Science on TV

Today, I want to talk about the Discovery Channel and the History Channel. Today, the Discovery Channel is running an all day MythBusters marathon. This show is great. It shows that , believe it or not, science can be interesting. Yes, they have a tendency to try to put an explosion into every episode for no good reason other than to have one, but they do try to conduct experiments correctly, taking variables into account, trying to collect as many data points as possible, etc. I love the fact that the Discovery Channel decided to give this show a shot and has stuck with it for this long and I give them props for doing so.

Unfortunately, as much as I like the Discovery Channel for airing this show and the History Channel for Modern Marvels and The Universe, I am also greatly disappointed with these two channels for some of the crap they air. Ghost Lab (on Discovery) and MonsterQuest, MysteryQuest, Nostradamus Effect, and UFO Hunters (on History)

It's really sad that a channel about science and one about history would air such nonsense. How can a channel that airs MythBusters also air a show where people wave flashlights around a dark room, saying "Did you see that ?" over and over ? Even though there's never been any real evidence presented for ghosts, aliens from another planet or dimension or creatures like the Loch Ness Monster or the Yeti, I can understand how people are fascinated by them. I really wish that these two channels would cater to that interest by taking the same scientific approach to them that MythBusters takes. Yes, this would result in these things being debunked on a regular basis, but I contend that this could be done in an interesting, entertaining way and except for the most hardcore believers who won't be convinced they're wrong no matter what, people will tune in on a regular basis. People WILL watch educational TV if it's presented the right way. I really hope that someone can someday convince these two channels to go in this direction. I look forward to someday being able to watch MythBusters or The Universe without having the knowledge being imparted onto me interrupted by a promo for a bunch of unscientific claptrap. Fingers crossed !