Blue Sparks

Ok, I’ve always been a nerd; a closet physics nerd at that. I love reading stories about the birth of the universe, black holes, new planets, subatomic particles… really anything to do with physics. The other night I managed to catch an episode of “Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking.” To tell you the truth, I didn’t know this show even existed until I saw it. To top it all off, apparently I was watching a rerun!

The episode I managed to catch (there are three in total according to IMDB), was about the birth of the universe and continued all the way until Hawking’s predicted death of the universe. It was definitely a good watch, even if it was a little dumbed down in order to make sense to a wider viewing audience. Sure, I know about the planck length and about the strong, weak and other forces… but I shouldn’t expect everyone else to. I should applaud any effort to educate the masses since it seems so many people just don’t care, or are even scared, of scientific knowledge.

On the whole I enjoyed the episode. Professor Hawking makes wonderful and simple analogies for viewers to understand and yet doesn’t over-simplify things too much. Of course he glosses over the math and other things, but he gets the basic point across for people to understand. I do believe I will be watching more of Professor Hawking’s show, if I can find it to watch.

On another note… why have my last two posts been about TV? Apparently I’m watching too much?

I had the pleasure ( or displeasure if I may) of watching “Chasing Mummies” this evening. I have always been a fan of documentaries, historical ones in particular, but this reality series comes off as more than a little ridiculous. The fellows in the show are more than a bit over the top, and we add to this the antics of Dr Hawass. The result is a show which is almost unbearable to sit through.

I have never been a fan of reality TV and this just seems to be another attempt to garner ratings. The drama in the show seems so artificial I want to claw my own eyes out. The crabiness of Hawass added just that much
More hate for the show.

What I would enjoy is more archaeology and less fluff. It seems after a wee bit of searching many others agree. Sadly thus type of TV seems to be more and more common. Does anyone else long for the times when channels like TLC, Discovery, and History actually showed worthwhile content?