String theory on NOVA last night gave me a headache.....

[Liberal Veteran]

Can I sue?

[Jesus H. Christ]

1. It was pretty bad, wasn't it?

Kind of reminds me of precalculus physics class. They dumb it down so much they make it harder to understand.

[Liberal Veteran]

2. Actually it was pretty decent......

I enjoyed the program, but trying to expand on the concepts in my own mind made my head start hurting.

I think for the uninitiated in the concept it was pretty good. My boyfriend (who doesn't really DO science) had a ton of questions, but he got the basic idea pretty well.

[tridim]

6. I thought it was really well done

and I thought it wasn't dumbed down as much as most science shows. If the viewer wants more detail they should read his book.

The explaination of the extra dimensions was the best I've ever seen. The only thing that bothered me is that they showed them on a graph of points and never specified that the dimensions are continuous from point to point in space and not just little balls of dimensions.

[Jesus H. Christ]

10. It was the most dumbed down science show I've ever seen.

They kept repeating the same basic concepts over and over again with flashy graphics to make people think they were getting it. They probably explained a dozen times in a fifty minute show that string theorists believe that all particles are actually tiny vibrating string vibrating at different frequencies, just like string in a violin! (This reminds me of the Futurama parody of Star Trek. "Like putting too much air into a balloon!) Their five minute explanation of quantum mechanics was ridiculous. All they basically said was when things get really small, things get really weird. Gee, thanks. The funny thing I like about these shows is that people watch them and then think they understand physics.

The Nova that I watched last night was on the C. taxifolia scourge. That was a much better science program.

[Liberal Veteran]

11. I think that's part of the problem with our society....

...is that most people don't have a grasp of basic physics.

Many people had the same complaint you are giving about Cosmos in 1980. But the idea is not to give you a complete education on the subject. It is to expose a vast group of people of varying backgrounds and ages to the concepts themselves in hope they will show the initiative to learn more on their own.

[paula777]

3. I watched that ... I thought it was excellent

[DebinTx]

4. I watched that too

and it was some really deep but interesting stuff.

My daughter left the room when I started watching it - said something about her brain being on vacation during the holidays.

[goodboy]

5. I couldn't stop watching it...I found it very interesting

It was the first time that string theory was explained in a way I could understand. Maybe I was watching it in another dimension...

[Liberal Veteran]

7. That's what gave me a headache...trying to wrap my mind around possibility

and the doors it opens.

[goodboy]

17. in another dimension, I know how you feel...I think.

[paula777]

8. I felt bad for Einstein ... when he died they considered his theory

out of date because he only dealt with gravity / matter on a large basis but after he died they tied in his work to the current theory so he was relevant again, but after he died. Poor guy

[Liberal Veteran]

9. I felt bad for that one scientist guy that kept commenting...

...the one that was REALLY REALLY jumpy.

He was so nerdy you could literally see his nerd aura. :)

[Not_Giving_Up]

12. My husband changed the channel

He said they sounded like a bunch of nutjobs they way that they were presenting it, and that they should come back when they can do a better job. Of course, he changed it to Sci-Fi, where they were discussing whether or not aliens crashed at Roswell.

[tigereye]

14. I find those shows fascinating

who knew physics could be so sexy? I agree that the analogies were pretty simplistic, and most of us probably wouldn't understand the equations, but somewhere in between would be interesting. It is almost as if PBS and some science organizations think that no one is capable of understanding anything complex without boffo graphics.

[miss_kitty]

13. Actually, I've watched it about 5 times

I don't consider it "dumbed down" that is unless you are a physicist.

That was for the 'dumbed down' opiners. As for your headache, just don't take Aleve for it!

:hi:

[Ganja Ninja]

15. This is where the religious right sells God short.

If there is a creator than I find the science behind the universe a much more compelling argument. String theory and relativity are far more awe inspiring than the moronic intelligent design crap the fundies keep trying to peddle.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

16. Actually, string theory seems to be one of the less weird theories of

modern physics. Some of the stuff I read about in Scientific American keeps my mind boggled for days.