Science: this gets funnier the longer it goes on!

From
Date
Actually, I don't even know what to say, but some of these are treasures
that might be useful to a writer or teacher somewhere.

1.  "Though not specifically on your subject, but something to share about bad
media science.  I was called from New York and asked to be an advisor for a
TV production about the Digestive System called the Magic School Bus.  The
Bus travels through the system.  The producers were agreeable with the
mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, but when I got to the
large intestine and the rectum and the anus, they put up a red flag.  NO,
the school bus could not go out the anus it had to turn around at the large
intestine and come back out the mouth.  I, needless to say, declined from
being their advisor.  The show was presented their way!!!!!! "

2.  " >I was in Florida over the weekend, and while I was paging through the
>Orlando paper I came across a four letters to the editor about the survey,
>under the heading "Put Science Foundation to the Test."
>
>>From Letter #1: "According to my Bible, God created man and woman on the
>sixth day of creation, and unless he [lower case sic!] instructs me
>otherwise, I shall continue to hold to this belief."
>
>#2: "Maybe [NSF] claims monkeys for ancestors, but I don't...Is it possible
>the foundation came to this conclusion by looking into a mirror or looking
>at its kids?"
>
>#3: "One popular theory assumes that humans came from earlier species, but
>another theory with much more scientific backing assumes that man came from
>a special creation by an external civilization....The human and dinosaur
>tracks I saw at Glen Rose, Texas, were in the same strata, so they must
>have lived at the same time."
>
>#4: "Your quiz is mass-media brainwashing at its best...Maybe National
>Science Foundation meebers evolved from monkeys, but I happened to be
>created by God, who also created monkeys for my delight. I must have missed
>the moment when the creationists lost their debate with the evolutionists.
>The nice part is that only 44 percent of quizzed Americans gave a "correct"
>answere, which menas 56 percent of us don't subscribe to the evolutionists'
>nonsense."

3.  ">I was in Florida over the weekend,  paging through the
>Orlando paper I came across  "Put Science Foundation to the Test."

El Paso isn't quite as prolific, with just one letter (so far), and that
from a 13-year-old boy.  He misquoted one question to the effect that it
said we were descended from apes and objected to the answer that man and
dinosaurs did not live together  "(when, in fact, there is [sic] numerous
cases where that was proved wrong)."  He wanted to know why the paper
carried articles on Christianity and God and then contradicted it by
publishing these wrong answers.  Makes one wonder if the recent showing of
"The Mysterious Origins of Man" has had an effect in addition to the usual
pseudoscience line. "

4.  "I teach on a campus with a very large percentage of education
majors, and I find that these students gravitate towards learning tools that
have a high entertainment value.  Typically this equates to a distortion of
the processes of doing science.  Although it is easier said than done, we
need to inform the public that science is a way of thinking (I tell students
that good mechanics do science), and teach them how to spot pseudoscience."

5.  " Like everyone else, I've
had to deal with the the effects of such programming (as it reinforces
current societal attitudes) in  students - from inability or refusal to deal
with abstract concepts to lack of basic reasoning skills.  It's depressing,
to say the least.  So, bully for you for taking on NBC and its sponsors.
It's too easy to believe that the media is invincible, and refreshing to see
someone take the effort to hold its feet to the fire.  I'll be happy to join
you."

6.  "Sometimes, Carl, it seems we're just pissing against the wind."

Yep!


And a real serious one:

"> As a result, NBC misled its viewers and violated the public trust.

I don't know if you realize it, but those are key words to the FCC.  I
don't know how to contact them, but I suspect you can file a formal
complaint with them that NBC is abusing its license to broadcast.  Even
if the complaint's content is questionable, it gets attention and is
taken seriously.   Thanks for battling on this one."

I do, but wouldn't it be nice if NBC simply recognized their public trust
themselves?

If you don't trust NBC, you can always contact the FCC via Email at
fccinfo@fcc.gov, or by mail at: Federal Communications Commission, Mass
Media Bureau, 2025 M Street NW, Room 8210, Washington, D.C., 20554. You can
call 202-418-1430 for additional information about how to file a complaint.