Bad Science Alert

With all the talk of earthquakes and Yellowstone and volcanos, I thought it might be nice to put a note in here about an upcoming tv miniseries that's just full of bad science ... so you can sit back and laugh and point when the thing comes on.

How bad is it? Well, it's about earthquakes (about a presumed 10.6 earthquake hitting California) and it's so bad that scientists are pressuring NBC to run a disclaimer and point to good information on earthquakes.

The producer said he was too busy to do any real search so he just looked on Internet and made stuff up.

In NBC's disaster epic "10.5," massive quakes topple the Golden Gate Bridge, send the Pacific Ocean sloshing over Los Angeles, swallow trucks and chase trains. An attempt to stop the temblors by fusing the San Andreas fault with a series of atomic explosions fails.

Seismologists who have previewed "10.5" expressed both alarm and mirth.

www.cnn.com...

The San Andreas fault isn't actually capable of producing an earthquake that big... it's like saying that you'd get an atomic-bomb explosion the size of Hiroshima by firing a pistol at a target.

So, anyway, folks, a "bad science" warning for you guys. You can bet there'll be some newbies around after the series airs, asking about the dangers.

Thanks for the �heads up� Byrd. It sounds like an entertaining show.

The special effects-laden, four-hour miniseries stars Kim Delaney and Beau Bridges and is set to air May 2 and 3.

I saw the commercial for it, it look craptacular!

Spiderj

Originally posted by Byrd

How bad is it? Well, it's about earthquakes (about a presumed 10.6 earthquake hitting California) and it's so bad that scientists are pressuring NBC to run a disclaimer and point to good information on earthquakes.

The producer said he was too busy to do any real search so he just looked on Internet and made stuff up.

OUCH!!

For one thing, i can't believe the produce was lame enough to go out and say something like that, much less actually produce a show that claims to be scientific.

And for another... if we can have silly disclaimers that prevent stupid people from doing stupid things (ie. jack@ass), why not have a disclaimer that would prevent ignorance?

*sigh* I know the answer... just hoping for that disclaimer as well...

(g) Given the number of times we keep getting asked (about games/movies/fiction/science fiction) if something is REALLY real... I'm beginning to think we should put "dummy advisories" on some products.

I think ATS does a pretty good job of debunking a lot of this... but you know that if we get them here, we're just seeing the tip of the iceberg.