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The Man Who Gets The Science Right On 'The Big Bang Theory'

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Re: The Man Who Gets The Science Right On 'The Big Bang Theory'

#71

Post by chiph »

beloch wrote: post #21

The show gets some interesting aspects of physics culture right. For example, there's the chauvinism of theorists over experimentalists. I was a bit surprised by this when I first encountered it, but I soon came to realize it's probably motivated by jealously and rejection. Experimentalists operate under the constraint of having to realize a test of one theory and stick with that same theory for months or years at a…

About the only science I have liked/found interesting in the show was the time they bounced a modulated laser off the reflector left on the moon.

So far as funny? Can't get enough of the monkey + cigarette jokes.

Re: The Man Who Gets The Science Right On 'The Big Bang Theory'

#72

Post by coldtea »

freyr wrote: post #70
coldtea wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Right. You're the center of the universe No; but you are at the center of a strawman. Didn't the fact that I already wrote that "Twilight is targeted at teenage girls" stop you from writing all those dreadful "counter-examples" (as if I believed that the fictual setting of a show automatically and necesarrily determines the target audience?) If I followed the strawman logic you accuse me of having, I'd have said "T…

> Didn't the fact that I already wrote that "Twilight is targeted at teenage girls" stop you from writing all those dreadful "counter-examples" No, merely reference Twilight is not enough because in majority of cases, a show about a certain type of characters is not necessarily targeted to that audience. The gist of your argument is that since (1) geeks are more prominent in pop culture lately, (2) BBT is a comedy ab…

>The gist of your argument is that since (1) geeks are more prominent in pop culture lately, (2) BBT is a comedy about geeks, then it follows that (3) BBT must be a show for geeks.

No, I'm not arguing anything. I'm not into formal reasoning in common discussions.

What I said is BBT is a show for geeks, period. The other stuff I said to explain why they made it so, not to prove that it is so.

So I offer no "evidence" and no "proof" (that would be too geeky in itself) -- just my opinion that BBT is a show targeted at the general geek audience, take it or leave it.

>Yes, BBT includes geek references. So what? Excuse the "dreadful counter-examples", but ER included medical references, MASH included military references, etc. That's required by concept of the show.

I think I answered that objection in my original comment: while those shows also contain references, the difference is that BBT "is all about the geek references, and nothing is generic and universal".

Re: The Man Who Gets The Science Right On 'The Big Bang Theory'

#73

Post by SeanLuke »

vacri wrote: post #62
SeanLuke wrote: post #16

What baffles me is that David Salzberg is a professor works tirelessly to get the science correct on BBT, and yet this gentleman was unable to correct the incredible, mind-bogglingly bad episode "The Tenure Turbulence", where every possible aspect of tenure appears to come from some alternate universe unrelated to Earth. This episode is so far beyond wrong I don't know where to start. David knows how tenure works: in…

I thought the same of the hacking scenes in Swordfish ... then I realised that the movie isn't meant for me. It was meant for a mainstream audience that has no idea what hacking is - and instead they get a visual representation of 'hard, technical'. I imagine the same thing goes with that episode - I haven't seen it, but I'm guessing that tenure was just used as a mere plot device rather than a topic to explore.

> I thought the same of the hacking scenes in Swordfish... then I realised that the movie isn't meant for me.

No, I get that. But using this logic, BBT shouldn't be making any attempt to get the physics right either. After all, it's not a show for physicists.

Why the inconsistency?

Re: The Man Who Gets The Science Right On 'The Big Bang Theory'

#74

Post by vacri »

SeanLuke wrote: post #73
vacri wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought the same of the hacking scenes in Swordfish ... then I realised that the movie isn't meant for me. It was meant for a mainstream audience that has no idea what hacking is - and instead they get a visual representation of 'hard, technical'. I imagine the same thing goes with that episode - I haven't seen it, but I'm guessing that tenure was just used as a mere plot device rather than a topic to explore.

> I thought the same of the hacking scenes in Swordfish... then I realised that the movie isn't meant for me. No, I get that. But using this logic, BBT shouldn't be making any attempt to get the physics right either. After all, it's not a show for physicists. Why the inconsistency?

Someone elsewhere in the thread mentions that the whiteboards are just background scenery. The sitcom itself is pretty formulaic, written by the same writers as every other such sitcom. Changing the scenery is much easier, as opposed to changing how these writers understand their material, I guess.

Re: The Man Who Gets The Science Right On 'The Big Bang Theory'

#75

Post by SeanLuke »

vacri wrote: post #74
SeanLuke wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I thought the same of the hacking scenes in Swordfish... then I realised that the movie isn't meant for me. No, I get that. But using this logic, BBT shouldn't be making any attempt to get the physics right either. After all, it's not a show for physicists. Why the inconsistency?

Someone elsewhere in the thread mentions that the whiteboards are just background scenery. The sitcom itself is pretty formulaic, written by the same writers as every other such sitcom. Changing the scenery is much easier, as opposed to changing how these writers understand their material, I guess.

But he doesn't just consult on the whiteboards. He consults on many aspects of the show that touches on science, and that importantly includes scripts.
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