Offworld, Episode 9: Isolation Trope in Sci-Fi Space Travel
This week on Offworld, we explore the trope of isolation and loneliness in science fiction space travel, and how both fictional and real-world astronauts cope with being away from home for extended missions. Joining us are neuroscientist Indre Viskontas and field geophysicist Mika McKinnon for a lively discussion on how sci-fi depicts the very real challenge of isolation in space!
3 thoughts on “Offworld, Episode 9: Isolation Trope in Sci-Fi Space Travel”
Leave a Reply

Tech
Tested: SLR Magic Cine Lenses for Micro Four Third…
Joey continues his journey testing cine lenses with this set…

One Day Builds
Adam’s One Day Builds: Razor Crest Mods, Part 1!
Adam and Norm begin the long-term project of modifying their…
Pop Culture Power Hour – This is Only a Test 650 –…
As we approach the debut of the Obi-Wan show, we discuss all the nuggets of Star Wars news revealed in the recent Vanity Fair feature. Kishore and Norm also react to the She-Hulk teaser, ponder Stan Lee's future in the MCU, and are wowed by two newly announced LEGO sets. Plus, some spoiler-light thoughts on the Picard season 2 finale and …

Making
How to Use Threaded Inserts for Wood, Metal, and 3…
Sean gives an overview to using threaded inserts for using m…

Show And Tell
Inside Adam’s Cave: Wooden Screwdriver Mailbag Unb…
Adam opens a viewer mailbag containing an ironwood interpret…

Making
Ask Adam Savage: Behind the MythBusters Cement Tru…
In this livestream excerpt, Adam answers MythBusters-related…

Show And Tell
Show and Tell: Adam Savage’s LEGO Minifigure Colle…
In this live stream excerpt, Adam shares his collection of c…

Culture
Ask Adam: Job Interview Advice, Jamie’s Flamethrow…
In this live-stream excerpt Adam answers questions from Test…

Making
Let’s Build: Japanese Steamed Bun Shop Kit!
This cozy miniature representation of a Japanese steamed bun…

Culture
Ask Adam: The Origin of M5, M6 and M7 (Plus, Their…
Adam answers questions from Tested members Aaron and Silver …
good episode, ariel and indre and mika.
i was thinking about exercise equipment, but most exercise i’m into not only relates to gravity as in how strongly does it pull downwards – that could most likely get recreated in a gravity-independent way – but also management of body momentum, and that would probably be very tricky to simulate. but yeah, probably something to do pullups from and a hangboard, plus some way of facilitating a countering downward pull, so i’m not completely noodles when i get back.
also a strong contender: materials to practise a new art skill.
regarding lighting in scifi: off the top of my head, i can remember one hint of changing lighting in star trek TNG. at the end of data’s day (season 4, episode 11), data takes over command of the bridge from worf for the night shift. on data’s command ‘begin night shift’, the bridge lighting dims. but that all goes pretty much according to what you mentioned – the need to artificially recreate a rhythm for structuring day and night.
Gekitsu: Have you seen the video of Chris Hadfield working out on the ISS?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wam7poPzG1w
He also talks about it in his autobiography in more detail. Exercise in space is an interesting issue, because it is functional and part of a rather complicated balance. You need to exercise to counteract negative effects of weightlessness, but you don’t want to exercise too much, because then you’ll need that much more resources to fuel your body. You basically want to do as little exercise as you can while maintaining the parameters you need to maintain for health (or at least slow the degradation down enough for the mission duration not to cause permanent damage).
They do spend two hours per day exercising, so I also suspect even the most avid gymrats would quickly lose interest in exercise as recreation. :p
What a wonderful discussion. so many amazing gems in this one. The interesting bits of Psychology that play out and are considered when dealing with isolation was very smart. Thank you for this.