Internet cultureInternet cultureIt’s hard to keep up with internet culture, but don’t worry: every week we tell you the best of what you need to know.
This week, the out-of-touch guide takes a look at science. We have aerospace engineers licking space stones, YouTube influencers using lie detectors, Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s Twitter feud with a frozen meat product, and more stories about when great scientific minds meet the rabble of the internet.
This Week In The Science, Part One: Neil DeGrasse Tyson Vs Steak-Umm
Astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson finds himself in a Twitter feud with Steak-umm. The beef (got it?) Started with one Tyson tweeted that is, “The good thing about science is that whether you believe it or not, it’s true,” went viral easily. This was too much for Steak-Umm, a processed frozen beef leaf brand that shot back and “unsubscribe brother”.
Steak umm followed by an explanation “Science itself is not ‘true,’ but a process that is constantly evolving to reveal truths based on material reality, and that process is still riddled with errors. neil only posts ridiculous sound bits like this for punching power. “
The strangest thing about this conflict (other than anything) is that Steak-Umm is right. Maybe not about Tyson’s motivation, but about his reasoning. Perhaps Tyson’s lack of response points to an embarrassed acknowledgment of his epistemological flaw, or maybe he doesn’t get into flame wars with junk food marketing accounts, but I hope a number of debates are being prepared behind the scenes, and I hope who those social media operated by Steak-Umm is receiving a raise for his brilliant alternative marketing skills. I want a cheesesteak now.
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This Week in Science, Part Two: Scientists Taste Mars
Texas graduate student Kyle Morgenstein recently posted a cool stone from another world on Twitter and posted a sexy picture of the mineral with the caption: “This stone is 3.5 billion years old. This stone is from Mars. “
Of course, Twitter commenters immediately urged Kyle to lick it. At first he refused tweet“I refuse to contaminate it, I haven’t even touched it! It stays in a temperature and humidity controlled mini display case made of plastic most of the time, lol. “
But after a billion people tweeted, “Lick the space rock, Kyle,” a Change.org petition got started and #lickthespacerockkyle started to trend, Kyle gave in to popular demand.
On a videoThe angry scientist said, “Good. You will win. You want to see how I lick the stone so much … I’ll lick the Martian rock. ”
The judgment? “It takes salt,” said Morgenstein. The space rock, which traveled 177 million miles to Earth in a meteorite, had no comment.
This week in the third part of the science: DNA testing nightmare
The rise of home DNA testing kits has enabled thousands of people to learn more about their origins, understand their genetic health history, and Find out that their relatives are notorious serial killers. But all is not well. A DNA kit ended the relationship of TikTok user @ mattilathehun.
She did not know her birth father and was concerned about how her genes could affect her health. So her boyfriend bought her a DNA kit for her birthday. The tests were on sale, so her boyfriend got one for himself. This turned out to be a bad idea. When the results came back, the young couple learned they were cousins. Not first cousins, but enough cousins to be concerned.
Not being part of the British royal family, the couple decided to end their relationship rather than use them to join their fiefdoms and consolidate political power. @mattilathehun also pulled their TikTok down, apparently because commentators get a little wild when you go viral for accidentally dating your cousin.
Viral video of the week: Lexi Rivera and Andrew Davila stand in front of a polygraph
I also didn’t know who Lexi Rivera and Andrew Davila were before I looked them up, but young people like them enough that the couple will take a polygraph test is one of the most popular videos on YouTube this week.
The two Gen Z influencers have millions of followers on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and BligBlag (I made this up) and are apparently so interesting that their fans want to use a truth machine to dig deep into their thoughts. (What are you hiding Andrew Davila?)
While I could understand how to yell at a celebrity locked in a cage in a dingy basement with terrible questions with a polygraph, this video is not like that. The interview is good-natured, the questions are banal (“Do you find Lexi attractive?” Is about as classy as it gets) and everyone seems to be having a good time.
It’s too sane for me to understand, but I’m not here to judge. I’m just telling you what the YouTube kids are watching. Apparently polygraph videos are a growing thing, with personalities like “I think they’re famous or something” James Charles, and Brent Rivera and Pierson Wodzynski Buckle up a machine and tell the truth.