Cosmos with Neil DeGrass Tyson

The owners of Fox are more into making money than they are into pleasing the morons that watch Fox News.Remember the producer of the new Cosmos is Seth MacFarlane, who created Family Guy and is also on Fox. Who makes a TON of money for Fox. So I'd say the creos can complain all they want, Fox sees dollar signs on this show and/or doesn't want to piss off their biggest cash cow.- OniEdited by onifre, : No reason given.

i feel the same way. it's great at inspiring the necessary wonder and imagination... but it'd be great if it would touch at least a little on why we know some of these things. the first episode had creationists foaming at the mouth, for saying that science considers all ideas... and the not including theirs. creationism, of course, isn't included because it has failed as science, and it's worthwhile to show some reasons regarding why that is.

Well, Tyson is doing some of that, but the poking at creationist goes well beyond showing why the scientific method has been successful. For example, in addition to telling us about how long light has been traveling to us from different places in the universe, Dr. Tyson also stuck in some superfluous zingers about what our ancestors look like at the time. For example, while talking about a galaxy millions of light years away, he mentioned that our ancestors, at the time the light we see left that galaxy, weighed a few kilograms and sported a tail.Surely the tail comment is particularly grating to some segment of potential viewers. No reason for that kind of off-the-cuff stuff other than chain yanking and/or nose thumbing. Not that there is anything wrong with that!Edited by NoNukes, : No reason given.

and they did in episode 5, spent a good bit of time on him.Also MoTze who I had not heard of before.Mozi - WikipediaInteresting. Possibly the first rationalist socialist ... and then China had their "dark ages" complete with book burnings and whole sale murder of the intelligentsia in the name of "legalism" ... another kind of dogma that brooks no questions.Edited by RAZD, : ...

Just a reminder...

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To Neil H. Shubin’s long rsum paleontologist, molecular biologist, dean and professor of anatomy at the University of Chicago School of Medicine, best-selling author can now be added television host. Dr. Shubin, 53, who helped discover the 375-million-year-old fish called Tiktaalik, hailed as a missing link between sea and land animals, will preside over Your Inner Fish, a three-part series on evolution (based on his book of the same title) that makes its debut Wednesday (4/9) on PBS.

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...and how odd to be reminded (in the 4/7 NYT interview with Shubin) that Sagan was denied membership in the National Academy of Sciences.

Indeed. I am looking forward to this. ...... and more creationist howling at the sky ...

I enjoyed this episode and is my son's favorite so far. The spectrum of light was fascinating to him, particular the last portion of the episode when they showed how the city and space look different depending on which wave lengths of light you are using.I actually really enjoy the history. I think it's a good introduction to the evolution of science.

Thank you for letting us know about this! I have to set my DVR up for it, but I had not heard anything about it leading up to it, which can be explained by the fact that I do not watch a lot of PBS. I will definitely ensure that I catch this program though.As for Episode 5 of Cosmos, I think they are getting more into the swing of how they want this show to go each episode. While my favorite up until this point was the episode on Evolution, I think that this one has surpassed it and taken the number one overall spot up until this point. We will see how they continue forward if any episode beats it out. I was especially interested in the portions on Mo Tzu and Ibn Al-Haytham because these were individuals that my education growing up did not focus on. It is interesting to see how some of the rest of the world was moving forward while my ancestry was trapped in the darkness of repressive thought control. Very good episode!

i dunno, this doesn't make me hopeful: with the description on facebook:

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Part reptile, part mammal, Tritheledont was a creature right on the cusp of the transition from reptile to mammal. Learn more about its remarkable anatomy when YOUR INNER FISH premieres Wednesday, April 9 at 10/9c on PBS.

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hopefully with a paleontologist like shubin on the show, they can get some of this stuff right.

We've also been watching Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman on the Science Channel. I've been pleasantly surprised with the show and it's another hit with my 12 year old. So are the NASA shows.I'm just so happy my kid enjoys my shows and doesn't whine for Jersey Shore... maybe I should just shut up now...

I agree. The best episode so far. Plenty of history, but in the end, enough science too! (And the best science of all... physics.) . Definitely a keeper. First time I've ever wanted a big screen TV.

For me, the best of episode 5 was the depiction of the atoms (I know, slowed down a gazillion times etc, but sooo much better than the usual depiction of the Bohr models. I loved their rendition of the proton.), using this to explain the spectral lines and then using the code of the spectral lines to decipher the constituents of other worlds, stars and galaxies. Probably the best description and demonstration of the power of the spectral lines ever created for the layman.Seeing the city through different light frequencies was cool and all, but the key teaching point of the episode has to be the way science found and uses the spectrum to see the universe.I'm hoping this will open the eyes and minds of the great unwashed masses as to just how we humans can know so much about what's out there from just looking up. Maybe it will help them realize scientific knowledge is not some eggheads making things up while sitting around drinking tea.

and when those patterns from SN1987A match modern spectral lines it demonstrates that the speed of light has not changed, because that would affect the wavelengths and shift the spectral lines.But that's another argument for another day.

Watched "Inner Fish" last night ...(on line at Watch Videos if you missed it)Thought it was excellent. Probably even more problematical for evolution denying creationists, dealing as it does with our evolution and common ancestry with fish.Discusses the history of tree of life (nice graphic), and how homologies show kinship -- the pattern of one bone, two bones, many bones in arms and legs.Wow, two good shows on science ... must be the end of times ,,,

Thanks for the link--I just finished watching.I thought it was excellent. The combo of intellectual adventure and field work in a challenging environment was great--using digital effects to turn the tilted strata back into a flood plain was esp. nice. Eh, end times, beginning times...same-same.