Brian Cox

[Mich the Tester]

Many of my friends have said they've learnt more from Cox in one hour than they did at school in years... Perhaps I just had a good teacher..?

It doesn´t surprise me. In too many schools, even good schools, science, especially physics, is presented (or at least was when I was at school) in a way which is dry and uninspiring and turns young minds off what is actually the greatest story of all. Now of course, sometimes it has to be a bit dry and tough; learning teh maths requires hard work, as does learning some of the basic laws. But it astounds me that I got a GCSE grade A in physics without even having heard of the laws of thermodynamics, which are surely among the most important insights into the way things are. I learnt them later in the first year of poly. brian Cox explained those essential concepts clearly, concisely and in an enjoyable fashion, thereby giving thousands of viewers a lesson that they may never have understood or cared about when it was taught in school.

I think Brian Cox is one of a long line of Beeb presenters who do a very fine job of presenting science, but it´s easy to understand why; he understands his subject and is enthralled by it, and his enthousiasm shows. What I fail to understand is how educators have managed to make science boring for so many people; in fact, given the astounding story of the universe, it almost requires some supernatural level of dullness to make the story appear boring. I'm sure that my GCSE physics teacher could have sent the sun to sleep if you'd given him a whiteboard and an appropriate place to stand on Mercury. But then of course the supernatural doesn't exist, so it must be a very human talent.

[TykeMerc]

I agree Mitch, he presents physics in an engaging way and clearly understands what he's talking about.
Unfortunately like others have said his way of talking and grinning constantly does get on my pip which spoils his progammes for me.

[stek]

I tried to watch it last night, I found it turgid, the recent Horizon Science program about our existence was much better.

[filthy1980]

remember as a teenager the christmas lectures were brilliant,

and what has happened to science on TV Horizon used to be awesome, took you through the lifecycle of a scientific theory and explained it brilliantly, until they started with all that docu-drama crap

[Mich the Tester]

remember as a teenager the christmas lectures were brilliant,

Indeed. There´s an archive of Christmas lectures here;

The Royal Institution of Great Britain

Probably enough there to get yourself a couple of A levels, or even blag your way through first year of an average university.

[TimberWolf]

Indeed. There´s an archive of Christmas lectures here;

The Royal Institution of Great Britain

Probably enough there to get yourself a couple of A levels, or even blag your way through first year of an average university.

Nice link. However when you sign up, as you need to do to view the videos, name address and phone number are required fields I suppose one could make those up, but it's disappointing that they should require these spammable in so many way details nevertheless.

[Mich the Tester]

Just think, now you lot can see stars* that are only 600My younger than the big bang.

Is Joan Collins really only 600 million years younger than the big bang?

[TimberWolf]

Only slightly.

And she appeared with The Wig Wearing War Criminal in a programme about the 1930s.

She may be a dozen or so billion years old, but she barely looks a day over 40. And denies that she has had cosmic surgery.

[Cliphead]

Having now dozed gently through Professor Cox's latest epic, I thought it reasonable.

Just think, now you lot can see stars* that are only 600My younger than the big bang.



*Well stars bigger than 100 solar masses that blow up like there's no tomorrow.

I thought I'd stumbled across a schools programme

[Mich the Tester]

I thought I'd stumbled across a schools programme

If only. If that was a typical schools programme, Britain would be leading the world in every field of scientific research instead of chucking quazillions of pounds at failed banks.

The truth is it isn't, and that's what makes this kind of TV programme necessary and welcome, even if some people have issues with Professor Cox's facial expressions.