Antigravity, The Center Of The Universe, And Other Questions | January Lightning Round 

"Congratulations on your thermoregulatory superiority. I'm cold." Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

A thought on the center of the universe question. We are at the center of the observable universe (the part of the universe we can observe) - which has continually grown over time as our capability to see further and back in time has grown. However, that doesn't mean we're in the center of the actual physical universe - and almost certainly are not. Any other alien race would also be at the center of their observable universe, and they may not even see our galaxy at all. Bottom line, there is almost certainly way more to the universe than we're remotely aware of, and where we are in that larger universe - we have no way to know. Mind bending stuff.

A video about the center of the universe would be a great opportunity to talk about the "shape" of space (which has always been an intruiging thing to me). I'd watch it!

Hey Joe, PhD candidate in physics here. About the center of the universe stuff there are some things I need to explain, first we don't know the shape of the universe, based on current models (FLRW stuff for who wants to search) it could be 3 things: A 3d hypersphere with constant positive spatial curvature, a 3d plane with zero curvature and a constant negative curvature (called ADS space), the latter 2 would be infinite and the first, based on observations, should be 150 times bigger than the observable universe (at least), but in all cases we could consider ourselves in the center of the expansion, as well as any other point in the universe (because the big bang ocurred everywhere) so your explanation was right all along!

Personally, I think the SCP foundation would be better served as a series than a movie. There's just so much good content!

I died laughing at the start of the video when you told the nordics to please not say anything regarding the temperature. I'm Norwegian and I literally thought "That's not even cold" and felt the urge to comment something straight before you said what you said. It felt like you actually spoke directly to me! Hilarious. You hit the nail

I feel like you hit the nail on the head with the center of the universe. We're in the middle of our observable universe all the time.

Right off the bat before I watch the rest of the video, I have to thank you for giving temperature in both Fahrenheit and Celsius. As a Senior Canadian, We have to understand both. They are so different in feeling. You are in Texas and have gone through wild temperatures yourself. Zero up here in Toronto is okay. Zero down there is bad. Real bad.

lol there's 2 things that keep me coming back to your videos mate: 1. the content (science); and 2. the humour. Please don't stop either of them. :)

Yes I want to see that video

I have plenty of friends who get called by their last name and their last name isn't even close to a first name for someone else. Being called by your last name is no big deal. There is the question as to whether or not they're mistaking your last name for your first name in your case, but it's not uncommon for people to be called their last names instead of their first, depending on all sorts of factors.

I was going to post a smug comment about the cold as I live in Winnipeg and normally at this point of the year, it’s -30c. But elniño has us at 0c. It’s wonderful and I’m full of joy.

This was a great video! Loved the 'relaxed' feel to it and think Joe's Journey to the West Texas Flesh Pit would be an incredible video. One of my favorite things about your channel is the feeling that you'd be a fun person to have a beer with; and this video highlights that. Keep it going!

Re: antigravity/turbulence: We'd still experience turbulence, but not as extreme. Gusts of wind would still hit the antigravitycraft, but since it's not being lifted by that air, it wouldn't cause the drops and twists like it does on the wings of an airplane. Kind of like how you feel an occasional gust of air when you're driving your car, but if you stick your hand out the window like you're on a family road trip, you'd feel the effects of wind and changing hand angles very intensely.

I can't believe you're approaching 2 million subscribers, it feels like that 1 million special was last week! 😂 thanks for all you do, and I love this idea! Should get some great research ideas

Saddens me that due to my financial circumstances I will never see my own questions ever even come to light on this channel. I adore Joe and all of the incredible work that he and his team do for the subscribers of his channel. But, unfortunately, it does make me sad that (and this isn’t exclusive to his channel) no matter what…my being thrust into poverty (gotta love that a dance and theatre instructor cannot afford to live outside of the poverty level that I am stuck in at this time) leaves me somewhat invisible to my favorite channels. So, all of you who are financially capable of funding this channel, I do so hope that you are able to continue to ask the questions that are at least interesting to the rest of us! Now, on to the video! Thank you, Joe. And thank you, to those who can ask these interesting questions!!!

I follow about 30 creators but Joe Scott has probably some of the best stuff out there. The stories are super interesting and Joe has such a great sense of humor. Thank you RU-vid algorithm!!

