dust Posted August 4, 2015 (edited) I'm hoping some of our more astrophysically savvy members can explain some stuff. Almost nothing about the movie made any sense to me -- the science, the situation, the choices people made...but I'm really curious about the science. Obviously, spoilers follow. Just a few things that bothered me: On a starving planet, a destitute USA has enough resources to fund NASA with enough money to create space ships and stations and send people through wormholes to attempt to colonize 12 different planets in another galaxy... in secret? Lumbering 20th Century take-off from Earth, but BSG Viper-style spaceships from then on? Cryo-sleep in underwater zip-lock bags? What has Mann been smoking? Is he just insane? Because his plan seems entirely unnecessary. Why not just tell them all the truth and suggest moving on? Can't they look at the planets to see/detect what's on them, rather than touching down? Someone flying into a black hole ends up inside it, just a little out of breath? No other side effects, like... death?? A future humanity has discovered way to, inside said black hole, condense 5 dimensions into 4 and make it look all pretty so that gravity can be communicated across time and space? Sending highly complex equations using Morse code? Cooper ends up magically transported back to somewhere near Saturn? Cooper meets his daughter finally, then... just leaves? And nobody seems to care that he was there in the first place? I wanted to like it, I was excited to watch it, but... it just seems like nonsense..which would be OK if it wasn't purporting to be highly sensical and scientifically possible... Edited August 4, 2015 by dustybeijing Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael Sternbach Posted August 5, 2015 (edited) I haven't seen the movie yet, but it is on my watch list. I'm hoping some of our more astrophysically savvy members can explain some stuff. Almost nothing about the movie made any sense to me -- the science, the situation, the choices people made...but I'm really curious about the science. Obviously, spoilers follow. Just a few things that bothered me: On a starving planet, a destitute USA has enough resources to fund NASA with enough money to create space ships and stations and send people through wormholes to attempt to colonize 12 different planets in another galaxy... in secret? Unlikely. Even in our fairly prosperous time, NASA is receiving hardly enough funds to keep the ISS going. Lumbering 20th Century take-off from Earth, but BSG Viper-style spaceships from then on? Cryo-sleep in underwater zip-lock bags? What has Mann been smoking? Is he just insane? Because his plan seems entirely unnecessary. Why not just tell them all the truth and suggest moving on? Can't they look at the planets to see/detect what's on them, rather than touching down? Given the technological advancements assumed in the movie, one would think so. Even on our current level, we can tell that Kepler 452 b is a 6 billion years old Earth-like planet possibly sustaining life, and hey, it is 1400 light-years away (the story was in the news recently). And even a few neat things more: http://www.express.co.uk/news/science/593355/Ten-facts-about-new-second-Earth-planet-Kepler-452-b Someone flying into a black hole ends up inside it, just a little out of breath? No other side effects, like... death?? Theoretically, a spaceship approaching a rotating black hole could miss the event horizon and end up - where? Neglecting the insignificant fact that the bh's gravity would have reshaped it to a kilometres long spaghetti. Of course, that's only unless: A future humanity has discovered way to, inside said black hole, condense 5 dimensions into 4 and make it look all pretty so that gravity can be communicated across time and space? ??? Sending highly complex equations using Morse code? Sounds rather tedious but perhaps not quite impossible. Cooper ends up magically transported back to somewhere near Saturn? You can't fight with magic! Cooper meets his daughter finally, then... just leaves? And nobody seems to care that he was there in the first place? Oh, boy... I've got to watch the movie now. I wanted to like it, I was excited to watch it, but... it just seems like nonsense..which would be OK if it wasn't purporting to be highly sensical and scientifically possible... Well, bear in mind that real scientists seriously believe that they can explain everything based on their limited insights into a certain subset of reality, and nothing can really surprise you. Edited August 5, 2015 by Michael Sternbach 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brian Posted August 5, 2015 The cinematic device known as "suspension of disbelief" is your friend with this one. