Bad Science in Sci-Fi: Have You Seen It?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the portrayal of science in various science fiction media, including movies and television shows. Participants share examples of what they perceive as "bad science" in these works, often highlighting inaccuracies or implausibilities in the scientific concepts presented.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express frustration with the scientific inaccuracies in popular sci-fi shows like Star Trek, with one noting the implausibility of Spock's precise time estimates.
  • Others mention specific films, such as "Attack of the Atomic Crabs," discussing the absurdity of giant crabs with telepathic abilities.
  • A participant critiques news reporting on energy prices, emphasizing the difference between kilowatts and kilowatt-hours, suggesting a lack of scientific understanding in journalism.
  • There are references to the unrealistic portrayal of physics in movies like "Jeepers Creepers 2," where creatures exhibit impossible physical feats.
  • Some participants humorously point out the absurdity of fictional elements in various shows, such as the use of made-up chemicals in shampoo advertisements and the portrayal of superheroes.
  • Discussion of the show Lexx includes mixed feelings about its scientific accuracy, with some enjoying its entertainment value despite its focus on erotic themes over science.
  • Participants also mention the comedic elements of shows like The Simpsons, which include exaggerated scientific concepts.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally share a consensus on the presence of bad science in various sci-fi works, but there is no clear agreement on specific examples or the extent of the inaccuracies. The discussion remains largely unresolved, with multiple competing views on what constitutes "bad science."

Contextual Notes

Limitations include varying definitions of what constitutes scientific accuracy, subjective interpretations of entertainment value, and the blending of humor with critique in the discussion.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to fans of science fiction, those studying media representation of science, and individuals curious about the intersection of entertainment and scientific principles.

quddusaliquddus
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Have you seen bad scifi - [lets face it - which one of us hasn't 1time or another :biggrin: ] - but the scientific basis is soo rediculuos that the most cursary look@their primary school books would have showed it to be wrong.

... but please don't start on Star Trek because you'll have a fight on your hands ... :biggrin:
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Star Trek. :P
 
Okay, seriously... Star Trek... :P

A kids show here about an alien girl who hooks up with a whale and fights crime. It's called Ocean Girl, and has a heavy conservationist message.
 
Sounds familiar ...
 
A little off topic, but what drives me nuts are news reporters that don't do their homework. I remember a recent story about energy prices and the rising cost of electrical energy. A Portland news station reported that the price of electricity was going up by so much per Kilowatt. Now, this may be nit-picking a bit, but I thought that journalist are supposed to get the facts straight.

We purchase in units of Kilowatt Hours = energy; not kilowatts = power. To say that the price is 10 cents per kilowatt means absolutely nothing.
 
of course when you live with Tsunami you measure energy in Megawatt Days. :eek:

:biggrin:
 
The movie "Attack of the Atomic Crabs". I must've watched this movie 50 times when I was little because it was constantly played on a Saturday night sci-fi/horror show called "Weird".

It was about a group of people on a pacific island where some crabs had been exposed to atomic fallout. The crabs became the size of houses and would eat people, then the crabs would telepathically summon the friends of the people it had eaten so the crabs could eat them too. :bugeye:
 
Evo said:
The movie "Attack of the Atomic Crabs". I must've watched this movie 50 times when I was little because it was constantly played on a Saturday night sci-fi/horror show called "Weird".

uh huh.

It was about a group of people on a pacific island where some crabs had been exposed to atomic fallout. The crabs became the size of houses and would eat people, then the crabs would telepathically summon the friends of the people it had eaten so the crabs could eat them too. :bugeye:

and the bad science part is...
 
Ivan Seeking said:
uh huh.



and the bad science part is...

Evo, I don't think Ivan likes you starting on his telepathic relatives [look @ his avatar] ... :smile:
 
  • #10
Lexx, that show is just stupid

and star trek
 
  • #11
I LOVED LEXX, well, the first two seasons before LEXX became weak and they added Prince.

Kai is HOT! :biggrin: Something about those undead guys...

You don't think LEXX is scientifically accurate?? :-p
 
  • #12
WOW! Evo a Lexx fan... :surprise:

Okay, I always loved it when Spock would tell captain Kirk that such and such event would take places in 6.024...432 minutes. Of course, in the time that he said it, 0.05 minutes had passed.

I love to tease Tsu about Captain Kirk - whom she can't stand - by pretending that he is my hero. Why just the other night I was telling her that when I am faced with a tough business decision, I think to myself, what would Kirk do?

