WP 09: Moon Porn
Happily trapped in the American Woodcock algorithm
Calculighter | Cassette futurism | Leland Melvin Day | Moon joy | The overview effect | Competency porn
This week in phraseology
Did you watch the NASA mission splashdown on Friday? I did, with my heart in my throat, because I desperately needed those humans to be safe. I know I’m not the only one who felt this way. In this chaotic era where all of the wrong people are in charge and also bent on destruction so they can juice the stock market and make insider bets on prediction markets, seeing a wholesome, positive story about scientific potential was a balm and a source of deep joy. To continue those good vibes, this week features more than one NASA-themed phrase. Sorry not sorry to the space mission haters.
In other news, I left the house! In hard pants! Twice! First to see Project Hail Mary and then Florence + The Machine. A+ cathartic, art-filled weekending with no small amount of crying. Highly recommend.
1. Calculighter
You really have to pay attention to random stuff you see online because AI makes it harder to tell artificial creations from reality. (I’m looking at you, cute pet videos.) When I saw a meme about the Casio Calculighter1, (click to see a pic of it in action) which seemed so stupidly implausible to me, I had to investigate.
Turns out this product really existed. Keith Houston, author of an ode to calculators called Empire of the Sum (chef’s kiss), shares that Casio’s first product was a yubiwa pipe, a ring with a cigarette holder attached to it. Funding from sales of that product allowed them to create other products, including calculators. According to Houston, from this standpoint, the Casio QL-10 Calculighter made sense:
Had this been any other calculator company, it would be have been entirely possible to deride the QL-10 as ’80s excess gone mad. But Casio alone could claim method in its madness, because it had got started not with electronic instruments, as had Hewlett-Packard; nor with geophysical surveying equipment, like Texas Instruments; nor cameras, like Canon; but rather, with the humble yubiwa cigarette holder. For Casio, the QL-10 was a homecoming.
We need more weird product mashups like this. Everyone loves a multi-tool!
2. Cassette futurism
This phrase evokes a beloved aesthetic that I’ve long enjoyed as a sci-fi fan but could never quite articulate. Culture, gaming, and TV/movie writer Mike Piggott wrote an ode to cassette futurism that examines whether it’s an antidote to digital burnout. He describes the vibe here:
Cassette futurism is a retro-futuristic aesthetic from around 1970-1985, and is a subgenre of sci-fi that essentially envisions a future through utilitarian, analogue technology. Think tech that was available in that time period: bulky computers, cassette tapes, CRT monitors, physical buttons, VHS/Beta systems, floppy disks, reel-to-reel tapes, Polaroids, dot matrix printers, microcomputers, and so on.
Star Wars—including my beloved Andor—and Star Trek are examples that immediately come to mind, along with the movies Alien and Blade Runner. Even though these stories depict fictional worlds or futures, there’s something comforting about not just the retro feel but the tactile nature of the tech. As Piggott notes in his essay, in the world of Andor, there’s no wifi; you have to make an effort to connect with both information and other beings. He then draws a line to us algorithm- and screen-weary humans today. We’re adopting older tech including vinyl records, compact discs, dumbphones, and land lines. And maybe a Calculighter?
h/t to Brendan Leonard at Semi-Rad for this one.
3. Leland Melvin Day
This meme is making the rounds, especially on Tumblr. If you were extremely online back in the day, the photo of astronaut Leland Melvin posing with his dogs while wearing his flight suit was a source of wholesome joy.
But, sometimes I hate my need to know the backstory behind phrases. What this meme doesn’t share is that the Lynchburg mayor declared April 7th Leland Melvin Day at a convocation service for Liberty University (eww), founded by Jerry Falwell (ewwww), where Melvin was the keynote speaker in 2008 (facepalm). Maybe it’s a good thing that he forgot all about this event, as I would like to as well.
4. Moon joy
I saw a meme noting that next year there will be a wave of babies named Artemis Moon Joy and I ain’t even mad.
The New York Times covered how this phrase came about:
Reid Wiseman of NASA, the mission’s commander, eagerly noted impact craters and a swirl on the lunar surface.
“It’s just everything from the training, but in three dimensions and absolutely unbelievable,” he said. “This is incredible.”
Jacki Mahaffey, a NASA officer in mission control, laughed in response. “Copy, moon joy,” she said.
5. The overview effect
While reading up on some of the Artemis-related phrases for this edition, I came across this piece in Scientific American that describes the overview effect. Coined by aptly-named science author Frank Write in 1987, the overview effect describes the profound cognitive impact astronauts feel after viewing Earth from a distance. Write also argued that this effect extends to the rest of us when we view photos taken from space.
However, in the same article, U of Chicago space historian Jordan Bimm argues that the overview effect is more cultural than an inherent human response, adding that it’s “handy marketing for private space companies.” Fair point. A 2024 Dutch study monitored brain waves and self-reporting of participants who took a VR space journey and found evidence for the cognitive effects of space travel.
I wonder how studying people experiencing something else utterly new and awe-inspiring would compare; are we just describing what happens when we feel a sense of wonder, or is there truly something unique that happens to us when we see our home from space? We need more science to find out.
6. Competency porn
Liz Plank wrote a great post at Airplane Mode that captures what so many of us are feeling:
Artemis II is Competency Porn and We Are Starving For It
Subhed: girls will be like i needed this and it’s just four nerds in space
Did you feel it too? That specific relief that’s hard to name. I found myself trying to understand it. The closest I can get is this: the feeling of watching something go right and realizing, somewhere deep in your body, that you had forgotten things could go right. Because when something actually goes right, when the people in charge do their jobs well, speak in full sentences, make decisions that protect people instead of endangering them, the reaction can feel strangely emotional. What you’re feeling isn’t just relief, it’s grief. Grief for every year you spent bracing. Grief for how normal the bracing became. Grief for how completely you forgot that competence was once ordinary.
That is not a small thing. That is your nervous system coming up for air. I want you to enjoy it. And when they land, and they will land, and the news cycle will move on immediately as it always does, I want you to remember that you felt this.
So say we all. The whole post is great - head over to read it.
Bonus Nuggets
1. Who doesn’t love an American Woodcock video?
My algo has discovered that I love American Woodcock videos, so here’s a 15-second clip that made me literally laugh-cry (sound on, I implore you):
2. Mary Oliver documentary!!!
“I very much wished not to be noticed, and to be left alone.”
ME TOO, MARY. ME. TOO.
Seeing Jon Waters in this makes me want to see it even more.
3. Clippy would never
Links to calculator.org, “the calculator home page” - I love that this site exists. Bless the archivists everywhere.
Thanks for mentioning my cassette futurism piece. It's my most-read article actually. It's struck a chord with people.