The Skeptics Guide #839 - Aug 07 2021 (Ad Free)
Added 2021-08-07 12:05:51 +0000 UTCNews Items: Making Hydrogen, Trouble for Self-Driving Cars, Metaverse, Olympic Medals, Olympic Pseudoscience; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Time; Science or Fiction
Comments
With the metaverse, obviously Facebook is a major problem. With Oculus quest being the easiest to access, it's almost guaranteed to be Facebook winning this. However, my son started using different social vr games during the pandemic. He and his friends were telling at each other while playing Fortnite on traditional interfaces. Then he started playing gorilla tag. We frequently hear great interactions in which they start singing together and having conversations that are exactly the things we hear when in person together. The game is so basic but, it's tag with all real people. He comes out of the headset soaked in sweat because of the amount of cardio needed to play this. You can't fake it. I've had vr since it was possible. I bought in on the original Oculus Kickstarter project and had the dk1 and since have had the vive, wmr and Oculus headsets. Until I saw this interaction between my son and his friends on there, I didn't think much about the social aspect. Exercise is different, fully expected that. With consoles forcing you to sit around, it seems that arguments in games online are extremely common. In VR and in an active game, I don't see much of that. If so, it's usually the group telling a person to stop being mean. It's a virtual playground already and the interactions will get better over time and approximate reality. During a pandemic, it's amazing. Also, Steve if you see this, the quest allows for wired, wireless and built in games for less than $400. You should update your memories in this. It's not expensive anymore.
Michael Woodrum
2021-08-12 09:57:19 +0000 UTCRegarding the processing power of the AR/VR office or "metaverse" - this will probably done remotely with thin clients for office use. See Windows 365.
Don Crolleone
2021-08-08 21:46:02 +0000 UTCI also have a Tesla Model 3 dual motor, and since I basically drive it like a Prius, I get very close (and sometimes more) than the advertised 310 miles of range. There are Tesla Superchargers everywhere. I've taken my Model 3 across the US and back 3 times and never had a problem with charging. I also charge at home and only use the Superchargers on long trips. All of this being said, I definitely understand that a full EV isn't right for a lot of people, which is why I still think that the plugin hybrids still have a place. Before I had the Model 3, I had a Chevy Volt (2017 and 2012). They'll go between 30-45 miles per charge (50-70 on the 2016+ version, but like I wrote above, I try to drive efficiently) and use gas only after the battery range is 0. I _very_ rarely used gas when I had the Volt(s) and averaged 160mpg (2012) and 240mpg (2017). I basically almost always drove it on battery alone and charged at home, and only used gas for long trips. Other plugin hybrids like the RAV4 Prime, Honda Clarity, etc. will perform much the same as the Volt.
John
2021-08-08 17:23:50 +0000 UTCTriton's atmosphere, while very thin, is almost 100% nitrogen. Remember the Voyager 2 images of the geysers?
LARRY DINGLE
2021-08-07 21:15:25 +0000 UTC