The thing to really wrap you head around is that the galaxies are NOT "moving" away faster than light. They aren't moving anywhere. Space itself is expanding. It is (likely) expanding at the same rate everywhere, but when we look a billion light years away, we are looking back in time a billion years and seeing that portion of the universe as it was a billion years ago, not as it is now if we were right there.

I've been accidentally "intermittent fasting" for like 30 years.. Found out in late elementary or middle school that breakfast doesn't really agree with me, and I'm usually too busy to ever eat lunch. So from then on (and I'm almost 40) I've really only ever eaten dinners. Occasionally if I'm really physical some morning, I'll eat an energy bar or something for lunch, but that's about the extent of it. Joe is completely correct, after a while, you just don't feel hungry. I never feel hungry until around 6pm, and I usually eat around 7-8pm.. But waking up, the whole morning and well into the evening, I never get the hunger signal or really even think about food. I've just become so used to it that breaking the cycle and eating a lunch tends to actually make me sick anymore. Meds are a good issue to bring up though, as Dona does, because I've got a couple I'm supposed to take in the morning with food and I don't- I just moved them to evenings around/after dinner if they upset my stomach taking them without food. But just like fasting, ones that would make me nauseous stopped doing that and my body quickly adjusted. Edit: Oh, and don't use me as a case study, because no, I don't lose weight or anything. I tends to eat large portion dinners so I'm still getting probably 1500cal/day, and I drink teas that aren't 0-cal, so probably another 300cal there starting around 1-2pm and 1k-1.2k dinners, and often a coke with dinner. I'm still sitting about 180lbs at 5'7", legs are large from 15 years BMX racing in my youth, so still a lot of muscle mass there.. But otherwise avg build.

This was a nice change of pace. It's nice to hear someone say they don't know pr aren't sure. Instead of just making it up. It was a very honest and real video. Plus I like when you ask the audience questions. Yes please find out more about the center of the universe.. 👍👍

As someone who hasn't eaten breakfast, or a traditional lunch( I usually eat lunch at 4pm ), I'm never feeling hungry unless I somehow forget to eat till dinner(8pm). I guess I've been intermittent fasting my whole life😅

Oh wow, a mystery flesh pit would be amazing. Also the video about the center of the universe could be neat, hype to hopefully see both in the future!

Hey Joe, I really enjoy the more spontaneous lighting round format! This just reminded me that I should probably finally look into supporting you there. Keep up the great work!

this video felt more genuine than usual. I really loved it. I love your channel so much

I love this new format! Keep up the good work, Scott!

Temperature is all about what you are used to, so no worries. Just so you know, the song "Hey Joe" was a cover tune for Jimi Hendrix, it was actually written by a guy named Billy Roberts. Just for your gee wiz file.

I like the quality of the videos so far this year. I mean I always enjoy your content but you can tell more energy and thought and feelings are going into the videos. I like it, keep it up Joe and team!

Really love this format! Would love to see more videos like this

I just discovered your channel about a year ago and it is one of my favorites! I enjoy your storytelling, jokes, topic choices and lack of bias (as much as any good human is capable of). You have thoroughly entertained me and occasionally edified me. You do great work!

We are at the center of our own observable universe because it's sort of like standing in the middle of a field you can see so far in any direction although you know it goes on farther so from any one point you're observable universe is what you can see

Your channel topics and your point of view of things give credence to your soft ball questions i like these and your actually better to me when you know you can deep dive and hold back (only sometimes need those dives) to recognize people think for themselves and differently

I have been a fan of this channel for years now. I only have nice things to say about Joe and the topics he covers are always informative and interesting. I'm extremely happy that the channel is nearing 2 million subscribers and I believe it will exponentially increase with time. Thanks Joe

I'm from Sweden, I have been out playing in the snow in minus 30c, Now I live in southern China in a city that rarely goes below 10c. Somehow it's still colder here, especially indoors so I completely understand your hoodie and weather complaints

This must be the universe talking to me through you Joe! I literally just got done with my antigravity device today. Haven’t tested it yet but it’s complete

This is the best video I’ve seen by you so far!!! Thank you so much of doing what you do. I’m so bored most of the time so this keeps my brain quiet

Basically on anti-gravity: If we go with the strict "It's just opposing gravity"... it doesn't really have an effect on turbulence. At least not directly. We'd have to totally redesign airplanes actually, due to lift being created by wings no longer being needed. We might end up with vehicles closer to classical rockets, which try to just wedge through the air. This would definitely create less turbulence compared to having giant drag-inducing wings that interact with the atmosphere. (This does assume that you would actually need to be in the atmosphere at all - which is entirely speculative, as to be expected.)

