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The Futurama of Physics

Posted by Soulskill on from the good-news-everyone dept.

MasaMuneCyrus writes "I was surprised to notice an article about Futurama in my latest American Physical Society news. Titled, 'Profiles in Versatility: The Futurama of Physics with David X. Cohen,' Cohen talks a little bit about his life and his love for physics, and he goes on to describe how he regularly injects graduate-level physics jokes into the script of Futurama. He also talks a little bit about the upcoming season of Futurama: 'In the 10th episode of the upcoming season, tentatively entitled "The Prisoner of Benda," a theorem based on group theory was specifically written (and proven!) by staffer/PhD mathematician Ken Keeler to explain a plot twist.'"

150 comments

  1. that was impressive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    but our real competition is the hypnotoad

    1. Re:that was impressive by elrous0 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I love hypnotoad. I always have and always will.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    2. Re:that was impressive by shadowrat · · Score: 5, Informative

      that goes without saying. everyone loves hypnotoad.

    3. Re:that was impressive by commodore64_love · · Score: 0

      I wish I could borrow hypnotoad on my next date: "You are feeling horny. You need some and you need some NOW. Hpynotoad has spoken."

      Girl - "I...need...some...now. You'll do." (and rips off my clothes)

      Yeah.

      Okay back to reality. Another exciting Friday evening with Sci-Fi Channel Prime. Hmmmm.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    4. Re:that was impressive by thomasdz · · Score: 1

      that goes without saying. everyone loves hypnotoad.

      Then why did you say it. NON-BELIEVER!

      --
      Karma: Excellent. 15 moderator points expire sometime.
    5. Re:that was impressive by Yvan256 · · Score: 3, Informative

      ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD!

                             

    6. Re:that was impressive by lgw · · Score: 3, Informative

      http://r33b.net/

      ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD!

                                     

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    7. Re:that was impressive by SeNtM · · Score: 1

      Sponsered by Torgos Executive Powder.

      --
      "There ought to be limits to freedom." -George W. Bush
    8. Re:that was impressive by insertwackynamehere · · Score: 1

      This is tantamount to rape, FYI.

    9. Re:that was impressive by Dthief · · Score: 1

      I dont love the........all hail the hypnotoad

      --
      www.RacquetUp.org - Helping Detroit Youth
    10. Re:that was impressive by senocular · · Score: 1

      Meh. It's been going downhill since season 3.

    11. Re:that was impressive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      yes, i too feel compelled to love the hypnotoad.

    12. Re:that was impressive by Bitmanhome · · Score: 1

      Well bluh, it's not like you have a choice.

      --
      Not that this wasn't entirely predictable.
    13. Re:that was impressive by JustOK · · Score: 1

      at least since the freedom frog croaked.

      --
      rewriting history since 2109
    14. Re:that was impressive by commodore64_love · · Score: 1

      No actually it's more like a JOKE. Jeez. Besides: I've seen stage hypnotists talk people into having orgasms. Is that "rape"??? They never get prosecuted for it.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    15. Re:that was impressive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My allegiance lies with the brain slugs. Here, have a brain slug to see what I mean.

    16. Re:that was impressive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You should bring along a horny toad and try your luck with that.

  2. Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by eldavojohn · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Does the physicist-turned-comedy icon have any regrets? "What I do is ultimately not similar to physics or computer science," Cohen admits. "I would like to have lived two lives, to be a scientist in one... So of course I have regrets. Science is more important than what we do, although I do get a lot of satisfaction out of my work."

    Surely you must take some solace or pride in the fact that the genre of sci-fi entertainment often sparks the scientist in people? And if it doesn't get them to become scientists, it at least drives a curiosity. Were it not for the enjoyment of many sci-fi novels as a kid, I would not be so interested in science and computers. Many older engineers I've worked with have given Star Trek a lot of credit for their early intrigue with physics. Surely Cohen can consider the cult popularity of Futurama and its return as a potential to be an enduring piece of entertainment that serves as a pilot light for young minds. Even though many of the Stanislaw Lem novels I read were humor or political satire, they caused me to wonder ... "what if?" Futurama makes physics entertaining and funny. Some would consider that very valuable as there's very little material out there that does that.

