Mythbusters!

[Dullahan]

Anybody else a Mythbusters fan out there?

I love this show to death. Seeing a show that encourages experimental science like they do, I don't see enough of that on TV.

[Ushima911]

I personally enjoy it whenever im bored enough to turn to that channel. Im usually watching anime, but if i happen to be off the computer and watching tv (which is REALLY rare) I'll watch that if its on.

i do like how they do stuff though. ;D

i also enjoy the show; Effin science. It's stupid, AND i learn stuff

[takewithfood]

I haven't seen it in a long time, but it's pretty fun. There's usually too much filler for me (a lot of "coming up:" segments, and then segments catching you up after each commercial break or when switching between experiments). But the concept of the show is great, and the cast is actually a lot of fun.

~TWF

[Dullahan]

They seem to have gotten better about that recently. More recent episodes tend to have less recaps, at least it seems that way. They still leave some, so if you missed something you can get caught up.

[Shadowbane]

I love the show. I also like Head Rush. Head Rush is basically MythBusters with fact trivia

[WildKnight]

My oldest son loves Mythbusters, so we watch it a lot. I'd like it more if it was like the first season or two, but nowadays they're often doing myths that are so out there that there's no point at all in testing them. Any idiot with a semi-functional brain knows that you're not going to survive falling out of a plane because an explosion beneath you creates a shockwave that slows your descent. I mean, c'mon.

The show would be more helpful if it told people these things were real. That way the idiots of the world might be tempted to go out and try it for themselves, thus Darwin Awarding themselves right out of the gene pool.

Effin' Science is a step further into the stupid, as half the things they do are only science by the broadest definition. That show is like educational TV for the Beavis & Butthead crowd.

[Manah]

The show would be more helpful if it told people these things were real. That way the idiots of the world might be tempted to go out and try it for themselves, thus Darwin Awarding themselves right out of the gene pool.

I am pretty much convinced I must have said this already once or twice in the past, Wildknight...

...but you are my new role model from now on.

[Jet]

Dec 16, 2010 9:26:33 GMT -5 Manah said:

The show would be more helpful if it told people these things were real. That way the idiots of the world might be tempted to go out and try it for themselves, thus Darwin Awarding themselves right out of the gene pool.

I am pretty much convinced I must have said this already once or twice in the past, Wildknight...

...but you are my new role model from now on.

It's the first time Im saying it, but find a better role model. As much as I agree with getting rid of stupidity, thats quite the approach I meant.

[WildKnight]

Hey now. My approach has both style and comedy value. No need to be jealous just because you can't beat it.

[Dullahan]

Dec 16, 2010 6:14:05 GMT -5 WildKnight said:

My oldest son loves Mythbusters, so we watch it a lot. I'd like it more if it was like the first season or two, but nowadays they're often doing myths that are so out there that there's no point at all in testing them. Any idiot with a semi-functional brain knows that you're not going to survive falling out of a plane because an explosion beneath you creates a shockwave that slows your descent. I mean, c'mon.

The show would be more helpful if it told people these things were real. That way the idiots of the world might be tempted to go out and try it for themselves, thus Darwin Awarding themselves right out of the gene pool.

Effin' Science is a step further into the stupid, as half the things they do are only science by the broadest definition. That show is like educational TV for the Beavis & Butthead crowd.

While I agree to an extent, they didn't test it because THEY thought it was going to work. From the start, they knew it wasn't. They were testing because their fans wanted them to. Part of the show's appeal is they look at what the fans want them to do.

Not only that, but obvious experiments can still have surprising outcomes. Finger in a Barrel. No, it didn't blow up the gun, but it DID cause ballooning in the end of the barrel, which no one expected. Still not reccomended.

Plus it was an excuse to have one of the biggest explosions in the shows history. No way they're passing THAT up. Plus, they test plenty of myths were the outcome is up in the air.

Plane on a Conveyer Belt, Bullets in an Oven, the Pain Tolerance myths, stuff like that. Plus there's the physics experiments. Syrup VS water, plus what happens if you fire an object backwards at the same speed your going forwards?

[Ushima911]

Dec 16, 2010 6:14:05 GMT -5 WildKnight said:

Effin' Science is a step further into the stupid, as half the things they do are only science by the broadest definition. That show is like educational TV for the Beavis & Butthead crowd.

*imitation of butthead's voice*

Heh heh heh...that's me...heh heh heh..

[WildKnight]

Dec 16, 2010 19:39:30 GMT -5 Dullahan said:

While I agree to an extent, they didn't test it because THEY thought it was going to work. From the start, they knew it wasn't. They were testing because their fans wanted them to. Part of the show's appeal is they look at what the fans want them to do.

... I'm really not sure how that's a defense of the show. All that suggests to me is that;
A) The majority of fans of the show aren't very bright
and
B) The real purpose of the show is to blow stuff up

If you like watching big explosions, great, thats cool. I don't.

[Dullahan]

Apparently enough fans thought it MIGHT work. Was their logic flawed?

Oh yeah. In their defense, the THEORY isn't bad. It's the application that's full of holes.

Plus I'd like to argue there are plenty of idiots out there. Not the show's fault.

As for the explosion thing, there are plenty of people out there who think that's the entire point of the show. And I agree, it's annoying. I don't mind the explosions, as long as it's actually part of the myth. Heck, some of my favorite episodes don't have a single explosion.

[WildKnight]

Dec 16, 2010 19:57:34 GMT -5 Dullahan said:

Apparently enough fans thought it MIGHT work. Was their logic flawed?

Oh yeah. In their defense, the THEORY isn't bad. It's the application that's full of holes.

How does that work in theory? A shockwave in and of itself can kill you if it slams into you. A shockwave slamming into you while you're plummeting toward the ground isn't going to slow your descent appreciably, but it might turn your lungs to liquid goop inside your chest.

On top of that, even if if it did somehow manage to slow you down, all it takes for a fall to be lethal is about 45 feet. So if the shockwave did somehow slow you down, you'd still accelerate plenty enough to splatter when you hit the ground anyway.

And that is far from the only really obvious myth they've busted. The duct tape episode was a real eye opener; not because I learned so much about duct tape, but because I learned that people apparently don't realize that not everything you read on the internet is factual.

Now, occasionally they do come up with something surprising, like the "tired driving is just as dangerous as drunk driving" thing. That I wouldn't have guessed.

I'd also complain about their application of the "scientific method", but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they're actually a little more grounded in actual science and those parts just don't make TV all the time.

[takewithfood]

Dec 16, 2010 20:10:25 GMT -5 WildKnight said:

How does that work in theory? A shockwave in and of itself can kill you if it slams into you. A shockwave slamming into you while you're plummeting toward the ground isn't going to slow your descent appreciably, but it might turn your lungs to liquid goop inside your chest.

This is sorta like being punched by Mike Tyson, or being punched by a normal guy twice. You're still probably slightly better off with two normal-guy punches, but not by much. Still, anything that spreads out the impact - whether it's spread over a larger area, or over a longer duration - is generally a good thing. This is how breakfalls work, and why you're better off lying down flat on your back when an elevator plummets, rather than trying to jump at the last second.

I'd also complain about their application of the "scientific method", but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they're actually a little more grounded in actual science and those parts just don't make TV all the time.

It definitely isn't good science, and they don't pretend it is. It's just for fun.

~TWF