Cosmos

[Arkady]

Cosmos finished its run last night. The last episode did a great job tying together the themes that made it, in my opinion, the best series in the history of television.

Ultimately, the whole series was an ode to the scientific process. The final episode made that theme explicit, while tying back to earlier episodes with clips that reminded viewers of the generations of scientists who pushed human understanding forward, one step at a time. Tyson was every bit as good as Sagan at invoking the wonder of a universe the outshines all the myths we've invented, and he did a better job than Sagan at revealing the process that got us to the point of getting the little glimpse we have, today, of that great big cosmos. My hat's off to the production team. If only more television could be even half that good.

 

[BitterPill]

I only saw the last episode, but I'm looking forward to the reruns.

I may even buy a copy of the series for the nieces, but I'll have to consult with their Libertarian mother first.

 

[resident_evil]

Tyson pandered to the disbelievers in the interview I saw (I'm done being charitable), so I missed it. I'd prefer to read actual textbooks to propaganda.

 

[BitterPill]

Tyson pandered to the disbelievers in the interview I saw (I'm done being charitable), so I missed it. I'd prefer to read actual textbooks to propaganda.

Textbooks will say much the same.

 

[resident_evil]

Textbooks will say much the same.

Good science textbooks avoid personal opinion for the sake of need for brevity (Thank God). Poetical license musing found in shows for the layman are non grata in science.

It is likely that the musing are what most enthralled the two of you.

 

[BitterPill]

Good science textbooks avoid personal opinion for the sake of need for brevity (Thank God). Poetical license musing found in shows for the layman are non grata in science.

It is likely that the musing are what most enthralled the two of you.

You admitted you didn't watch the show, yet you seem to know that it mused poetically.

I wonder how that happened.

In fact, many textbooks are meant to be read by laymen. They are often the first step out of that unfortunate state.

 

[resident_evil]

You admitted you didn't watch the show, yet you seem to know that it mused poetically.

I wonder how that happened.

Because it is formula, duh.

Plus, I saw Tyson in an interview regarding the show and some excerpts.

In fact, many textbooks are meant to be read by laymen. They are often the first step out of that unfortunate state.

And of course some textbooks are meant to be read by laymen. That is how everybody starts. What is your point?

 

[Charcat]

Cosmos finished its run last night. The last episode did a great job tying together the themes that made it, in my opinion, the best series in the history of television.

Ultimately, the whole series was an ode to the scientific process. The final episode made that theme explicit, while tying back to earlier episodes with clips that reminded viewers of the generations of scientists who pushed human understanding forward, one step at a time. Tyson was every bit as good as Sagan at invoking the wonder of a universe the outshines all the myths we've invented, and he did a better job than Sagan at revealing the process that got us to the point of getting the little glimpse we have, today, of that great big cosmos. My hat's off to the production team. If only more television could be even half that good.

Not NEARLY as good as the original with Carl Sagan.

 

[resident_evil]

Not NEARLY as good as the original with Carl Sagan.

I wonder how much Carl Sagan would have to rewrite from his shows given today's new discoveries.

 

[BitterPill]

Because it is formula, duh.

Plus, I saw Tyson in an interview regarding the show and some excerpts.

Fair enough.

And of course some textbooks are meant to be read by laymen. That is how everybody starts. What is your point?

My point is you claimed poetical discourse doesn't appear in textbooks meant for laymen, but I assure you it is. In fact, the more pleasing the prose, the better the textbook.

 

[resident_evil]

Fair enough.



My point is you claimed poetical discourse doesn't appear in textbooks meant for laymen, but I assure you it is. In fact, the more pleasing the prose, the better the textbook.

You assert a claim I did not make.

And you should read a physics book and try to stay away from the pseudo science poetic prose of the social sciences. ;0)

 

[Arkady]

Tyson pandered to the disbelievers in the interview I saw (I'm done being charitable), so I missed it. I'd prefer to read actual textbooks to propaganda.

Disbelievers in what? The whole series was about the power of the belief in science.

 

[Arkady]

Good science textbooks avoid personal opinion for the sake of need for brevity (Thank God). Poetical license musing found in shows for the layman are non grata in science.

It is likely that the musing are what most enthralled the two of you.

The science presented in Cosmos wasn't terribly involved. Since higher level science is largely about math, it's likely a large portion of the audience wouldn't have the basic skills to keep up with it. So, instead it dealt more with large concepts, rather than specifics -- for example, the idea of dating with radioactive decay, rather than the specifics of how it's done (which can get pretty dry). What it did extremely well, though, is telling stories from the history of science, much of which was new to me. Although I knew the big names (Faraday, Newton, etc.), there were a bunch of smaller-name scientists whose stories I had never heard.

 

[Arkady]

You admitted you didn't watch the show, yet you seem to know that it mused poetically.

I wonder how that happened.

In fact, many textbooks are meant to be read by laymen. They are often the first step out of that unfortunate state.

Fox News told him what to think, complete with selected excerpts.

 

[Arkady]

Not NEARLY as good as the original with Carl Sagan.

I disagree strongly. I came to it fully expecting it to be a huge disappointment, relative to Sagan's series. Sagan wrote one of my favorite books, and I very much liked the first series, so I was feeling protective. And when I heard it would be airing on Fox, I cringed. Plus, I'd watched a "Teaching Company" series done by Tyson and hadn't been overly impressed. But Cosmos won me over by the second episode, and by halfway through I knew it was exceeding the original by a margin.