249 views
In the early 1990s, a scandal rocked evolutionary biology: scientists discovered that songbirds -- once thought to be strictly monogamous -- engaged in what's politely called "extra-pair copulation." In this unforgettable biology lesson on animal infidelity, TED Fellow Danielle N. Lee shows how she uses hip-hop to teach science, leading the crowd in an updated version of Naughty by Nature's hit "O.P.P."
Danielle N. Lee - Behavioral biologist
Danielle N. Lee examines the ecology and natural history of nuisance rodents, using hip-hop to share science with broader audiences. Full bio
Danielle N. Lee examines the ecology and natural history of nuisance rodents, using hip-hop to share science with broader audiences. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
How y'all doing?
0
1071
1150
00:14
Good.
1
2881
1230
00:16
I came here to give you a science lesson
2
4135
2785
00:18
about animal mating systems
3
6944
2062
00:21
and why defining monogamy
has been a challenge for scientists.
has been a challenge for scientists.
4
9030
4584
00:25
But you won't need a textbook
or to download an online lecture.
or to download an online lecture.
5
13934
3112
00:29
All you'll simply need to do
is revisit the song "OPP"
is revisit the song "OPP"
6
17839
4444
00:34
by Naughty by Nature.
7
22307
1405
00:35
(Laughter)
8
23736
1190
00:36
It was released in 1991.
9
24950
2261
00:40
Now, "OPP" is a call-and-response song.
10
28808
2685
00:43
So throughout the talk,
I'm going to put lyrics up on the screen,
I'm going to put lyrics up on the screen,
11
31815
3834
00:47
and I'm going to recite some
12
35673
1390
00:49
and I'm going to prompt you
13
37087
1363
00:50
when it's your turn
to do the response, OK?
to do the response, OK?
14
38474
2170
00:52
(Cheers)
15
40668
1253
00:53
Now, I know some people
in this audience know this song,
in this audience know this song,
16
41945
2635
00:56
so I need you to lead the way
with the tempo and the rhythm,
with the tempo and the rhythm,
17
44604
2825
00:59
if that's alright, OK?
18
47453
1404
01:00
Right, y'all ready?
19
48881
1190
01:02
You down with OPP?
20
50974
1347
01:04
Audience: Yeah, you know me!
21
52345
1367
01:05
DNL: You down with OPP?
22
53736
1383
01:07
Audience: Yeah, you know me!
23
55143
1355
01:08
DNL: You down with OPP?
24
56522
1255
01:09
Audience: Yeah, you know me!
25
57791
1342
01:11
DNL: That was perfect.
26
59157
1198
01:12
Thank you.
27
60379
1150
01:14
"OPP, how can I explain it?
28
62768
1682
01:16
I'll take it frame by frame it.
29
64474
1508
01:18
To have y'all jumping shout and singing it
30
66006
2039
01:20
O is for other, P is for people.
scratch your temple.
scratch your temple.
31
68069
2754
01:22
The last P, well, that's not that simple."
32
70847
2508
01:25
Now, in the song, the MC hints
that it's a five-letter word,
that it's a five-letter word,
33
73379
3690
01:29
but to keep it rated PG,
34
77093
1611
01:30
he simply refers to it as "property."
35
78728
2825
01:33
(Laughter)
36
81983
1150
01:35
The song is about cheating
on your significant other.
on your significant other.
37
83157
3309
01:38
Now, around the time that this song
was in heavy rotation,
was in heavy rotation,
38
86879
3754
01:42
biologists were in deep discussion
about whether bird species,
about whether bird species,
39
90657
5317
01:47
notably songbirds and waterfowl
were actually monogamous or not.
were actually monogamous or not.
40
95998
5248
01:53
See, for decades,
generations of science students
generations of science students
41
101831
3286
01:57
were taught that well over 90 percent
of the bird species were monogamous.
of the bird species were monogamous.
42
105141
3990
02:01
A male and female
mating faithfully for life.
mating faithfully for life.
43
109657
3066
02:05
That was until the late 1980s,
44
113419
2253
02:07
when a new laboratory technique
came on the scene,
came on the scene,
45
115696
2794
02:10
which could copy DNA
from a small tissue or fluid sample
from a small tissue or fluid sample
46
118514
4008
02:14
and decode the genetics of individuals.
47
122546
2095
02:17
Now, before that technique,
48
125046
2063
02:19
we were never ever certain about,
49
127133
2245
02:21
100 percent, who the parents
of baby birds were.
of baby birds were.
50
129402
2843
02:24
All we had were our field notes.
51
132744
1738
02:26
And we would know
which adults lived in a nest
which adults lived in a nest
52
134792
2372
02:29
and which ones fed the baby birds.
