Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from ...
Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from ...
Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from ...
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BAD ASTRONOMY GOES HOLLYWOOD 257<br />
Simpsons, they imply that the comet chunk is hot but not too hot<br />
to pick up. That’s close enough for me.<br />
After the original version of this chapter appeared in <strong>Astronomy</strong><br />
magazine in April 1998, I received a letter <strong>from</strong> a young girl<br />
accusing me of ruining science-fiction movies for her. I have also<br />
received the occasional e-mail <strong>from</strong> my web site, where I review<br />
specific movies like Armageddon, Deep Impact, <strong>and</strong> Contact, telling<br />
me to either “get a life” or “learn how to just enjoy a movie.”<br />
On the other h<strong>and</strong>, I get a hundred times as much e-mail agreeing<br />
with my reviews. Still, dissenters have a valid point. Do I really<br />
hate Hollywood movies?<br />
Armageddon notwithst<strong>and</strong>ing, no I don’t. I like science fiction!<br />
I still see every sci-fi movie that comes out. When I was a kid I saw<br />
just about every science fiction movie ever made. I ate up every<br />
frame of rocket ships, alien monsters, evil goo, <strong>and</strong> extraterrestrial<br />
planets, no matter how ridiculous or just plain dumb the plot.<br />
So what’s the harm? You may be surprised to know that I<br />
think it is minimal. Although bad science in movies does reinforce<br />
the public’s misunderst<strong>and</strong>ing of science, the fact that science fiction<br />
does so well at the box office is heartening. Most of the topten<br />
movies of all time are science fiction, showing that people<br />
really do like science in movies, even if it’s, well, bad. I would of<br />
course prefer that movies portray science (<strong>and</strong> scientists!) more<br />
realistically. Sometimes science must be sacrificed for the plot, but<br />
many times, maybe even most of the time, correct science could<br />
actually improve the plot. Thoughtful movies do well, too, like<br />
Contact <strong>and</strong>, of course, 2001, now a classic of science fiction.<br />
If movies spark an interest in science in some kid somewhere,<br />
then that’s wonderful. Even a bad movie might make a kid stop<br />
<strong>and</strong> look at a science book in the library, or want to read more<br />
about lasers, or asteroids, or the real possibility of alien life. Who<br />
knows where that might lead?<br />
For me, it led to a life of astronomy. I can only hope that even<br />
bad astronomy, somehow, can spark good astronomy somewhere.
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