Robot or Not?
Hosted by John Siracusa and Jason Snell
Jason Snell asks John Siracusa to rule on the meaning of various words and concepts. It’s not just about robots anymore.
Have a question for John? Email robot@theincomparable.com.
326 Spiders and Other Bugs
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!
Previous Episodes
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October 13, 2025325 Wire
Listener Matt can’t stand it when someone calls a USB cable a wire. But what does John think?
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September 29, 2025
324 Landscaper
Who scapes the lands? Who gardens the gardens? Who mows and who blows? Not us!
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September 15, 2025
323 Pasta Roundup
John fields some important questions about pasta from listeners Connor, Joshua, and Lee, including the definition of Al Dente and noodles versus pasta.
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September 1, 2025
322 Vehicle
Listener Eric asks if vehicles are only motorized, and we ponder how small a thing can be before it’s not a vehicle anymore.
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August 4, 2025
320 Parasol
Summer is in full swing, so Listener Ken has asked us to differentiate between umbrellas and parasols.
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July 21, 2025
319 Market
Listener Marc ponders the “VR headset market” and wants to know what makes a market a market.
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July 7, 2025
318 Charger
Listener Eric really needs his kids to differentiate between charger blocks and charging cables.
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June 23, 2025
317 AI Hype
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.
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June 9, 2025
316 Spacesuits
Listener Lorne asks what makes a spacesuit a spacesuit, and it gets complicated in a hurry.