Despite, or perhaps because of, being trained as an accountant I have always had a keen interest in science. But as one whose math level is not quite up to theoretical physics I have also always appreciated those who can explain things to me in layman's language, and preferably in an interesting fashion.
There are now a lot of good physics related documentaries coming out, most of them seeming to come from the BBC. Two recent ones on the Horizon shows have showcased a new "presenter" on Physics, someone who is NOT your typical gray haired old guy physics professor. This new guy is Brian Cox, who presents physics in a very "cool" way.
Dr. Cox now works at the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) at CERN, and the Particle Physics research group at the University of Manchester, and does BBC documentaries that, if you have an interest in science, you really should see.
Brian Cox does not have the typical background of a top physics scientist, yet I think he is one of the most interesting "new" breed of media savvy scientists that maybe, just maybe, can move science back to the center of public discourse for a change.
Rock Star: How many physicists do you know that started as genuine rock stars? Cox
Then I started going to musical gigs, and the one that sticks out in my mind, perhaps somewhat embarrassingly, is that I went to see a Duran Duran gig with my sister in Leeds, which is close to Manchester, where I lived. And I thought, I want to do that—that's great. So I learned to play keyboards—I didn't play an instrument before then—and then at the age of 18, a guy from the band Thin Lizzie moved in down the road from me. Thin Lizzie had just split up, and he said he wanted to form a band. I said, I'll do that; that would be cool. I joined a band with him instead of going to university, got a deal with A&M Records, made two albums, both in L.A., actually, with A&M—one at Joni Mitchell's house, which was really fantastic. Joni Mitchell's husband at the time, Larry Klein, produced it. He's a great bass player. That was in ‘87, ‘88. I did that for five years, had a fight in a bar in Berlin and split the band up on tour, like Spinal Tap, in '92. And that was the end of the band.
I accidentally joined another band called D:Ream, who then had a number one hit in Britain and a song called "Things Can Only Get Better," which was used by Tony Blair to get elected in '97 and we reformed the band in '97 to do gigs with Blair, which was great fun.
A couple of music videos are available on Youtube. Just look under D.Ream and Dare. Brian is the guy on the right in the picture from the album cover.
Ideas on science and government: At a time when Obama is reintroducing a respect for science back into government, Cox has some interesting thoughts of the role of government in funding and directing scientific research.
but the other set, which is beginning to bother me more and more is why as a civilization we spend so little time and so little money and so little effort learning about the way the universe works.
I know when I ask people in the British government what would happen if you doubled the science spent, they don't know. They don't know what the impact would be on GDP, on our quality of life, on the rate of discovery. And with that actually goes an interesting question, which is, if you increase the amount of, let's say taxpayers' money into science, then what's the responsibility of the sciences back to the taxpayers again? How should government direct scientific inquiry given that they spend taxpayers' money on it? Should you follow government priorities?
Cox's answer seems to be that governments should spend more on research, but that research should not be directed by the government, because governments are just not good at doing that. While it sounds a bit like a no ties "gift" to scientists, Cox explains it as follows (an explanation, for what it is worth, my scientist brother agrees with).
Here's the known and here's the unknown. The unknowns are here, the knowns there. If you populate this border with lots of people who are free and allow them the freedom to just investigate, it seems obvious to me that they're going to make more inroads into the unknown more quickly. The more you constrain them and the less freedom you give them because you're concerned about the funding and you're trying to direct what they do into precise areas, then the less inroads you're going to make.
Making science interesting: As someone who has often been frustrated by the conflict between the awe and fascination that I have of the scientific view of the world around me, and the seeming inability of scientists to bring this into the mainstream, I am delighted to see the efforts of Cox on the BBC program Horizon.
Here are three shows that he has done. I have provided the first part of the show available from YouTube (they are streamed for free from the BBC site in the UK for UK residents). The next sections of the show are available in the right hand box.
Show 1: Can we make a star on Earth. This show includes a trip to the National Ignition Facility that Friddman talks about today in his NYT column The Next Really Cool Thing If you want to see the future of energy on this planet, watch this video.
Show 2: What on Earth is wrong with gravity? One of the best explanations that I have seen on the current state of our understanding of gravity
Show 3: Do You Know What Time It Is? See how Einstein's findings impact the GPS systems that we use today.
I just wish my science teachers would have been this interesting back when I was in school. The production quality of these shows is top notch, showing that someone is spending some money on important education - and surprise surprise it is from a public network.