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Karl Posted August 5, 2015 I'm hoping some of our more astrophysically savvy members can explain some stuff. Almost nothing about the movie made any sense to me -- the science, the situation, the choices people made...but I'm really curious about the science. Obviously, spoilers follow. Just a few things that bothered me: On a starving planet, a destitute USA has enough resources to fund NASA with enough money to create space ships and stations and send people through wormholes to attempt to colonize 12 different planets in another galaxy... in secret? Lumbering 20th Century take-off from Earth, but BSG Viper-style spaceships from then on? Cryo-sleep in underwater zip-lock bags? What has Mann been smoking? Is he just insane? Because his plan seems entirely unnecessary. Why not just tell them all the truth and suggest moving on? Can't they look at the planets to see/detect what's on them, rather than touching down? Someone flying into a black hole ends up inside it, just a little out of breath? No other side effects, like... death?? A future humanity has discovered way to, inside said black hole, condense 5 dimensions into 4 and make it look all pretty so that gravity can be communicated across time and space? Sending highly complex equations using Morse code? Cooper ends up magically transported back to somewhere near Saturn? Cooper meets his daughter finally, then... just leaves? And nobody seems to care that he was there in the first place? I wanted to like it, I was excited to watch it, but... it just seems like nonsense..which would be OK if it wasn't purporting to be highly sensical and scientifically possible... Yep, exactly how I saw it. More holes than Swiss cheese. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dust Posted August 5, 2015 (edited) (e.g. citing scientific ignorance of the inside of a black hole as a reason to withhold criticism). Yeah, I figured as much. But as the whole basis of black holes is that gravity is so strong that even light cannot 'escape', I still can't suspend disbelief quite enough to imagine a man floating inside one. Given the technological advancements assumed in the movie, one would think so. Even on our current level, we can tell that Kepler 452 b is a 6 billion years old Earth-like planet possibly sustaining life, and hey, it is 1400 light-years away (the story was in the news recently). And even a few neat things more: http://www.express.co.uk/news/science/593355/Ten-facts-about-new-second-Earth-planet-Kepler-452-b Cool stuff. Honestly don't know why they couldn't have done something like this with all their futuristic tech. Theoretically, a spaceship approaching a rotating black hole could miss the event horizon and end up - where? Neglecting the insignificant fact that the bh's gravity would have reshaped it to a kilometres long spaghetti. Of course, that's only unless: ??? Yeah. You can't fight with magic! I'm sure someone, somewhere, has an explanation for how this happened, but I'm not sure it'd make any sense. Well, bear in mind that real scientists seriously believe that they can explain everything based on their limited insights into a certain subset of reality, and nothing can really surprise you. True. Though another thing that I don't get is the audience reaction. Everyone seems to love it -- 8.7 on IMDb! In an age where so many people are in love with science (and not without good reason, sometimes), one would think that there would be at least a little critical thinking applied, rather than outright acceptance of every premise, both in terms of the movie's physics and its emotional stuff. The cinematic device known as "suspension of disbelief" is your friend with this one. Yeah.. I've no problem applying it, for the most part. We know that a Marvel movie isn't going to make any sense at all, and we accept it for what it is. And in something like Sense8, once we've accepted the original (some might say outlandish) premise, it only needs to follow its own internal logic to make sense. And I would be able to accept many of the above things about Interstellar if it weren't for the fact that: 1. they have famous physicists claiming that it's all basically possible -- unlike a Marvel romp, people are taking it somewhat seriously. 2. let's say I suspend disbelief entirely on the scientific side of things; it's all just a vehicle for the emotional stuff, a tool to learn something about my own humanity, or whatever. There are still some emotional and character-based occurrences that render the human side of the movie almost entirely nonsensical too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruanJ0SHTCo ??? Edited August 5, 2015 by dustybeijing Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dust Posted August 5, 2015 (edited) Yep, exactly how I saw it. More holes than Swiss cheese. Wasn't sure which way it'd swing. Seems like everyone's basically in agreement. I'm glad I haven't opened myself up to a lengthy discussion on physics that I don't understand Though the agreement of my fellow Bums that the movie does indeed not make much sense doesn't help me with its wholesale acceptance by many people I know (and the majority of the internet, apparently).. Edited August 5, 2015 by dustybeijing Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Karl Posted August 5, 2015 Wasn't sure which way it'd swing. Seems like everyone's basically in agreement. I'm glad I haven't opened myself up to a lengthy discussion on physics that I don't understand Though the agreement of my fellow Bums that the movie does indeed not make much sense doesn't help me with its wholesale acceptance by many people I know (and the majority of the internet, apparently).. Dogs run after sticks, what more do you need to know ? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