I'm from the 80s early 90s. I WAS PROMISED hoverboards and flying vehicles by now!!!

42 Degrees latitude here. I made snow angles, naked in my yard, at -1F and the deer in my yard applauded. I looked like a steam engine going back to my house with how much heat was coming off my body. Went back into the house, where the thermostat is set to 45.

Great video format and relaxed style is so - relaxing - to watch 👍🏼 A vote to keep it 😁

Yes! I'd love to see the center of the universe vid! Also, this format was fine. Entertaining. I asked my teenage son the question, and we got into a discussion about the difference between the "center of the observable universe" (which transposes the meaning of "center" in the question to a point-of-view concern and observable light) vs. the "center of the known / theoretical universe" (which requires a more sophisticated understanding about what astrophysics tells us...which gets "philosophical" (as you put it) very quick.

I don't know if Joe will see this, I almost joined the patreon just to comment on discord. Love seeing Joe enjoys SCP. And I would say an SCP Movie would totally succeed and I can prove it; "Annihilation" and "CONTROL". Annihilation is the movie, nothing to do with SCP, but it literally reads like an SCP entry, complete with "Exploration Logs" of military and science personnel venturing into the unknown, and a "Foundation researching the anomalous" and an "Anomalous entity affecting reality and people/creatures in unique ways". Even the Bear from it, is quite literally "SCP 939 Many Voices". Both inspired by Eldritch horror of course. CONTROL is the video game by Remedy, also massively successful, and also not directly adapted from the Foundation but almost word to word inspired by it, even the logs found in the game are written like SCP articles, with "Containment Procedures" and "Object Classes". The entire universe is inspired by it and built like it. And it has direct references as well, such as "Broken God" "Absence of Shark" and "SCP 173/Weeping Angel" The Fridge in the game. Remedy as a whole is very inspired by the same train of thought as Twin Peaks/Stephen/SCP with Alan Wake and CONTROL kind of operating like an interesting "SCP 001 Reality Bender" story. So much so, I wrote a whole damn essay about it; www.reddit.com/r/SCPDeclassified/comments/r4c3gc/declassifying_alan_wake_and_control_and_the/? .

14:55 This I learned from _Physics Girl._ It's totally logical when you think about it, but it still blows my mind every time i do.

I picked up the analogy of an expanding balloon to understand the universe, years ago. The idea is that you draw stars and whorls and a "you are here" on it. The balloon deflated is the moment of the big bang. As you start to inflate the balloon, the volume inside is time expanding. Everything expands apart, and what you can see gets smaller.

I do love this format. Feels more intimate. Can't wait to see the next vid.

Hey, Canadian here! -6.7c to someone living in Texas must be frigid!!!! My part of Canada averages -15ish in the winter, but where I went for grad school regularly hits -55, it was like stepping into a frozen hell. We all get climatized to where we live, sorry other people from up north are a jerk about it.

I really liked this freeform video type though. I'd love to see a center of the universe video!

Thank you for all the great content, Scott

In center of universe and making sense of it through the expansion we observer: 1: Open Microsoft Paint 2: Place a bunch of dots on it 3: Copy that same image to have second such "dotty" image 4: Enlarge the second picture by 5% 5: Place it on top of the original - pick one dot (think of it as our Earth or Sun or whatever) and align the enlarged picture's dot with that one 6: Observe, how everything else is suddenly "moving away" from the picked dot You can do that with every dot by just shifting the second image over the first one. ;)

OMG haha you got your heater running? Lol

GOOD VIDEO, SCOTT.

sounds good very refreshing seeing you offscript and very happy u are exploring new ideas for your channel. Much love 👋

love the throwback into. classics are always awesome.

