Re: [Phys-l] science on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

["David Marx" <marx@phy.ilstu.edu>]

John and all,

I'm afraid that using The Daily Show to promote science is not my cup of tea.  It's unfortunate that 
anyone would let anything this guy says sway their opinion.  He is an entertainer, not a journalist and 
not a serious political pundit.  I do have a colleague that has used segments from the show in his 
introductory physics courses, but in talking with students in one of the classes about the clips, they 
didn't find them to be all that funny nor educaitonal.

The work done by the researchers doesn't "debunk climategate," per se.  Jon Stewart also makes a 
big deal that the work was funded by the Koch Brothers.  In fact, the foundation for one of the Koch 
Brothers donated $150 000 of the nearly $700 000 spent on the project.  Bill Gates' foundation also 
made a substantial donation.  So what?

After having read the Wall Street Journal OpEd and looked at the project website, I am glad that the 
researchers have made all of their data and computer code available for scrutiny.  Really, their findings 
do not provide any new inoformation compared to what is already known in the literature.

Regards,
David


On 27 Oct 2011 at 12:06, John Denker wrote:

> Most of The Daily Show last night was science-related. That's unusual.
>
> IMHO the show is worth paying attention to, because it both reflects
> and influences public opinion.
>
> As usual, the coverage was funny and sarcastic, but also informative.
>
> Topics included
>  -- the recent article debunking climate-gate (*)
>  -- the lack of TV coverage thereof
>  -- interview with Harvard cosmologist and particle physicist Lisa Randall
>
> You can watch the episode online at
>   http://www.thedailyshow.com/
>
> It will also probably be rebroadcast on cable later today, if you want
> to catch it that way.  As they say, check local listings.
>
>
>
> (*) References:
>       http://berkeleyearth.org/analysis.php
>       online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204422404576594872796327348.html
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