Episode 541: Give it the Ol' Singularity!

This episode contains: Steven is under the weather and Devon had to run fast for Sonic 3. Ben's making his way through the Knuckles TV show (lots of bowling in this one) before seeing the absolute zaniness turned up to 11 of Sonic 3. Do y'all remember "Dumb Running Sonic" on Tumblr? Devon recommends Jury Duty (Amazon Prime): Imagine a prank show where everyone's an actor… except one guy. Chaos ensues. Devon says it's a must-watch, as is The Wild Robot. It's all about nature, death, and a reminder that "nature is real." Production babies galore! Ben explains how he got a Virtual Boy emulator on his 3DS, while Steven has been reading the book Filter World. Ben's also been playing GRIP Combat Racing, which is kinda like Mario Kart if you prefer ecstasy to mushrooms. You can get it for free right now from Amazon Gaming. Devon's contemplating getting Mario Maker, but then he'd have to get a Switch and that's, like, a lot of work, man…

• Dumb Running Sonic: https://dumbrunningsonic.tumblr.com/

• 3DS Virtual Boy Emulator: https://github.com/skyfloogle/red-viper

• Filterworld: https://www.kylechayka.com/filterworld 

• My Video Went Viral. Here's Why: Veritasium: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHsa9DqmId8

• Tokyo Override: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32581509/

• GRIP Combat Racing on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/396900/GRIP_Combat_Racing/

• GRIP Combat Racing on Amazon Gaming: https://gaming.amazon.com/grip-gog/dp/amzn1.pg.item.d2358a22-76ef-4c8a-aa76-17b9a10543f5?ingress=amzn

Future or Now:

The Magic Schoolbus meets Rick and Morty: Ben recommends WTF 101 from Dropout TV. A quartet of kids in detention are schooled by an eccentric and sometimes cynical teacher who takes them on often horrifying field trips with the help of a time-traveling/teleporting/shrinking device. Their travels take them face to face with nature's most ruthless parasites, humanity's dumbest failed inventions, and much, much more. If WTF 101 had just made up all of these lessons, it'd still be a funny watch thanks to the clever storytelling, fast-paced plot, and punched-up dialogue. But it's the fact that the show seeks to educate audiences on real-world factoids that gives it that extra shine. It's hilarious, gross, weird, profane, and mostly true! It is NOT FOR KIDS and very much NSFW. Devon reflects on debates between theists and atheists. Why does evil exist? Maybe the animal kingdom knows.

• Watch the first episode for free on Youtube (The Gruesome Truth About Parasites): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aZVgyUlSng

• Check out the entire series on Dropout: https://www.dropout.tv/wtf-101

Burn it all down: Steven presents a groundbreaking study that reveals RNA — not DNA — might trigger sunburns. Sunburn has traditionally been attributed to UV-induced DNA damage. However, a new study by the University of Copenhagen and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, reveals that RNA, another vital cellular molecule, plays a major role in triggering acute sunburn reactions.

• Read more at Sciene Daily: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/01/250117112413.htm

Now for something a little more cheerful from Devon: Quantum suicide and immortality, a thought experiment exploring the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. The experiment involves repeatedly engaging in an activity with a 50/50 chance of death, with the idea that consciousness will always exist in the universe where the individual survives. Ben is reminded of the short film "One-Minute Time Machine" where a man repeatedly uses a time machine to retry a conversation with a woman, but what happens in the realities he leaves behind?

• More on wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_suicide_and_immortality

• One-Minute Time Machine on Youtube: https://youtu.be/CXhnPLMIET0

"Book Club":

This week: Philip K. Dick's short story "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" (1966). The story follows Douglas Quail, a man obsessed with Mars who seeks out a company to implant fake memories of a Martian trip. It's very different from the 1990 film adaptation of Total Recall, the film's action-oriented approach was very different from the story's focus on psychological elements. Is remembering something the same as living it? "I remember recording a good podcast once." "Steven, we've never recorded a good podcast."

• Read it here: https://philosophy.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/We%20Can%20Remember%20It%20for%20You%20Wholesale%20-%20Philip%20K.%20Dick.pdf

Next week: Alfred Bester's Fondly Fahrenheit. Though the story's disturbing premise—that a servile android-robot could turn on its human superiors and commit murder—was probably radical at the time, without Bester's way with words, Fondly Fahrenheit wouldn't have become the classic science fiction short story that it is today. It's still cited as one of the best sci-fi stories ever.

• Read it here: http://www.sfsfss.com/stories2/Bester,%20Alfred%20-%20Fondly%20Fahrenheit%20v1.0.htm