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A comment on The hammer-feather drop in the world’s biggest vacuum chamber [video]. Parent comment

Re:The hammer-feather drop in the world’s biggest vacuum cha... by nly on Tuesday November 04, 2014 @10:26AM (#8556937)
His 'boyish wonder', although personally I think it's genuine, does get annoying to those of us who have their own wonder to contend with. Though, perhaps, those completely devoid of it themselves appreciate the cues.

I really don't mind Cox... what I despise is the trend of putting comedians in to science and politics shows in an attempt to relieve the dowdiness (Sorry Dara). Then again, I'm one of those people who used to sneak downstairs in the early hours to watch the dusty math and science stuff the BBC used to broadcast for teachers to record on VHS.

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Re:The hammer-feather drop in the world’s biggest vacuum cha... by apetresc on Tuesday November 04, 2014 @12:22PM (#8557718)
For what it's worth, Cox isn't a comedian. He has a PhD in physics, has supervised PhDs of his own, has been a research scientist at some of the best groups in the world, and currently works in Geneva with the LHC.

Surely he's qualified to demonstrate F=ma, even to someone with a sense of wonder as evolved as your own.

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Re:The hammer-feather drop in the world’s biggest vacuum cha... by ambler0 on Tuesday November 04, 2014 @10:30AM (#8556960)
Alan Alda has done a great job of bringing charisma and humor to science shows without dumbing anything down. The key is to find a comedian/actor/whatever who has a genuine interest in the material.
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Re:The hammer-feather drop in the world’s biggest vacuum cha... by gadders on Tuesday November 04, 2014 @10:47AM (#8557082)
I agree. Have you ever tried listening to The Infinite Monkey Cage on BBC Radio 4? [1]

It's motto seems to be "Look at us! We're scientists but we're so wacky!!!111"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00snr0w

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Re:The hammer-feather drop in the world’s biggest vacuum cha... by JonnieCache on Tuesday November 04, 2014 @10:51AM (#8557112)
Robin Ince certainly has a lot to answer for.

Ben Goldacre is the master of this style of science communication. Friendly and fun and enthusiastic, but in a way that appeals to both laymen and his peers. I suppose epidemiology is somewhat more human than astrophysics, so its easier.

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Re:The hammer-feather drop in the world’s biggest vacuum cha... by gadders on Tuesday November 04, 2014 @01:10PM (#8558038)
Frontiers [1] also on Radio 4 is good.

[1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qy5p

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