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SeventhSigma
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Just going to compile a list and see what I can do if there is a Q&A session/signing. Let me know!
QuarkCharmer said:Watch an episode of Sci-Fi Science and see for yourself!
SeventhSigma said:Technically a lot of the stuff he talks about is based on science we've already shown to be true today, so is it really that big of a stretch?
I mean, I understand that it's always going to sound funny to talk about technology of the future, but it seems like a lot of it is reasonable extrapolation given the current nature of our exponential growth (as well as what history's shown us).
Granted, I don't really like the whole "other dimensions" talk -- in fact I don't like talking about other dimensions much at all.
For that matter, tell him to stop writing popular physics books, which are bad for the same reason. I pirated a copy of "Physics of the Future", and I STILL want my money back! :(DR13 said:All he does is make up stuff that isn't close to the realm of possibility and say, "Well we may get there one day." It's pointless.
I don't buy this argument.phinds said:The value of a science popularizer like him is that he gets younger folks interested in science...
QuarkCharmer said:Oh don't get me wrong. I like the guy. He has done some good things, and I enjoy a few of his books (Hyperspace has a great few chapters on him growing up). That show is absolutely horrible though, and I cringe at the end of each one when he says "Let's ask the sci fi fans!" and a bunch of guys give their input on the impossible thing he "accomplished/planned".
I am all for popularizing the sciences, but things like that are presented in a "look what may be possible" or a "look what those other people can do" perspective. I think part of popularizing sciences should include actual science.
Jimmy Snyder said:I just got off the phone with Michio. He was all atwitter over the prospect of finally meeting SeventhSigma, he could hardly contain himself. He was so exuberant that he cornered the conversation and I forgot to ask him my question so if you get a chance, ask him "Where's that 5 bucks you owe me from last year?"
SeventhSigma said:I love Neil deGrasse Tyson as well. But can you explain to me exactly when Kaku is demonstrating hyperbole/misrepresentation? I've never heard him say anything that's exaggerated or incorrect with respect to science. There's plenty that's extrapolated, but I think that's a different story.
QuarkCharmer said:Oh don't get me wrong. I like the guy. He has done some good things, and I enjoy a few of his books (Hyperspace has a great few chapters on him growing up). That show is absolutely horrible though, and I cringe at the end of each one when he says "Let's ask the sci fi fans!" and a bunch of guys give their input on the impossible thing he "accomplished/planned".
I am all for popularizing the sciences, but things like that are presented in a "look what may be possible" or a "look what those other people can do" perspective. I think part of popularizing sciences should include actual science.
andJimmy Snyder said:...if you get a chance, ask him "Where's that 5 bucks you owe me from last year?"
Newai said:... He suggested that people from the future may already be here. ..
Darken-Sol said:it sounds like every one is bustin this guys balls for doing science fiction. for the lay person it is almost all sci fi as we will not have a chance to prove or disprove most things. i do have some questions about the higgs boson, but i have to do some more research first.
No, it's for passing off science fiction as science.Darken-Sol said:it sounds like every one is bustin this guys balls for doing science fiction.
This is why it is so important for people who sound like authority figures to actually know what they are talking about. Most people will just believe whatever a guy with "phd" after their name says. It's harmful both to the public who doesn't know and the scientific community that becomes less worthy of the public trust....for the lay person it is almost all sci fi as we will not have a chance to prove or disprove most things.
Nicook5 said:I think most of you are being a bit harsh, and a lot of you are probably not in a much better position to call him out than the people his shows are designed for. Without people like him, although in my case it was more Ian Stewart with Flatterland, I would probably not have much of a serious interest in math/physics as a career. So I thank him for that, although I do have to admit that scifi show is a bit...
Yes, when exposed to this stuff, you get pushed in the general direction of science, but specifically in the direction of real science. The result is some people might find their way to real science after this push while others will find their way to crackpottery.glueball8 said:Even though you'll learn nothing, it might sometimes get people interested in physics lead to bad metaphysics.
glueball8 said:How about when he goes on CNN to talk about the nuclear power plant situation in Japan? He is not a nuclear power plant expert at all. I feel he should really stick to his own field.
Its really different how he talks about science (or science friction but he don't make it clear) from how Feynman would talk about some ideas like computing/nanotechnology in his time. Where when Feynman talks about it you learn something real, but when Prof. Kaku talk about classes of civilizations for example you learn nothing. (Even though you'll learn nothing, it might sometimes get people interested in physics lead to bad metaphysics.)
Loren Booda said:Dr. Kaku will only answer one question per person from the audience, so make it good.
russ_watters said:Yes, when exposed to this stuff, you get pushed in the general direction of science, but specifically in the direction of real science. The result is some people might find their way to real science after this push while others will find their way to crackpottery.
MacLaddy said:There are crackpot influences no matter where you look, at least he is giving a sleight academic edge to it.
SeventhSigma said:I really disagree that he is perpetuating pseudoscience when a lot of what he's discussing is technology that already exists and just needs to be further developed and refined.