A physicist reflects on the show’s made-up Nobel Prize-winning theory of ‘super asymmetry’ along with how the series showcased authentic science and role models for future STEM students.
1899 lithograph of white minstrel performer Carroll Johnson depicted in blackface, right.
Library of Congress
The public was shocked by the blackface image on Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s yearbook page. But if blackface is now taboo, there was a time when it played a big role in American culture.
Games have come a long way since their genesis in the 1970s. Today, games designers consult with ecologists and other experts to create worlds that feel alive and real.
Visiting an extreme haunted house can be delightfully terrifying.
AP Photo/John Minchillo
Visiting a haunted house or watching a horror movie can be terrifying and enjoyable at the same time. A sociologist explains the psychological benefits of being safely scared.
These professional entertainers are trained and paid to go round hospitals cheer up children with music and laughter.
Science is one thread of culture – and entertainment, including graphic books, can reflect that.
'The Dialogues,' by Clifford V. Johnson (MIT Press 2017)
Clifford Johnson, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
You might not think much about science topics as part of your everyday life. But science – like art, music, religion – is part of our culture, and scientists can help it reclaim its rightful place.
The author on a VR waterslide in Germany. Because why not?
Malcolm Burt
Rollercoasters have grown higher, faster, loopier and they’ve even entered the virtual world. Soon you might not even need to visit a theme park to enjoy the ride.
‘I don’t care what they say about me,’ P.T. Barnum once said, ‘as long as they spell my name correctly.’
Everett Historical/Shutterstock.com
The new movie about P.T. Barnum couldn’t come at a better time: It’s impossible not to see his ghost in our culture, in our advertisements and in our president.
Harvey Weinstein (third from left) faces allegations, but it’s not just a problem in showbiz.
Shutterstock
Captain Jack Sparrow sails the high seas again in the fifth outing of the Pirates of the Caribbean series. So did the filmmakers get the science right in the action packed adventure?