7 ms·
He's not mentioned in the article, but Dylan Bruno from Numb3rs is an MIT grad (we both played on the football team) and, coincidentally, acted in a movie oppos
by Anechoic 16y ago
He's not mentioned in the article, but Dylan Bruno from Numb3rs is an MIT grad (we both played on the football team) and, coincidentally, acted in a movie opposite Ms. Portman :)
Woodie Flowers always used to say that we need an "LA Engineer" (a play on "LA Law for you younger folks) to bring science and engineering into the mainstream. I always cringe at shows like Big Bang Theory that portray smart folks as socially inept - given that association, it's no surprise that many kids would rather be "dumb and cool" than "smart and nerdy" when in fact smart people are just like everyone else.
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- kenjackson 16y agoAt one point the article says, "Ms. Portman is one of a handful of high-profile actors who happen to have serious scientific credentials, awards, degrees, patents and theorems in their name." They go on to talk about some other people besides Natalie Portman.
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- Anechoic 16y agoIt's about Natalie Portman. "handful of high-profile actors who happen to have serious scientific credentials" Hedy Lamarr, Danica McKellar, Mayim Bialik, and Leonard Nimoy all get substantial mentions in the article. The article is framed around Ms. Portman but the inclusion of the other actors indicate that it is not just about her. Certainly Dylan (who has actually performed with Ms. Portman) is more relevant than the other actors who, AFAICT, have not.
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- jhamburger 16y agoPopular entertainment has tons of smart, cool people- Just none of them spend all their time with solitary, sedentary activities on a computer or in a lab. How many times do you see a 'mission impossible' type hero who goes around kicking ass for most of the movie but suddenly turns into a hacker when he gets to a computer terminal?
- Anechoic 16y agoJust none of them spend all their time with solitary, sedentary activities on a computer or in a lab That's just it - the folks that do spend there time on a computer or in a lab (off the top of my head: the goth girl from NCIS, the Law & Order lab techs, Chloe on 24) all have some sort of anti-social nerd personality type. Why can't there be a computer tech who works hard at his/her job, has a beer after work, watches sports, etc like everyone else?
- jhamburger 16y agoWell if you want the hard truth most of the people I see doing these jobs on TV are actually better looking and less socially awkward than the ones I work with on a daily basis.
- Anechoic 16y ago@jhamburger (I can't reply to your post) Well sure, but the folks on TV are better looking and less socially awkward across the board than their real-life counterparts.
- cafard 16y agoHave a look at Guy Steele's interview with Fran Allen in a recent CACM--John Cocke was fond of beer, and people used to covet his bar napkins, on which he would sketch out new ideas.
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- brown9-2 16y agoI always cringe at shows like Big Bang Theory that portray smart folks as socially inept Fringe makes science look pretty cool, IMHO.
- spullara 16y agoI'd take Fringe over Big Bang Theory any day. BBT feels like mockery to me.
- spullara 16y agoI'd take Fringe over Big Bang Theory any day. BBT feels like mockery to me.
- scott_s 16y agoFrom what I've seen of Fringe, it makes a mockery of science.
- brown9-2 16y agoI didn't mean to suggest that it portrays realistic science or an accurate representation of the scientific process - after all this is a show whose main plot revolves around travel between alternate universes and non-human shapeshifting sentient beings - just that the show makes it's scientist character the heroes, and not buffoons to laugh at.
- mbreese 16y agoI always cringe at shows like Big Bang Theory that portray smart folks as socially inept ... when in fact smart people are just like everyone else I think thats what Big Bang Theory does best... portray smart people who are socially inept as someone that anyone can relate to. In the show, they are just regular people trying to get by, find love, etc... well, except for Sheldon. To me, its amazing that a show that is completely over the top nerdy is incredibly popular.
- burgerbrain 16y agoOn the other hand, I'm completely unamazed that a show that reinforces negative geek stereotypes while passing itself off as an accurate and fair representation is incredibly popular.
- potatolicious 16y ago> "while passing itself off as an accurate and fair representation" ... Wait, what? You know you're talking about a sitcom, right? The whole point of the show is to be ridiculous for laughs.
- burgerbrain 16y agoI'm referring to the GPs attitude towards the show. Despite the near constant stream of jokes at geeks expense, people still somehow think it isn't making fun of geeks.
- mbreese 16y agoIt's a sitcom. That's what they do... don't take it so seriously. My point was that people other than traditional 'geeks' find the show amusing. They get the humor. Geek-culture has gone mainstream.
- scott_s 16y agoI don't think that's accurate. They're laughing at us, not with us. They don't need to understand "geek-culture" to laugh at us. We just need to be different.