The Big Bang Theory

[xelasnave]

I refer to the TV show not to mainstream cosmology.
I found this show entertaining but thinking more
I find the show trivialises the professions of..theoretical physists, particle physicists, astronomers and engineers.
I feel the show could cause the stereotyping of scientists as clever but unable to manage their lives like normal folk.
I am not a scientists but I think if I were I would not be happy of the images this show presents.
Does this show go too far with it's subtle message that intelligent folk are somehow incompetent.
Alex

[Kunama]

I think you may be reading too much into it Alex ;)

I very much doubt there is any intent other than to entertain.....

[Shiraz]

Seems pretty realistic in an over-the-top way. I have only watched it a couple of times, but my adult children are convinced that the stereotype fits their father. I think that people who have an easy ability to interact with others are likely to migrate to occupations where that is needed (eg law, nursing, politics etc). Those of us who are more introverted and less socially at ease, tend to seek satisfaction in the worlds of science and engineering etc, where everything behaves in a predictable way and the rules are fixed.

Also, I have found that one does not have to be intelligent to be incompetent.

[MortonH]

If by "normal folk" you mean people who know nothing about science, I don't think the show makes any difference. Scientists are already perceived to be "nerds" or "geeks".

For those of us who understand something about science, technology, etc. it's a funny show that talks our language!

What is "normal" these days, anyway? TV is full of "normal" people on crappy reality shows. I'd rather be like Sheldon (and some say I am! :lol:)

[julianh72]

It would be pretty hard to think of ANY sit-com which could not be accused of seeming to trivialise the occupations of the main protagonists, since the whole premise of a sit-com is that comic events arise from the situations which the people's roles / occupations land them in.

"Gilligan's Island" trivialises charter boat operators
"Hogan's Heroes" trivialises PoWs
"The Hollowmen" trivialises politicians and political advisers (and Yes Minister / Yes Prime Minister / The Thick of It / etc - politics is fertile ground for comedians!)
"Modern Family" trivialises real estate agents (and stay-at-home Mums, gay couples, and multi-ethnic families)
"MASH" trivialises military medics
"Utopia" trivialises government bureaucrats
"Drop the Dead Donkey" trivialises journalists
"The Office" trivialises office workers

I suspect that we have all been "offended" at some time or other when our profession / hobby is the butt of a comedy show, but our discomfort is often because there is more than an element of truth behind the stereotypes, and if we're honest, we all know people just like the best comedy characters. (Just hope that you're cast as the "hero" rather than the "stooge"!)

(I have heard it said that back in the days of "The Hollowmen", the government was convinced the writers had a "mole" in Cabinet!)

[julianh72]

Also, you are probably aware that all of the Science on "The Big Bang Theory" is actually carefully fact-checked (even the maths on the white-boards!), and is often presented by a cameo of the actual scientist who is credited with the work.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Bang_Theory#Scientist_cameo s

[PeterEde]

Neil DeGrasse Tyson has appeared a number of times.
I saw a behind the scenes that stated what Julian said.
Love the show and watch religiously. Have every episode ;)
Hmmm Penny

[xelasnave]

I was a chemistry nerd as a kid who could not do science at uni cause I only did general math in high school and logically chose to do law.
Being quiet and logical was a great advantage in law because I was never thrown off in an argument when under personal attack.
Nevertheless I think the show is an attempt by the christian right to discredit science and push their anti climate change agenda...or on the other hand it is mainstream cosmology seeking to popularise big bang cosmology..
Thank you all for your well considered replies.

[Baddad]

My humble opinion::)

If I made any conclusion of what BBT does put down. It would be the average"joe'. Several times the show has illustrated how ignorant some people are. Particularly Penny's ex boyfriends. They have been the target of the humour.

To make a show funny there is nearly always someone to be laughed at. Someone who is the brunt of the joke.

I respect your opinion Alex. However I don't entirely agree or disagree with it. The BBT show aims at anyone on the set who may present a comical character. After all it is just a comedy and not much more apart from the clever scripts. I like the show for its intellectual stimulus.

As for incompetence among scientists? Well, I have another thought on that. When I was a senior tech in charge of a military workshop, sometimes I asked an apprentice for advice on a particular equipment. Some apprentices had experience that I did not have. I was not deemed to be incompetent. I was still respected for what and who I was.

Being a geeky scientist is not a bad thing these days. My daughter wants to be seen as a geek. Her friends same. Many youngsters these days want the title, 'Geek'. Why? Because they are successful:)

[koputai]

Whilst I agree with the overall sentiment of most of these arguments, I
personally think that American humour is based on embarrasment, whereas
Anglo humour is based on wit. This often makes American humour seem
'dumber' and Anglo humour seem more 'intelligent'.

Whilst I can't stand "Big Bang Theory" (or most other American humour),
my wife and a number of my friends, who are highly intelligent people, love
the show.

Cheers,
Jason.

