Real Scientists Discuss Benefits of Science Documentaries

  • Thread starter Thread starter Phellippe Marques
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Science
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the value and impact of science documentaries as perceived by scientists and enthusiasts. Participants explore whether these documentaries serve as effective educational tools or merely as entertainment, and how they influence interest in science and mathematics.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants argue that science documentaries may not provide substantial learning and can be repetitive, leading to disengagement once viewers gain deeper insights into the subjects.
  • Others suggest that documentaries can spark interest in science and motivate viewers to pursue further learning, especially for those who are initially unfamiliar with the topics.
  • A participant mentions that while they found math documentaries less engaging, they still appreciate the inspiration they provided to explore the subject further.
  • There is a viewpoint that documentaries can be beneficial for the public and future science professionals, as they can inspire curiosity and interest in scientific fields.
  • Some participants express that scientists, due to their curiosity, might enjoy documentaries from fields outside their expertise, although they may find them less engaging once they are knowledgeable about the content.
  • Concerns are raised about the quality of presentations in documentaries, with some participants indicating that the effectiveness of a documentary can depend on the subject matter and the presenter.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of opinions, with no clear consensus on the overall value of science documentaries. Some see them as valuable for inspiration, while others view them as lacking in educational depth once a certain level of knowledge is reached.

Contextual Notes

Participants note that their engagement with documentaries can vary based on their existing knowledge and the specific topics covered. There is also mention of the entertainment value of documentaries, even when the content is already familiar.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to educators, science communicators, and individuals curious about the role of media in science education and public engagement.

Phellippe Marques
Messages
14
Reaction score
5
What real scientists think about science documentaries. Its pretty obvious that one can't learn science from them. So you could be wasting your time studying real science instead of watching pointless documentaries. On the other hand they are pretty interesting and can be the spark one need to motivate the area of interess, or investments, even predicting the future tecnologies. Any thoughts on that? [emoji1][emoji1][emoji1][emoji1]
 
Physics news on Phys.org
As soon as you have some real insights on the subjects, you can't watch them anymore. Until then they might be entertaining and at best be a spark to learn it for real. Once you've been explained the same trivial stuff for the thousandth time, you quit: superconductivity, speed of light, anti-matter, neutrinos, double split, dark matter, dark energy, gravitation, Oort cloud, Kuiper belt, Andromeda, ... - I get tired, the list is really long. Meanwhile I start to read articles after two thirds if at all. That's probably the best thing about mathematics: they rarely don't even try on it.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Phellippe Marques
fresh_42 said:
As soon as you have some real insights on the subjects, you can't watch them anymore. Until then they might be entertaining and at best be a spark to learn it for real. Once you've been explained the same trivial stuff for the thousandth time, you quit: superconductivity, speed of light, anti-matter, neutrinos, double split, dark matter, dark energy, gravitation, Oort cloud, Kuiper belt, Andromeda, ... - I get tired, the list is really long. Meanwhile I start to read articles after two thirds if at all. That's probably the best thing about mathematics: they rarely don't even try on it.

Well, there are math shows but they aren't as popular on TV I guess. I tried to watch this math documentary. It's Marcus du Sautoy, so it's not like it was blatantly inaccurate, but it felt like a bit of mathematical pareidolia. PI IS EVERYWHERE! FIBONACCI! THINGS ARE SHAPES!

I do think watching documentaries got me interested enough in math and science to want to pursue it later. Now I can't watch them. I watch only history documentaries now, probably out of a similar ignorance!

-Dave K
 
Yes. I once watched chess matches on a minor TV channel at night. I still don't understand, whom they think watches stuff like that, that they explained over and over again what a fork is ...
I subscribed Tao's blog, which provides me with some real math entertaining (not that I understand all of what he writes ...).
We have a math museum not far from here which I once visited. They have some really funny constructions. E.g. you could place yourself inside a soap bubble and things like that. With kids it's o.k. And to be honest: each time I watch something from Kaku on TV, I can't help to think: good, that Peter doesn't know ...
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: dkotschessaa
dkotschessaa said:
pareidolia

I nominate this as science word of the day.
(Never heard (or read) it before. Thanks for the link.)
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: sleepy polygon and dkotschessaa
If done well I think they are necessary to inspire the public and future science professionals. I met an 8 year old kid a few years back who could almost recite everything from the NdT Cosmos series.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: fresh_42
Greg Bernhardt said:
If done well I think they are necessary to inspire the public and future science professionals. I met an 8 year old kid a few years back who could almost recite everything from the NdT Cosmos series.

