Technobabble

Imaginary Worlds

Eric Molinsky

Arts, Science Fiction, Fiction, Society & Culture

4.8 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 7 September 2017

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week, I team up with Helen Zaltzman of The Allusionist podcast to help me figure out why one set of poorly understood pseudo-scientific terms can sink a scene, while another set of pseudo-scientific phrases can sell a sci-fi concept. We'll hear from physicist Katie Mack -- who hates technobabble -- and Jennifer Ouellette who plays matchmaker between scientists and Hollywood directors that want to sell their mumbo jumbo with real science. And "Timescape" author Gregory Benford tells the story of tachyons, and how an obscure theoretical particle became a technobabble meme. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to Imaginary Worlds.
0:04.7	Show how we create them and why we suspend our disbelief.
0:08.1	I'm Eric Kolinsky.
0:10.4	I have a soft spot for really good techno babble.
0:13.8	Not just the techno babble itself, but scenes where actors really sell the techno babble.
0:18.3	Were you believe what they're talking about?
0:20.2	And I imagine for actors it must be really hard to pull off, because, first of all, they're
0:24.8	not scientists.
0:25.8	They probably have no idea what they're talking about.
0:28.4	And this isn't even real science.
0:29.7	It's made up pseudoscience.
0:32.2	In fact, that phenomenon was made fun of in the movie Galaxy Quest.
0:35.7	Where Sigourney Weaver's character keeps repeating all the techno babble that the computer
0:39.3	says back to the crew, even when they can all hear the computer, and they're in the middle
0:43.5	of a crisis.
0:44.5	The computer.
0:45.5	Is there a replacement burlium sphere on board?
0:50.1	Negative.
0:51.1	No reserve burlium sphere exists on board.
0:55.2	No, we have no extra burlium sphere on board.
0:59.0	You know, that is really getting annoying.
1:01.1	Look, I have one job on this lousy ship.
	...

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