Comments on: UK science interest spiking? Blame Cox

By: Ted Mead

Ted Mead — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 17:50:03 +0000

And I am proud to say that “How to Live Like a Lord Without Really Trying” was just republished by the Bodleian Library. An honor. My father would have been as pleased as punch.

BTW, no “e” on Mead, and my parents lived in the UK from 1958-1968. I finished my schooling there and came back to the States in 1976.

By: Peter Davey

Peter Davey — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 16:26:06 +0000

I once happened to come across a book – “How to Live Like a Lord Without Really Trying”, by an American writer by the name of Shepherd Meade (he wrote “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”). The book was based on a year or so Mr Meade spent in England in the 1960s.

In a section on broacasting, he blames the BBC’s willingness to handle the more “advanced” subjects on the English class system, with its insidious doctrine that some people are more intelligent than others.

He warns any other Americans visiting the UK not become addicted to this form of broadcasting, or it might spoil their appreciation of the healthy, democratic American system of broadcasting, where every programme can be understood by the smallest child.

By: Sili

Sili — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 20:44:14 +0000

If someone wants more infos on Brian Cox

I do.

there is a nice 3-part Q&A with him on Universe Today.

But that’s not the kinda ‘info’ I want.

(Damn you, Gia. Damn you to heck.)

By: Dunc

Dunc — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 16:27:38 +0000

It’s not just the good Dr Cox, we’ve also has some really great shows from Jim Al-Khalili and Marcus du Sautoy too. Heck, considering the timescales involved from people first discovering an interest in science to choosing their A-level subjects, I’d argue that Adam Hart-Davis has probably had a pretty big impact too.

We’ve got many great science communicators, and we’ve also got a TV industry that’s prepared to give them a chance by letting them make the sort of programmes they want to make. If anything, Brian’s “Wonders of…” series are my least favourite, having the most Discovery-style completely gratuitous wizz-bang stuff chucked in. I’d take another series of Adam Hart-Davis’s “Local Heroes”, or anything by Marcus du Sautoy, over another “Wonders of…” – there’s only so much time you can spend watching Brian staring intently into the middle distance in an exotic location for no discernible reason. I’d rather watch Adam Hart-Davies make a 19th-century fax machine out of string and tin cans.

I appreciate that you like to big-up your mates, but there’s a lot of other people doing equally great work.

By: QuietDesperation

QuietDesperation — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 15:40:36 +0000

@40

…?

By: Nuria

Nuria — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 10:16:00 +0000

I love the Wonders… series. Not only is Brian Cox’s role in it good from a presenter standpoint: one can feel in his speech how much he loves science; his voice is also so soothing, that after each program I feel like I’ve been to pilates class: they could dub the series In Harmony with the Universe :p

By: Grimoire

Grimoire — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 06:39:02 +0000

By: Grand Lunar

Grand Lunar — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 20:07:14 +0000

I have “Wonders of the Universe” on right now, and I can see Cox’s appeal.
He seems almost Sagan-like in his presentation. A pretty good technique.

I can only hope that his charm (and that of others like him) manage to strike a cord in the United States as well, and spike intrest here too. We need it, badly.

By: forrest noble

forrest noble — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 18:24:47 +0000

Glad to see some good news concerning increased interest in science, math. In the U.S. According to my memory, The highest math-science scores in high school were in 1961, following the big Eisenhower push and funding for math-science following Sputnik in 1957. Such academic scores have been going downhill ever since, partly due to the hippy erra in the 60′s concerning “tune in and drop out” mentality.

Fortunately just a few years ago these scores started to rise again. It might take another decade of continued improvement before they again reach the ’61′ level. Somehow, I think, the U.S. needs another big math-science push which I believe would more than pay for itself in the long run.

By: MihaM

MihaM — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 15:35:10 +0000

10 years ago, when i was making my career choice, there was no easy access to interesting science shows. The ones on discovery channel were a bit bland, local tv networks didnt produce any of their own or bothered to buy any foreign ones (i have only a dim memmory of watching Cosmos when i was very very young, but nothing for years after that), nothing to peak a teenagers interest. Which is why, even though i was a bit of a science geek all my life, i decided to go for economics.

I wont say that i regret that decision now, as i do love what i do, but seeing as how i love reading and studying and learning stuff like this on my own now, not because i have to, but because i find it fun and fascinating, i can totally see picking a different career path all those years ago, if it was presented with as much enthusiasm for the field as Cox and Tyson have for it.