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Original poster

to think Prof Cox was being a bit heavy last night on his new series?

83 replies

GabbyLoggon · 07/03/2011 12:19

I know a woman who worships the guy. But even B.B rhought he was depressing last night.

He was putting the popular version among scientists about the end of the universe.

But does anyone really know what will happen billions of years hence...

Next week Mr Cox will be more upbeat.

( Later I thought Patrick M was in good form And the impressionist was bril)

OP posts:
PaisleyLeaf · 07/03/2011 13:49

He did sound a little less clever with his "10,000 trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion years"
....it just sounds like when my 6 yr old says something was a long long long long long long long long time ago.

I do understand about the entropy thingie now though thanks to Brian.

Ormirian · 07/03/2011 13:49

"I keep thinking how lucky we are to be alive in this little window of time that our earth can support life"

YES! Totally agree. It's a fucking miracle and programmes like this should inspire us not depress us!

Jajas · 07/03/2011 13:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

PaisleyLeaf · 07/03/2011 13:50

I will say there were a few popstarry poses and walk though.

SparkleRainbow · 07/03/2011 13:53

I thought it was fantastic. I finally totally understood "the entropy of the Universe tends to a maximum...."never really got it before.

Gonna have to let ds see it on the iplayer.

Why do you think it was depresssing? I don't get that, physists and mathematicians caluclated ages ago that our little sun would use eventually use up all its "fuel" and die.....didn't they?

Jajas · 07/03/2011 13:55

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

microfight · 07/03/2011 14:06

I thought it was amazing if slightly depressing. I did think Brian looked a bit less smiley less toothy in this one and you guys are right about the moody hill top poses...too much!

cloudydays · 07/03/2011 15:42

I loved it. I think he's great, and he has a real gift in the way he is able to explain amazingly complex things in layperson's terms without making it sound like "physics for dummies".

DH has a big man-crush on him, too, much as he insists he only watches for the science.

And I mind the moody poses not at all! Grin

SpiderObsession · 07/03/2011 15:58

I found it depressing that in this theory all life forms will cease to exsist. I did marvel that my head did take in those scruffy jeans & moody poses while it decided to pretend to be more intelligent than it actually is eg

  1. If the universe is expanding, what is it expanding into?
  2. Since the big bang happened could it not happen again?
  3. Is space infinite? If it isn't, is it going to bang into something?
  4. As energy cannot be created or destroyed then surely when all the stars go out the energy will still be there in some form?
  5. Did all those trillions add up to a googol? (I'm as hooked as DS on the "Can you count to a googol" book)

Gaaaa I need an aspirin and a lie down.

noeyedear · 07/03/2011 16:01

I don't get the 'depressing' bit either- The human race hasn't even existed as long as the Dinosaurs did. They died out and so will we- long before the end of the universe! My DH is an atheist and he was depressed by it- and by the David Attenborough egg thing- I just said 'It's evolution, innit?'Maybe I'm a bit harsh...

CaveMum · 07/03/2011 16:03

Did anyone else try and figure out how many zeros there are in "10 trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion" (or however many years it was he said the Universe had left)?

Just me then? Blush

I didn't work it out by the way, it just made my brain hurt Confused

supadupapupascupa · 07/03/2011 16:04

I have no idea what he was going on about but the photography was beautiful and, my goodness, is he cute swoon

SpiderObsession · 07/03/2011 16:04

I'm not an atheist. For me it was knowing that the richness of life here on earth will die and that it will be lost to future generations. (Far, far in the future I realise!). That's a shame because there's so much to experience.

I do agree with you though noeyedear, things pass.

SpiderObsession · 07/03/2011 16:05

I'm with you cavemum! Grin

edam · 07/03/2011 16:06

Spider - I dunno about the rest but am reading Bill Bryson's book on science and he said 'yes' to your no. 2 (having interviewed lots of top physicists).

edam · 07/03/2011 16:06

cavemum - 10 to the power of, ooh, I dunno, lots? Grin

SpiderObsession · 07/03/2011 16:07

Thank goodness edam, my head can hurt a bit less now. I'll look up his book. Thanks

pawsnclaws · 07/03/2011 16:08

I enjoyed it, but blimey he must be racking up the Airmiles!

amiheartless · 07/03/2011 16:08

I always read these topics as Cox from Scrubs haha, you can tell im a noughties teen...mentally

Ormirian · 07/03/2011 16:09

I've always found the immense passage of time involved with geology fascinating and the way the world has changed in that time, totally compelling. I remember being on an archaeology field trip on the Gower. We were walking alone the coast to look at the cave of the Red Lady and the water was cold and grey, rocks were black and jagged, totally miserable and uninviting. Our environmental archaeology tutor told us that at the time when the body was 'buried' we would have been standing on the edge of a vast savanna, hot and dry, blue skies and bright sun. It made me shiver a little to realise how infintessimal our time is on earth. And the reduces even more in the face of the life of the universe. The numbers are so huge as to be meaninlgess so it doesn't depress me.

Ormirian · 07/03/2011 16:11

Doesn't string theory suggests that there are lots of big bangs leading to lots of universes Confused

I do sometimes wonder if some physicists have gone a little mad with all the silly numbers and are in fact now starting to fantasise Grin

CinnabarRed · 07/03/2011 16:13

SpiderObsession:

Brushing off my very dusty MSc in Astronomy...

  1. The universe isn't expanding into anything - space itself is stretching out.
  1. Yes it could. There are some theories where another Big Bang follows the Big Crunch, and so on forever.
  1. It's infinite in the sense that if you trace your finger round a circle then you can keep going forever. In practical terms, you can't get further away from Earth than the distance equal to (speed of light x age of the universe), so that's the edge of the Universe for us.
  1. Yes, all the energy will still be there. But in the form of heat, spread very thinly throughout the universe.
  1. No idea! Scientists usually express very large numbers as 10 "to the power of", not giving them names. It's much more precise to write a billion as 1x10^9.
CinnabarRed · 07/03/2011 16:14

Love your name, CaveMum, it's my favourite of DS1's bedtime books.

CaveMum · 07/03/2011 16:16

Cinnbar Is it a book?! Shock I picked it at random!

Edam - I like your thinking. 10 to the power of lots it is!

CinnabarRed · 07/03/2011 16:18

BTW, doing a degree and masters in Astronomy was far less glamourous that Prof Cox makes it seem.

I did my masters on Bok Globules. Very small dust clouds where stars are born. Characterised by not being able to see them because dust is black....

Loads of missing parties to head out to the observatory, for the joys of standing completely dead still up a ladder for over an hour at a time in freezing temperatures guiding a telescope by hand onto a particular stellar target. Not much fun.

And when I did get to parties, everyone would ask me whether I thought Pisces would be having a good week.... Hmm