53
137188
2135
02:32
Well, come to find out,
study after study kept coming in
study after study kept coming in
54
140085
5619
02:37
and we found so much
evidence of infidelity --
evidence of infidelity --
55
145728
3558
02:41
(Laughter)
56
149310
1348
02:42
among bird species,
57
150682
1366
02:44
particularly these songbirds
58
152072
1391
02:45
that we thought
were the pinnacle of monogamy.
were the pinnacle of monogamy.
59
153487
2588
02:48
It would have made Maury Povich
jealous for the ratings.
jealous for the ratings.
60
156445
3338
02:51
(Laughter)
61
159807
2373
02:54
It rocked biology and ornithology so hard,
62
162538
3293
02:57
we had to modify and expand
the entire definition of monogamy.
the entire definition of monogamy.
63
165855
4198
03:02
Now, it was so bad
that this was the headline
that this was the headline
64
170974
3683
03:06
of the "New York Times" science section,
65
174681
2491
03:09
August, 1990.
66
177196
1762
03:11
"Mating for Life?
It's not for the Birds or the Bees."
It's not for the Birds or the Bees."
67
179427
2954
03:14
(Laughter)
68
182405
1832
03:16
We had to come up with new definitions.
69
184261
2912
03:19
The situation where an individual
would change partners,
would change partners,
70
187538
3666
03:23
either between breeding seasons
71
191228
1829
03:25
or just simply because
they didn't like their partner anymore?
they didn't like their partner anymore?
72
193081
3313
03:28
We now call this "serial monogamy."
73
196418
2200
03:30
(Laughter)
74
198941
4850
03:35
I didn't know it was
going to be this funny.
going to be this funny.
75
203815
2079
03:37
(Laughter)
76
205918
1947
03:40
The situation where we know
the male and female pair together
the male and female pair together
77
208283
4500
03:44
and all the babies
belong to both partners?
belong to both partners?
78
212807
2548
03:47
We call that "genetic monogamy."
79
215379
1967
03:49
And we now recognize
that it only holds true
that it only holds true
80
217370
2445
03:51
for about 14 percent
of the songbird species,
of the songbird species,
81
219839
4127
03:55
which we were very certain
were truly monogamous.
were truly monogamous.
82
223990
3080
03:59
And with this reclassification,
83
227831
1738
04:01
we realized that in a lot
of those field observations
of those field observations
84
229593
2750
04:04
where we saw a male and female
sharing a nest,
sharing a nest,
85
232367
3114
04:07
comaintaining a territory,
even provisioning offspring together,
even provisioning offspring together,
86
235505
4516
04:12
often included a few baby birds
that did not belong to the male partner.
that did not belong to the male partner.
87
240045
4515
04:17
We call this "social monogamy."
88
245925
2363
04:20
(Laughter)
89
248312
2420
04:22
And the mechanism responsible?
90
250756
2310
04:25
Extra-pair copulation.
91
253090
2467
04:29
"It's OPP, time for other people's
what you get it
what you get it
92
257660
2710
04:32
there's no room for relationship,
there's just room to ..."
there's just room to ..."
93
260394
2812
04:35
Audience: "Hit it!"
94
263230
1151
04:36
"How many brothers out there
know just what I'm getting at?
know just what I'm getting at?
95
264405
2829
04:39
Who thinks it's wrong because I was
splitting and cohitting that.
splitting and cohitting that.
96
267258
3146
04:42
Well if you do, that's OPP"
97
270754
3031
04:46
Actually, that's EPC
98
274238
1539
04:48
Which is the abbreviation
for extra-pair copulation.
for extra-pair copulation.
99
276770
3802
04:52
(Laughter)
100
280596
2292
04:54
Now, we define extra-pair copulation
as the mating outside of a pair bond.
as the mating outside of a pair bond.
101
282912
4808
05:00
And just like we were
discovering via science,
discovering via science,
102
288119
2315
05:02
it can lead to babies
that don't belong to the male partner.
that don't belong to the male partner.
103
290458
3627
05:06
Alright?
104
294109
1155
05:07
Now, I first learned
about EPCs years later,
about EPCs years later,
105
295288
3654
05:10
after all the science news broke
while I was in graduate school.
while I was in graduate school.
106
298966
3063
05:14
And as we were taking a class,
107
302403
2300
05:16
talking about current discoveries
and mating systems,
and mating systems,
108
304727
2874
05:19
this topic comes up.
109
307625
1778
05:21
And as my professor's
going through the definition
going through the definition
110
309855
2604
05:24
and recounting all
the dramatic turns of events
the dramatic turns of events
111
312483
2809
05:27
that lead to these new revelations,
112
315316
2166
05:29
I'm sitting in class and a familiar song
starts bopping in my head.
starts bopping in my head.
113
317506
3603
05:33
I'm like, "You down with OPP?
