Hollywood Movies Contribute To Ignorance Of Real Science?
PHYSORG.com talks about two University Of Florida professors who claim that Hollywood special effects contribute to the decline of students’ basic understanding of Science. UCF professor, Costas J. Efthimiou, stated:
Some people really do believe a bus traveling 70 mph can clear a 50-foot gap in a freeway, as depicted in the movie Speed. And, if that were realistic, a ramp would be needed to adjust the direction of motion to even try to make the leap
The Science and Engineering Indicators 2006 report showed that the average science scores among 12th graders in the U.S. dropped from the previous year’s scores. The report also revealed that only one-third of all students tested were proficient.
What do you think? Do you believe that movies have a direct impact on how students understand Science?
Thanks to Wayne Smallman for bringing this article to my attention.
Technorati Tags: Hollywood, Science, Physics
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...-
Liked this post? Subscribe to the RSS Feed
Thank you for reading this post. You can now Read Comments (10) or Leave A Trackback.
Post Info
This entry was posted on Friday, August 17th, 2007 and is filed under Internet News. .You can follow any responses to this entry through the Comments Feed. You can Leave A Comment, or A Trackback.
Previous Post: Google Maps To Add Embeddable Maps »
Next Post: Review: DefenseWall HIPS »
August 17th, 2007 02:15
All I’m saying is they should be teaching Bio students in high school about the danger of messing with the T-Virus. Personally, I don’t want any zombies trying to get me.
August 17th, 2007 02:39
LOL
August 17th, 2007 03:42
Bush, you don’t like the movie ’shaun of the dead’? That was a gooooooooood movie and makes being chased by zombies some what fun! Very educationally I might add.
I think movies don’t just give out misinformation about science but about all subjects. It is not the ‘movies’ job to teach students, but that of the parents and teachers. So with that said I think it is good idea to teach our students that everything you watch or read may not be true, and to do your own research.
August 17th, 2007 07:28
I think this proves that both our global (because this is happening all over the world) educational systems are getting less and less effective, AND people are getting dumber and dumber. I have/am proof of both: people only 2, 3 years older than me remember everything they learned in school, I remember nothing at all
August 17th, 2007 07:33
Movies, commercials and cartoons. You’d be amazed by what nonsense kids believe about the world around them by the time they’re in fourth, fifth and sixth grade…when they should know better.
I studied it once as part of my degree. For all incorrect answers given by the kids I asked why they answered in such a way. And guess what…each and every reason involved something they had seen in either a movie, a commercial or a cartoon.
Scary.
So the findings of this report do not surprise me in the least.
August 17th, 2007 08:05
well this is def an interesting debate!! i was (am) a science student and most of the time im a little confused about the details of the technical matters and how they approach it in the movies!
but i guess its pretty easy to differentiate real facts from movie scripts…
about the bus on Speed, u just have to think about it, imagine it, dont u see the bus getting falling or getting stuck on that gap … well at least it works like this for me , its more like intuition…
just when a movie includes some genetic engineering facts, most of those crazy reasonings are based on true scientific facts and rules but they are romanticized and adjust to fit the movie reality! for example human cloning is definitely going to be a reality in the future, if some ethical laws can be bent …this was already feature in different movies….
humm so back on track… i think that it can distort the real science, make it all sound simpler than it actually is! but it can be good in another way, it can make students interested about how it works , how science works, if the facts are true in a movie or not……
its really difficult to evaluate the effects of movies on kids!!
look at CSI now everyone wants to know how forensic science works, except they forget that majoring in it takes a lot of years and patience and the test results would never be as fast as they get it on the show!
August 17th, 2007 14:23
Oooh imagine how much more blogging we could all do with human cloning
I think children are more inclined to be influenced by what they see and hear in movies (and other forms of media) because many simply haven’t learned how to distinguish the difference between what’s real and what’s fantasy yet.
August 17th, 2007 14:30
@GnomeyNewt:
Shaun of the Dead was a good movie heh.
@Jos:
I remember nothing at all too buddy
@Aaron:
I constantly remind my kids that what they watch isn’t real and shouldn’t be believed to be effective in real life.
@confessing7girl:
I agree. People tend to believe that it’s as simple as what they saw. Generating interest for different scientific fields is the good side of movies and tv. Sometimes we just have to remind the kids that it doesn’t work exactly like on tv.
August 17th, 2007 14:41
@Mike:
Hey that’s a good idea! Blogger clones hehehe.
August 18th, 2007 08:13
That’s exactly correct, Mike. Young children especially cannot differentiate. They view commercials in the same way as we view the news…as fact. And companies play that to their advantage, unfortunately and manipulate as much as they can.
Brown: Good on your for constantly reminding them of that. Too many parents do not and you can really see it reflected in their kids’ understanding of the world around them.
Oh, and btw, put me in for at least three Aaron clones. Might be a quick and easy way to more than triple my blog income. Think the world could deal with a few more Aaron Cooks?
Shine on,
Aaron