Last night we watched Crimson Tide. Denzel Washington is a Nuclear Sub's First Officer who inspires a stressed crewman my telling him to imagine that they are like Kirk and Scotty, where Scotty comes through for the Captain at just the last second.

I looked at Tsu and said see! Even submarine commanders want to be like Kirk! :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile:

Then we pondered the strangeness of a fictional character idolizing another fictional character.
 
  • #13
Ivan Seeking said:
WOW! Evo a Lexx fan... :surprise:
Kai is hot, what can I say? (shallow) :wink: And it was funny. :-p

I can't stand Captain Kirk.
 
  • #14
That show is very erotic. The love slave girl, Zev, used to be, anyway. All of a sudden there is a different actress playing her. The new actress is not hot.

Cleopatra 2525 is another very scientifically accurate show set in the future with hot women and large flying bugs.

I think it is significant that two separate teams of writers came to the conclusion the future would consist of hot women and large flying bugs. They were probably fed this information by psychic clairvoyants or remote viewers from area 51: I think we are seeing the truth about the future.
 
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  • #15
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  • #16
Where are the Trekkies ? ... no Next Generation Trekkies on PF? ... thought I'd never see the day ...

Star Trek has it's fine share of hot women 2 ... :p
 
  • #17
The movie Jeepers Creepers 2 drove me crazy. It has a creature that flies, is strong enough to flip a bus (by pulling it while flying, yeah right.) or lift a load twice its body weight at lightning speeds (as it grabs a huge guy and carries him into the air in a flash.) and rips its own head off and replaces it with a fully functional one that it steals from a teenager in the bus, with the head passing from the inside of the creature out. This movie just said, "To He.. with physics or science of any kind."

Oh and I almost forgot, one of the girls on the bus becomes a psyhic with no previous psyhic episodes.
 
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  • #18
Lol ... ...
 
  • #19
Ooh poor science. How about all those shampoo adverts where i SWEAR they just make up chemicals like "neutrileum"... like we are supposed to know what it does.

How about just about every Marvel comic?


What about "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes"?
 
  • #20
Don't you dare mock Spidey...
 
  • #21
LOL how about with all these Space programmes, they ALWAYS have their burners on. Save fuel guys, you don't slow down in space.
 
  • #22
how can you people diss kirk?! common, its kirk...captain kirk. you can't diss captain kirk!
 
  • #23
Star Trek...that reminds me...the other day I saw them on a planet pinned down by enemy fire. Spock announced that his tricorder pinpointed the enemy as "three hundred twenty eight yards in that direction." I thought to myself, "I guess the current attempt to convert the world to metric is short lived."
 
  • #24
Kirk: "Hey babe, is that a tentacle on your head, or are you just glad to see me?" ;)
 
  • #25
jimmy p said:
Ooh poor science. How about all those shampoo adverts where i SWEAR they just make up chemicals like "neutrileum"... like we are supposed to know what it does.

Ah jimmy, but don't you want the revitalizing action of the new element "neutrileum" to oxidize your hair for that deep clean feeling?
 
  • #26
Evo said:
I LOVED LEXX, well, the first two seasons before LEXX became weak and they added Prince.
Kai is HOT! Something about those undead guys...

You don't think LEXX is scientifically accurate??

Lexx was cool, though I think it tended to focus more on sex than science. That chick that was with Kai and the captain didn't look that bad, if I recall.
 
  • #27
lol @ zoobyshoe

Simpsons aren't going to b left out on this: three-eyed fish, homer glowing due to raditation lol...

What i always wondered is how in star trek some plan is hatched to kill the federation or sumfin..then it goes wrong cos of a mishap etc.. then it can b attempted again but it isn't ... that's not science - that's jus the nature of scripts i guess
 
  • #28
talkin of super heroes...batman cannot be criticised .. i think..but Superman?...where do i start?

what about the roadrunner and coyote?...esp. whe nthey hang in air b4 fallin
 
  • #29
Holy camouflage Batman, there has to be some real bad science somewhere. Oh, wait its just the policing system in Gotham City, where the notorious criminals always escape prison with no explanation and the police don't bother following up.
 
  • #30
Chrono said:
Lexx was cool, though I think it tended to focus more on sex than science. That chick that was with Kai and the captain didn't look that bad, if I recall.
Ah yes, Xev.

http://www.scifi.com/lexx/images/xev_pod.jpg
 

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