114
321133
1635
05:34
Yeah, you know me!"
115
322792
1531
05:36
(Laughter)
116
324347
1619
05:37
I mean, that's exactly
what that song was about:
what that song was about:
117
325990
3809
05:41
EPCs.
118
329823
1150
05:43
And what I recognized
119
331355
1827
05:45
is that this gives us an opportunity
to revisit this song.
to revisit this song.
120
333206
3641
05:48
Let's switch the lyrics up.
121
336871
1800
05:51
So say EPC.
122
339815
1754
05:53
Audience: EPC.
123
341593
1158
05:54
DNL: Say it, EPC!
124
342775
1514
05:56
Audience: EPC!
125
344313
1151
05:57
"I like to say it with pride
126
345488
1367
05:58
now, when you do it, do it well,
and make sure that it counts.
and make sure that it counts.
127
346879
2976
06:01
You're not down with a discount."
128
349879
1619
06:03
You down with EPC?
129
351522
1198
06:04
Audience: Yeah, you know me!
130
352744
3282
06:08
Now, I had always been
playing songs in my head
playing songs in my head
131
356050
3484
06:11
while I was in science class,
132
359558
1976
06:13
kind of tapping into this index
of pop culture and hip-hop songs.
of pop culture and hip-hop songs.
133
361558
3578
06:17
But when I would share my analogies
with my science professors,
with my science professors,
134
365585
3286
06:20
all of whom were older white men,
135
368895
1928
06:22
I often got blank and confused
stares as responses.
stares as responses.
136
370847
4738
06:27
(Laughter)
137
375609
2183
06:29
But when I would share this
with people from communities like mine,
with people from communities like mine,
138
377816
3896
06:33
or other colleagues --
so, diverse communities --
so, diverse communities --
139
381736
3214
06:36
this hip-hop science remix was a hit.
140
384974
2467
06:39
That's because I was either talking
to people who looked and sounded like me,
to people who looked and sounded like me,
141
387871
3666
06:43
or at the very least, you know,
listened to some of the same songs.
listened to some of the same songs.
142
391561
3406
06:46
We were sharing a common cultural lexicon.
143
394991
2800
06:50
And with that lexicon, I was able
to bring new science terms to them,
to bring new science terms to them,
144
398346
4422
06:54
and together, we were sharing a new
comprehension of science for the culture.
comprehension of science for the culture.
145
402792
5861
07:01
Now, hip-hop song references
146
409649
4096
07:05
are a really good tool for teaching
content to students from hip-hop culture
content to students from hip-hop culture
147
413769
6111
07:11
or urban communities.
148
419904
1429
07:13
And I use it intentionally
to connect to those students,
to connect to those students,
149
421357
3180
07:16
tapping into vocabulary
that they already know
that they already know
150
424561
3262
07:19
and systems that they already comprehend.
151
427847
2733
07:23
And what it does in that process
is it ratifies them, us, our culture
is it ratifies them, us, our culture
152
431228
6520
07:29
as knowledge purveyors.
153
437772
1785
07:32
I use hip-hop to frame
and communicate science
and communicate science
154
440691
3386
07:36
because I'm intentionally communicating
science to broader audiences
science to broader audiences
155
444101
4500
07:40
that public science outreach
has traditionally overlooked.
has traditionally overlooked.
156
448625
4690
07:46
And in the process,
157
454427
1889
07:48
I am affirming the genius
158
456340
2968
07:51
that thrives in the young minds of people
from every hood everywhere.
from every hood everywhere.
159
459332
4015
07:55
So let me ask you one last time,
160
463879
2087
07:57
you down with EPC?
161
465990
1405
07:59
Audience: Yeah, you know me!
162
467419
1357
08:00
DNL: You down with EPC?
163
468800
1257
08:02
Audience: Yeah, you know me!
164
470081
1339
08:03
DNL: You down with EPC?
165
471444
1202
08:04
Audience: Yeah, you know me!
166
472670
1360
08:06
DNL: Who's down with EPC?
167
474054
1208
08:07
Audience: All the homies!
168
475286
2076
08:09
Thank you.
169
477698
1166
08:10
(Applause and cheers)
170
478888
4389
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Danielle N. Lee - Behavioral biologistDanielle N. Lee examines the ecology and natural history of nuisance rodents, using hip-hop to share science with broader audiences.
Why you should listen
Danielle N. Lee examines the ecology and natural history of nuisance rodents across urban gradients, from the small field mice of North America to the giant pouched rats of Tanzania. A strong advocate for diversity and inclusion in the sciences, she uses hip-hop to share science with broader audiences. She's currently studying the behavioral differences between city mouse and country mouse, with the aim of understanding how and why rodents successfully vex us by living in and near our homes, pantries, farms and silos.
Danielle N. Lee | Speaker | TED.com