Re: Sound bite science

[Rondo JEFFERY <RJEFFERY@WEBER.EDU>]

Dick,
   Sounds like you may have an opportunity to raise the scientific
literacy level just a bit in Florida.
   One of the things that bugs me is the bad science in the movies.
You could easily spend several sessions showing clips from popular
movies, doing instant replay or such, and point out the bad science in
them.  Outline the "cartoon laws of physics" for starters.  Or the
tracer bullets in star wars fight scenes.  Or any of an endless list
of examples of bad science in the movies.  Who knows, you might get
yourself invited along with the local movie reviewer to advance
screenings of movies--if you are in to that sort of thing.  You would
probably want to keep it light, though.  And you sure wouldn't want to
do that every week, but it might be fun occasionally.
   Sometimes you will be ridiculed, of course, like the entomologist
who complained about the insects in "A Bug's Life" having only four
legs.  People like Jay Leno come back with jokes about why isn't he
bothered that the insects walk upright and speak.
   Jack Weyland of Ricks College in Idaho did an article in the World
Book Annual a few years back (c. 1989) on science in the movies.  He
showed some of his clips at our annual Idaho-Utah AAPT section
meeting.  They are hilarious.  I'm sure your audience would enjoy some
of this.  Good luck, and let us all know how it goes.

--------------------------
> > > Dick Smith <rsmith@GULF.NET> 12/09 8:27 PM >>>
I've just agreed to be The Science Guy on one of our local tv
stations,
with a 3-minute (!) gig every week. Science for the citizen, that
sort of
thing.  Now I know that three minutes doesn't sound like much to you,
but a
year is 52 of those things, which sounds like a lot to me, so I'm
looking
for a source of regular ideas.

Where should I spend time schmoozing?  I'm looking for your best
ideas in
books, web sites, newsgroups, mailing lists, whatever.

==> Dick
--
Richard C. Smith, Ph.D.         Voice: (850) 476-9352
55 Birdwhistell Blvd.           Fax:   (850) 476-4193
Pensacola, FL 32514             http://www.uwf.edu/~rsmith
                                email: rsmith@gulf.net

Rondo N. Jeffery
Physics Department
Weber State University
Ogden, UT 84408-2508