Cosmos

[Doug_G]

1. President Obama introduced the first episode

Mindless partisanship. Shrug.

2. The Catholic Church of 400-500 years ago was portrayed in a negative light

Appropriately. The church did eventually apologize for prosecuting Galileo. I don't think they've done the same for Bruno.

3. Evolution is discussed at length

Well, that's totally appropriate for a show based on science. If it were based on myths and other flights of fancy then we could talk about something else.

4. There was some reference about the negative impact that Europeans had on North and South America when they showed up 400-500 years ago.

That was half a sentence - a throw-away line.

5. There was some reference to the harm that burning fossil fuels is doing to the environment

Again, based on science.

6. Science and the scientific method are glorified

As they should be. The scientific method is based on simple logic - come up with a hypothesis, check whether the real world agrees or not. It's a basic, fundamental search for truth. What could be more glorious?

There's enough ignorance in the world without deliberately fostering more of it.

 

[GlennAlanBerry]

Just to be clear, I am not conservative or religious, and I was very happy with the first episode of Cosmos. I was just listing the complaints I have seen thrown out there, which I don't agree with at all.

 

[Doug_G]

I did realize you were just posting the complaints you'd heard of; sorry for not stating that explicitly.

 

[tigerade]

From what I can tell, at least some conservatives and some very religious people are not too happy about the first episode of Cosmos, for various reasons.

One should not be afraid of conflict, but instead, be aware of what one thinks is worth fighting for.

Some people are wondering why 20 mins were spent on Giordano Bruno. I don't know the answer but I can speculate why. He had the courage to be curious and ask questions at a time where it was dangerous to do so. That to me is a powerful message. We no longer live in a time where we face execution for asking questions about the universe, however we still live in a time where teachers are intimated from teaching evolution, climate scientists receive threats and messages discouraging their research, and there is large and coordinated effort to deny science and suppress the desire to learn. Look at Giordano. He maintained his will to discover in a time where he was practically alone and under duress. If he had the courage to do that in those oppressive circumstances, then certainly we can too in an era where the cult of ignorance is less politically powerful and less dangerous (but still present). That is why I think, Cosmos spent 20 mins on Bruno.

On another note, I have to give another word of praise for Neil's rendition of the Cosmic Address and Cosmic Calender. What a beautiful work they did with this. It makes you very incredibly small, and yet so incredibly lucky to be able to appreciate it all.

 

[RDoc]

IMHO the main point about Bruno was that he was publicizing the book "On the Nature of Things" that was, if not the first, at least the most famous (notorious) discussion dealing with nature as something not ruled by supernatural forces and beings. I'm not a historian, but the book seems to be credited with really being quite influential in changing learned thinking from faith based thinking to a more objective viewpoint.

My take on the Bruno part of the show was that it was emphasizing how European thought and philosophy changed around that time from one based on faith and received wisdom to one that accepted rationalism. That was a very big deal, arguably one of the most important changes ever in European culture.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Yesterday's episode of Cosmos and the part about Joseph Von Fraunhofer was great in itself but, the brief bit about sound waves when the medieval pipe organ was playing one of my favorite pieces of western classical music was captivating; if ever there was a Tesla commercial, it should be set to this:

 

[Shumdit]

Just to be clear, I am not conservative or religious, and I was very happy with the first episode of Cosmos. I was just listing the complaints I have seen thrown out there, which I don't agree with at all.

I am both religious and conservative and I love the program.

 

[TEG]

Yesterday's episode of Cosmos and the part about Joseph Von Fraunhofer was great in itself but, the brief bit about sound waves when the medieval pipe organ was playing one of my favorite pieces of western classical music was captivating...

And then there is this:

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

TEG, that was painful! I want those 5 minutes of my life back