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From: mps@duke.cs.duke.edu (Michael P. Smith)
Newsgroups: sci.misc,rec.arts.tv
Subject: Re: Watch for THE RING OF TRUTH on PBS
Message-ID: <10456@duke.cs.duke.edu>
Date: Wed, 21-Oct-87 16:48:51 EDT
Article-I.D.: duke.10456
Posted: Wed Oct 21 16:48:51 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 24-Oct-87 21:59:04 EDT
References: <21372@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <3176@ames.arpa>
Reply-To: mps@duke.UUCP (Michael P. Smith)
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Organization: Duke University, Durham NC
Lines: 19
Summary: Impressions of Morrison, Burke
Xref: mnetor sci.misc:595 rec.arts.tv:4204


Like Eugene Miya, I was disappointed, although perhaps not deeply.
Enough about Galileo already!  Is there a PBS science show that
doesn't spend an episode on this guy?  What is it, a union regulation?

Regarding Burke:  I enjoyed CONNECTIONS tremendously, but found TDTUC
overblown and lacking in real content.  In their defense, I should
mention that both shows were essays in the *history* of science, and
not science itself.

What I liked about CONNECTIONS, and what I tried unsuccessfully to
convince my colleagues of when I found myself in an historically-
oriented interdisciplinary course, was that the big picture was
presented in a mosaic of details.  He tried to simulate this in TDTUC,
but much of the big picture was merely told us in bold general
pronouncements, rather than emerging from the orchestration of detail. 

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Michael P. Smith	mps@cs.duke.edu	/ {seismo,decvax}!mcnc!duke!mps