2 minutes in, and I love it already. I think this is one of your best new ideas ever

I think the reason major movie studios haven't dipped into SCP IP is because all the articles are released under Creative Commons. You can make money off your project, but you also have to allow *it* to be used in future projects, so effectively copyright doesn't exist in an ever-monetizing way. I think the concept of the Foundation itself has already inspired pop culture. "The Warehouse" on sci-fi comes to mind. Also, don't forget that Dr. Who's Weeping Angels came out after SCP-187, and they were considered a very novel monster. Who's to say where that inspiration came from?

I love this format, it's a perfect mix between regular channel and the TMI, and if you do more video like this, please do the chair turn intro, I really missed it 😂 and yeah, I'm would love to see the video! more space stuff 😌

Loved this format!

Love this! Hey Joe, I'd love to know something if you have space in a future one of these: Will the James Webb telescope be able to photograph the sentinel objects at earths Lagrange point 4? (I'd also love to know more about these objects in general, they seem pretty interesting, especially in terms of future stopping off points for launching craft further into the solar system). Thanks!

Seeing how well you did with the off the cuff remarks, I'm surprised you don't do this more often. It's got to save you a ton of time and even though it's not as informative as your deeper dive stuff, it's still compelling. At least you could throw it into the mix on a regular basis for some variety for the viewers and a bit of a break for you and your team.

OMG the same “where are you going with that gun in your hand?” thing happened to me at college too! Even more embarrassing by that time I had Heard the Jimi Hendrix song… 4:35

I found this format much more enjoyable. Sadly, I usually skip the Lightning Round episodes but this one kept me tuned in. Yes to a center of the universe video!

Hi Joe! I would love to see you do the Mystery Flesh Pit piece. As far as the center of the universe, a clarification of the observable and the physical universe needs to be made. Lastly, for those who like this channel, you might also like "The Why Files". It's not exactly the same, but very similar. God bless everyone, and have a great weekend!!

For anti-gravity turbulence... I think the answer is "no, not really". The reason a plane shakes like it does when it hits turbulence is because it's the air that's holding it up. For an analogy, consider a sailboat vs. a speedboat, and their interaction with the wind. The sailboat is like an airplane. It has a great big sail that helps it move, but because of that big wind-catching device, a sudden gust of wind can rock it onto its side quite a bit, so we compensate for that by building heavier keels, adjusting the sails when it happens, etc. In a plane, we compensate for that by building the wings and fuselage to be sturdier than the strongest turbulence we expect the plane to ever experience (which is way, _way_ more turbulence than you'll ever experience as a passenger, by the way), and we set procedures like maximum speed during turbulence. We also build planes to fly high enough to simply not encounter it most of the time. An anti-gravity aircraft is like the speedboat. Because it's not propelled by the wind, the speedboat doesn't have giant air-interacting features like sails. If anything, they'll be deliberately streamlined and _not_ interact much with the wind at all. A gust does very little to a speedboat. Could you, in theory, feel a gust of wind affecting the side of the boat? Sure. But even less so than you could in your car. It's hardly going to throw you around or anything. An anti-gravity aircraft would be like this. Even what would be heavy turbulence that only cargo planes would ever fly through would probably barely be noticeable, and for the most part, even without active compensation systems, I don't think there'd be much turbulence, no. Of course it's worth mentioning that anti-gravity is almost certainly impossible. Magnetic levitation might one day be possible... barely. Even then, it's doubtful that we'd use it for aircraft because wings are likely to be vastly more efficient. It's also worth mentioning that other than being scary, mostly because of the fact that air is invisible, turbulence isn't generally actually a problem. It's little more than the equivalent of a speed-bump in a parking lot for a car. For the speed bump, you can see it coming, and thus be ready for it. If you're the driver, you probably don't mind it at all, where as the passenger it might make you lurch awkwardly as you mistime your muscle tension and such. Turbulence, as a passenger, is a complete surprise, so can be startling... but it doesn't need to be _scary._ The pilots generally have some idea it's coming, from reports from other aircraft flying the same routes ahead of them, or with turbulence caused by geography in known areas. That's why, if they turn the seatbelt signs on, you should do as they say; you may feel nothing but smooth sailing and think you can relax, walk around, but they may know they're a few minutes from probable turbulence and so they warn people ahead of time. Sometimes they'll even warn you over the intercom. That's for light turbulence, anyway, which is probably the only kind you've ever experienced. Moderate turbulence is the kind where you see passengers visibly shake and bob together, and occasionally unsecured objects might move around a little. Passenger flights will usually attempt to avoid moderate turbulence, though occasionally that fails, though it rarely results in injury. It goes much higher than that, though... heavy turbulence is something passenger flights always try to avoid, but freight flights may choose to fly through it if it saves time or fuel. The pilots will just fasten their shoulder harnesses and get through it, because even that isn't a threat to the plane itself _at all._ If you've seen people thrown into the ceiling, that was heavy turbulence. We could easily install shoulder harnesses in passenger seats and just fly through it, but... that's uncomfortable and unnecessary most of the time. It'd be like installing three-point seatbelts on a school bus for those rare occasions when you drive a load of kids down into a strip mine. Oh wait, you just don't do that with school busses; that's what mining trucks are for. And so it goes for passenger aircraft. Then there's _severe_ turbulence. This is where the plane itself starts to be in a bit of danger, where wing loading and flexing can be pushed closer to its limits. Severe turbulence mostly only exists inside major storm cells, though, and is pretty easy to avoid. Most large jets have weather radar on-board, and to avoid severe turbulence you just don't fly into cumulonimbus clouds, hurricanes, or tornadoes. Even then, the plane is designed to be able to handle it. It may require some maintenance checks to make sure nothing got bent or warped, but it should be fine. Modern-designed airliners, the ones with the really gracefully shaped wings with curvy split winglets and the like, can actually touch their wingtips together over their fuselages without permanent damage, so a wingtip flapping a meter or two up and down in turbulence is actually not any more of a big deal than your car's suspension compressing a couple of inches extra for a speed bump or a small pothole.