In fact, even sci-fi falls under this designation, and that is categorically less factual than documentaries.

-Dave K
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: fresh_42
I was watching a time-travel based sci fi show (it's really bad, but I can't stop watching) last night. One premise was that certain events caused a very influential film maker to drop out of film school in the 70s. As a result, two of the main characters were never inspired to pursue careers in science and archaeology, and wouldn't be able to save the world until the film-maker was properly placed back in the time line.

Cheesy show but I loved the idea.

-Dave K
 
I always liked the "time-travel" episodes of various series the most, too. And the possibilities with it are far better than dialogues like

"KIRK: I can't believe we've come this far only to be stopped by this! Is there no way to re-crystallise dilithium?
SCOTT: Sorry, sir. We can't even do that in the twenty-third century."

only to do exactly this the entire movie.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: dkotschessaa
  • #10
By nature, scientists are curious people, I would think documentaries would be one of their favorite things to watch. They certainly are for me. I agree that once you know more than the presenter, it's boring, but nobody knows everything so I would assume scientists watch documentaries from fields other than their own.

My expertise in computer science does not prevent me from enjoying a documentary about biology.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: BillTre and Greg Bernhardt
  • #11
newjerseyrunner said:
By nature, scientists are curious people, I would think documentaries would be one of their favorite things to watch. They certainly are for me. I agree that once you know more than the presenter, it's boring, but nobody knows everything so I would assume scientists watch documentaries from fields other than their own.

My expertise in computer science does not prevent me from enjoying a documentary about biology.

Yes, but could you watch a computer science documentary?

-Dave K
 
  • #12
dkotschessaa said:
Yes, but could you watch a computer science documentary?

-Dave K
It depends on the subject and the presenter. If it's an overview of microprocessors by some random presenter, probably not. If it's an overview of 3D graphics by John Carmack, probably.

After you know everything in the documentary, it's simply entertainment value. If a documentary is entertaining, I'll still watch it. I have Planet Earth on bluray, same thing with both Sagan's and NDT's Cosmos. There is nothing in them I don't know already, they're just fun to watch.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: dkotschessaa
  • #13
newjerseyrunner said:
It depends on the subject and the presenter. If it's an overview of microprocessors by some random presenter, probably not. If it's an overview of 3D graphics by John Carmack, probably.

After you know everything in the documentary, it's simply entertainment value. If a documentary is entertaining, I'll still watch it. I have Planet Earth on bluray, same thing with both Sagan's and NDT's Cosmos. There is nothing in them I don't know already, they're just fun to watch.

Good point at least on those two. They are ART. I've watched Planet Earth a dozen times. A second has just come out in the UK: http://www.bbcearth.com/planetearth2/
Not sure when we'll be able to get it in the US.

Edit: Sorry, it premiered on the United State's BBC channel. Just not sure when we cord-cutters will have access.(edit edit: ok, for FREE I mean. lol)

-Dave K
 

Similar threads

Defending Science Against Ongoing Threats: Why the Scientific Method Matters
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
2K
How Can You Think Like a Scientist?
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
Programs What subject is better for an aspiring experimental physicist?
  • · Replies 19 ·
Replies
19
Views
4K
Self Learning Math/Physics
  • · Replies 71 ·
3
Replies
71
Views
4K
Undergrad Does inference help forecasting?
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Explore Ethics in Science: Feynman's Cargo Cult & Popperian Falsification
  • · Replies 19 ·
Replies
19
Views
7K
The morality of Science (or lack of)
  • · Replies 24 ·
Replies
24
Views
9K
Use of AI (ML/DL) in Science
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
4K
Three new books to read about expertise vs. democracy
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
4K
History Science and Public Policy: an Interesting History
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K