Robot or Not?

Listener Tom really wants us to explain what it means if someone is “out of pocket.” This leads to some existential questions about the pocket and the people who may not be in it. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listener Niels follows on from the logical question of if a glass can be made of plastic to ponder what makes a can a can. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listener Justin tries to get us to stretch the definition of “facial hair” beyond the beard. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listener Roy brings us into his debate with his teenage son about what makes a shirt a shirt. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listener Jack wants to know if a few famous gates and statues are also buildings. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listener Gregory thinks Pop-Tarts are pies. We have ratio questions. Also: We remember so many burned palates caused by calzones and McDonald’s fruit pies. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listener Gregory tries to confuse us with a question about open-faced sandwiches and pizza. We largely ignore him and talk about different ways to eat things that are like pizza, but aren’t quite pizza. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listener Scott’s wife sure has a strange definition of which way is up. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listener Joel has discovered some Canadians referring to the first floor of a two-story house as a “basement.” Does this defy all reason? How low must you go to be a basement? <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Host John Siracusa asks himself to discuss the difference between Supercars and Hypercars, while Jason looks on. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

The difference between a slegh and a sled. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listener William challenges our ruling about chargers and we get deep into the weeds of car charging. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Stephen Hackett has called us out and requests John’s ruling. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

What’s a blog, and what’s a news outlet? Are Jason and John bloggers? <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listener Kev needs us to unpack John’s comment about “spiders and other bugs.” Does that mean spiders are bugs? And what are the other bugs? Spooky! <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listener Matt can’t stand it when someone calls a USB cable a wire. But what does John think? <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Who scapes the lands? Who gardens the gardens? Who mows and who blows? Not us! <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

John fields some important questions about pasta from listeners Connor, Joshua, and Lee, including the definition of Al Dente and noodles versus pasta. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listener Eric asks if vehicles are only motorized, and we ponder how small a thing can be before it’s not a vehicle anymore. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Can a drinking glass be made out of plastic? Or is it just a cup? <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Summer is in full swing, so Listener Ken has asked us to differentiate between umbrellas and parasols. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listener Marc ponders the “VR headset market” and wants to know what makes a market a market. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listener Eric really needs his kids to differentiate between charger blocks and charging cables. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listener Christian, your time has come. Is an AI Lock the same as a Smart Lock? Or a Fuzzy Logic Lock? When bicycle gear shifters are called “AI”, how do we define what any of this means? I know—let’s ask John. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listener Lorne asks what makes a spacesuit a spacesuit, and it gets complicated in a hurry. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Let’s get back to basics. We celebrate our improbable 10th anniversary with a letter from Listener Scott, who has a lot of questions about his son’s book “Science Comics: Robots and Drones.” <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listener Paul doubts the efficacy of the Bay Leaf. Host John ponders the longevity of Spices. Host Jason admits to keeping spices 15 years past their expiration dates. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listener Jason (not host Jason) wants to know if “non-tech items” are really tech items. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listener Ben asks: If a Buoy is unanchored and works hard to stay where it is, is it the Roomba of the seas? <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listener Jim wants John to weigh in on the story of the mushroom that was given a robot body, and while that does sound fascinating, the answer seems to be right there in the description. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listener Victor brings us a question from another “or Not?” podcast about how many points are required to make something a story, episode, or character arc. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listeners Joshua and Matthias want to know about flying in (or on) an airplane. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listener Jason (not that one) wants to know if the Gibson Robot Guitar is just trying to jump on the robot bandwagon as a form of fancy marketing. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Two listeners have requested that we revisit recent court and podcast rulings regarding the definition of a sandwich. Also, Jason details his meager high-school lunch. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

In the end, the Grain Weevils and robot lawn mowers come for us all. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Is a Game Boy a game console? What about a Switch? Can a handheld gaming device also be a console? What makes something a console? <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listener Alexander has seen through the calendar’s deceptions and wants to know why any old day couldn’t be the start of a new year. When does the year begin in our hearts? (Happy New Year, everyone!) <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listener Ben and his sister-in-law have come up with a sophisticated system of rules for when and when not to leave a gratuity. But someone else may have his own rules. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Many listeners are concerned about recent legal rulings that suggest tacos and burritos are sandwiches. But we all know who the real voice of authority is. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listener Patrick is concerned about taxonomy, most particularly involving fans that are also lights. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

There are so many different ways to define fast food. Is pizza fast food? Also, Jason has a story about the Shake Shake in the Minneapolis airport. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

I can see clearly now. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

As so often happens with us, discussions of evil henchman end up becoming discussions of legal employment status. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Live from the Relay Podcastathon, Jason and special guest Casey Liss ask John a bunch of questions from the Robot Or Not question list. Topics include: All-In-One computers, dates, pasta, and antique vs. retro. It’s Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Please consider donating as a part of our campaign at stjude.org/relay. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell with Casey Liss.</p>