Great video as always, Scott!

We are at the center of the universe, it's mind blowing, but yes

NOW THATS A THUMBNAIL! YES! No more AI thumbnails please!

really love the new format hope to see it more

as a movie lover, I can tell you I love movies that break the mold or are weird/ out side of the box. It really lights me up.

A Thursday video is this Christmas?

I'm calling first even though I wasn't. Sue me.

Thanks for you great work Scott!

Omg I remember commenting about mystery flesh pit and you mentioned it that's so exciting!! Looking forward to that content if it ends up happening :)

0:46 LOL no 20° is objectively cold. I say that as a nordic person who lives where temperatures go way below freezing regularly and who personally isn't even too bothered by cold. We're all used to the climate we live in and I would probably (feel like I would) die if I lived in Texas.

Will work for rent

I really enjoyed this. You introduced me to two new sources for fun reads, and I would love to see your visit to the mysterious flesh pit.

Love your channel, Scott.

Love that a guy with a channel with 2 mil subs in straight up giving 0 fugs shooting in pajama pants. Love it man. Keep up the great content sir. Look forward to your videos every week.

Yes definitely would love a video about the age of the universe versus the size question. That one has been messing with my brain for a while now. Also best of luck with the screenplay!

From how i understood expansion was that every area with no objects being galaxies or basically “empty space” is expanding not just expanding like ripples in water which explains why the further away from our galaxy are expanding faster due to the more “empty space” in between.

It's a cool format. Personally I kinda like it more than the previous lightning round videos. Not that those were bad but usually I was left wishing for more content on certain lightning round topics (akin to a full length video). So the way of tackling it here, without any prior research fits better for answering multiple questions in one video. And with the option to create a full length video later on that is even better :)

Thank you for providing the video! I hope it warms up for you

Enjoyed the vid, hope you do more.

Love the chat about intermittent fasting!!! Super helpful for gut microbiome too, fasting has tons of benefits as well as improved insulin resistance etc. I love the amount of research on it! But there may very well be some downsides too. Important to do what feels right :) (ie. Stress hormones, ketosis can seem to sometimes increase cortisol) but eating carbs and experiencing ketosis in different periods from what I’ve learned can mitigate that.

Hey Scott! The universe and furthest galaxy concept keeps me up at night.

Great video, Scott!!!