[PeterEde]

I think the basis of the shows humour is generally pointed at the "jocks" or the cool gang. The geek is usually derided and humiliated in their younger school years while the cool kids and to sports types have all the fun.
TBBT shows just where who ends up where and it's like this in Australia too.
Most book worms/geeks/nerds were bullied in my school days. It was cool to wag school and ignore and education.
today these bullied kids are well educated, have generally good/well paying jobs. Today these kids laugh at those who bullied them.
That is to me the main theme of this show and Penny and her now ex friends are the example.

[xelasnave]

Hi Marty I really don't think the show has a hidden adgenda...I was trying to act normal.
Thanks for extending respect and sorry to be misleading.
It is great to hear young folk think being geeky is somewhat cool

[xelasnave]

Hi Jason I agree...monty python is more my speed

[xelasnave]

Hi Peter
I was bullied because I looked like an easy mark.
Happily I was taught how to fight.
I was not allowed to throw the first punch so I had to wait for things to get physical but then I would clean them up. And they then became best friends.
All were taller so they deserved a beating for picking on a smaller kid.
But changing schools would bring new bullies..it was my fighting that helped me make friends.

[sheeny]

I'm with Matt, Alex. I think you're over thinking it.

It's a sad day when any person or group of people cannot laugh at themselves, or see themselves as above humour. Sense of humour failure is sadly becoming a more common thing as people take themselves all too seriously. Life is too short for that IMHO!

But I will say 2 things about this show:

My eldest son is a computer scientist who works designing embeded computer hardware and software in a pretty hi-tech company in Sydney. I thought he'd love the show, and he did until he started working there. He reckons its just too close to what his work is really like to enjoy it any more... think about that!:lol:

My partner doesn't have the slightest interest in science, but loves the show... and its getting in (like liquid into chalk;))... she now understands Schrodinger's Cat, The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, and The Big Bang Theory quite well, and Inflation, String/M Theory, Dark Matter and Dark Energy to a lesser extent (don't we all?). Any show that can make learning so much fun that you don't realise your are learning, is doing something right!

Al.

[pmrid]

Don't underestimate the subtlety of popular entertainment. Why, I can recall reading in the Sunday Mail back in the 60s in a column by "Medical Mother" - none other than Lady Dianne Cilento - that the Beatles were a communist plot to subjugate the will and moral fibre of our youth. And people took that seriously. Perhaps some still do. Who knows what insidious purpose The Big Bang Theory serves - perhaps to undermine that will of our scientists. It's all a plot. Evil doings lurk in the corridors of popular culture.

Peter

[xelasnave]

Hi Al
Overthinking is what I do.
I love your telling of your Son,s experience
Says so much really.
The trouble is the more you learn the greater the realisation of what is left to learn.
But the net is great...even Wiki..folk discount it but look something up and all the words in blue leads you on and on, such that at days end you have discovered so much more...and the science forums where discussions educate more..and for someone like me to have access to peer reviewed papers is so good.

[xelasnave]

Hi Peter
Strange things do go on but I doubt if we would discover the agehenda of the rulers of the world.
I don't believe anything really other than anything is possible.
My general approach is follow the money it often hints at what is really going on.
When a politician announces $50000000 for medicine going to Africa everyone thinks how nice.. I think .mmm $50000000 is going to some drug company that's why such is happening ..probably little to do with helping sick Africans

[Steffen]

I thought "Swift & Shift Couriers" was 100% gritty realism, without a trace of trivialisation. I know because I've been a courier customer off and on... ;)

Cheers
Steffen.

[Paul Haese]

I agree Ray in more ways than one with your comments here. I love watching the show and find it pretty much sums up quite a few people I know. Some are socially challenged (I know all about that), some cannot cope well with simple things like paying bills and some struggle with intimate relationships. Yet those people are fantastically brilliant and it just highlights that we all have our talents and all have our foibles. The Big Bang Theory is just a demonstration of how life really is. It is a clever comedy, with interesting characters and story lines. It shows how even the simple things in life which many take for granted are very hard for some people in our world.

[OICURMT]

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2011/nov/06/big-bang-theory-physics-boom

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/sciencenotfiction/2009/02/03/is-big-bang-theory-bad-for-science/

http://freakonomics.com/2011/12/06/is-the-big-bang-theory-producing-more-physics-majors/

[Baddad]

Hi Jason,:)

American humour is based on embarrasment, whereas
Anglo humour is based on wit.

I believe you are right. I never really thought about USA vs British humour. Although I had realised that they are different to each other. Now that you have mentioned it, yes. It is so.

Also the general attitude of people in the two countries are generally different again.

Cheers:)

[Sconesbie]

It doesn't do much of that (entertain). Maybe it doesn't suit my type of sense of humour. I find it fairly boring.

[OICURMT]

An interesting comment...
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A good article by Ricky Gervais regarding the differences...
http://ideas.time.com/2011/11/09/the-difference-between-american-and-british-humour/