Boen was resisting learning math, so I bought him Cosmos, A Spacetime Odyssey and we started watching it together. Bowen got really into it, and I bought him Cosmos: Possible Worlds as well, and all that reminded me that I owned the original Carl Sagan book and then I read that as well.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that my interest in science and decision to become a scientist was driven by the original TV series. I will say that there's an elegance and sense of wonder conveyed by the Cosmos TV shows that I do not find in other documentaries. Xiaoqin's been watching various PBS series, and nobody comes close to Carl Sagan or Neil Degrasse Tyson as hosts. Their enthusiasm for science comes right through.
Not only is Cosmos a science documentary, it's also a history of science documentary. I love the episode about Clair Paterson fighting the oil/gas industry to make leaded gasoline a thing of the past. The obvious parallels to the failed climate change accords is stark. It's also how prescient Carl Sagan was about the need to popularize science in this parable about the library of Alexandria:
The permanence of the stars was questioned; the justice of slavery was not. Science and learning in general were the preserve of a privileged few. The vast population of the city had not the vaguest notion of the great discoveries taking place within the Library. New findings were not explained or popularized. The research benefited them little. Discoveries in mechanics and steam technology were applied mainly to the perfection of weapons, the encouragement of superstition, the amusement of kings. The scientists never grasped the potential of machines to free people.* The great intellectual achievements of antiquity had few immediate practical applications. Science never captured the imagination of the multitude. There was no counterbalance to stagnation, to pessimism, to the most abject surrenders to mysticism. When, at long last, the mob came to burn the Library down, there was nobody to stop them. (kindle loc 5565)
Obviously, I'm very happy to see my kids being exposed to the influences I was when growing up. I'm really sad that the US is trending to become an anti-science society as warned by Carl Sagan. But as long as we can find scientists who're willing to stand up and explain to the general population why this stuff is relevant I can hold out hope that as the consequences of ignoring science become more and more obvious we can have a return to sanity. One thing that the scientific community has completely fallen down on is its failure to reward and award prestige to the people doing the important work.
For the newer TV shows, I found Possible Worlds to be less interesting --- it has quite a bit more speculative stuff, and I didn't feel like it was as strong about science history. Nevertheless both kids watched both shows and it was a good use of my Google video credits. Recommended!