This is a great idea for how to do these videos. I think the videos will be good, and it will help cultivate more patrons. People are gonna start asking questions meant to stump Scott and be so well thought out that they end up being a video topic

Would definitely appreciate a video on the center of the universe! My gut instinct is that you nailed it, but would appreciate some good research on it that I can reference to my friends and sound smarter than I am 😂 Also, I definitely like this form of Answers with Joe a lot better. Feels more genuine than scripted content (not to say that I don’t enjoy those videos also!) and seems more fair to the ones asking the questions. Appreciate all that you do for the sci-fi/STEM/oddball community!

Loved this format. 💙

As a Minnesotan, I hereby validate your chilliness, Joe. Does it get colder, here? Sure, but we also have massive infrastructure dedicated to the problem. Mocking southerners, who lack cold-weather solutions, for feeling cold when it's AFFIRMATIVELY COLD is just...snotty. Knock it off, fellow cold-weather folk! 20F or 6 inches of snow is a genuine problem without the gear.

@0:45 as someone from Wisconsin - I'm cold too, Joe. I prefer 75-85 F. Also, I love the occasional chair-spin throw back ❤

Love those kind of videos!

That's it, I'm doing it! I'm making a functional, light-weight levitator based principles similar to the Dale Drive ... It _might_ work :) I've had the idea for 30 years - long before I even knew about the Dale device. Thanks for mentioning it.

love your work Scott, really one of the best science channels on yt

Giggling in Canajan. Actually, it's warmer than that here today. :) As for turbulance and anti-grav, unlike an airplane, you're not using the air for support and propulsion. Kind of like in a car, the wind will hit you, and affect you, but because the wheels are your support and propulsion, it's not as much as if the air was your sole support. Saying that, my father was blown off the road one icy day when the road left a forested area and went into a clear area, so your mileage may vary. :)

Love this. Love you. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

I'm a old Canadian guy, I understand that temperature perception is highly relative. What is really cold to me, would be terrifying to somebody from Texas, or the south in general. When it's -30C (-22F), it's really cold. Time for the big coat. Gloves too if I'm going to have anything in my hand. Around -15C (5F), it's still pretty cold, but you can get by with the lighter coat and a scarf. At 0C (32F), some Canadians will wear t-shorts or shorts, sometimes both. I prefer to wear a jacket, but I like having additional pockets. By 15C (59F), pretty much everybody born in Canada is now in t-shirts and shorts, though I tend to still wear jeans, because again, pockets. Just so you know, the coldest I've personally experienced as a Canadian was -58C (-72F). That was way, WAY up north though, it's not like, normal or anything in most of the country.

14:42 This is one of the best visual representations I have seen, on YT, of this concept. Very intuitive; Almost certainly helpful to those who might still require a bit more clarification. The other really good graphic is the one of the two sets of dots, effectively the same dots, but they're separated over time...with the dots separating from each other when the two dots are placed on top of each other... Yeah, i botched the description...lol... I think you know which graphic i mean, though

I read your mug as "TRY TO SMILE" and that tells me smth about my needs

Loved the video Scott 💙

I like this format. I choose a RU-vid video to watch based on two things: the topic and the host/creator. This format allows us to see a more genuine version of Scott, er, Joe than a typical, scripted show. It's just once a month so shouldn't throw off the usual format of the Monday videos.

Hmmm, I've often thought on the question "Are we the center of the Universe, and how big is it actually?" - which makes me start extrapolating my position locally. - Am I the center of the Earth? - Is Earth the center of the Solar System? - Is the Solar System the center of the Milky Way.... This leads me to an analogy: if I were in a huge unlit warehouse, randomly placed with a torch held over head, providing a circle of visibility - yes, I am at the center of what is visible to me. I have no idea where I am in relation to the warehouse I am in, I have no idea how large that warehouse is. To add to that thought - light is moving away from the original source, which implies what is being "lit" is expanding one light year... every year. The proviso to the last sentence is that the speed of light is constant, and will keep moving in a straight line infinitely holds true, and that objects in this space is also moving away from the central point... unless there are gravity wells distorting it, which implies something was there before The Big Bang, which in turn raises other questions and what we understand. I might be rambling nonsense, however, this is what I think of those questions.