    --
    My work here is dung.
    1. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by commodore64_love · · Score: 4, Informative

      >>>the genre of sci-fi entertainment often sparks the scientist in people?

      That is what Isaac Asimov said. Of course he continued to be a Physics professor, but he also wrote more entertainment books than any other SF writer. (Over 300 if I recall correctly.) He said science fiction sparked young people's imaginations, as well as problem-solving abilities, and that curiosity was a key component for any successful science student.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    2. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by commodore64_love · · Score: 2, Interesting

      P.S.

      >>>Star Trek a lot of credit for their early intrigue with physics.

      I wanted to be like Scotty or Geordi, but neither is really an engineer as it turns out. i.e. They don't design. They are more like technicians, trying to keep the existing systems (which some other engineer built) operational. I should have been that, instead of studying engineering. I think it would be more fun.

      Oh well.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    3. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by PakProtector · · Score: 2, Insightful

      So, lemme get this straight: You have to design to be an Engineer?

      I better go inform all those Doctorates in my department they're not Engineers...

      --

      Edward@Tomato - /home/Edward/ man woman
      man: no entry for woman in the manual.
      "Qua!?"

    4. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Preaching to the choir, my friend.

    5. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by jDeepbeep · · Score: 1

      I know it's late on a Friday when an eldavojohn post only has a score of 2 on it. :p

      --
      Reply to That ||
    6. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by Cyclloid · · Score: 1

      Agreed

      Yesterday's science fiction is today's technology which is obsolete tommorow. - Ok this a qoute or at least a paraphrase of one and I wish I knew who said it.

    7. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by LoyalOpposition · · Score: 3, Informative

      That is what Isaac Asimov said. Of course he continued to be a Physics professor...

      Biochemistry, actually. Perhaps you're thinking of Richard Feynman.

      ~Loyal

      --
      I aim to misbehave.
    8. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by srothroc · · Score: 4, Informative

      He was a chemistry professor and he actually stopped being a full-time one when his writing career began to take off and he got too busy for it. Of course, his career included tons of educational books such as The World of Carbon and lots of quality, lesser-known annotations.

      --
      http://www.tenjou.net/
    9. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by Duradin · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Why would Starfleet put their ship designing engineers out in the middle of nowhere on already built and functioning starships? That'd be like putting the engineering (engine-ering) crew behind a desk with some paper and drafting tools.

       

    10. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Some words have more than one definition.

      engineer (nj-nîr) n.
      1. One who is trained or professionally engaged in a branch of engineering.
      2. One who operates an engine.
      3. One who skillfully or shrewdly manages an enterprise.

    11. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      So, lemme get this straight: You have to design to be an Engineer?

      I better go inform all those Doctorates in my department they're not Engineers...

      That'd be a dickish thing to do, but you wouldn't be wrong.

    12. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by clong83 · · Score: 0, Redundant

      Posting to undo down-modding... I meant to click "interesting", clicked "flamebait" instead.

    13. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But then it drives them to go to college, where we have already too many college graduates. I say we ban scifi!

    14. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by MasaMuneCyrus · · Score: 1

      Interestingly enough, Richard Feynman was also the topic of an article in the latest edition of APS News. The article discusses Richard Feynman's artistic life in addition to his Physics life.

    15. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by falzer · · Score: 1

      > And if it doesn't get them to become scientists, it at least drives a curiosity.

      This is why I still think manned space operations are important. Shallow, crude, unsophisticated sexiness.

    16. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by RobDude · · Score: 1

      I don't know how much I would agree with that.

      Most of the Sci-Fi from the 20s and 30s are still completely out of reach. Aliens, time travel, space travel, living on other planets, heck - even flying cars and robots that we have don't stand up compared to the sci-fi of the day.

    17. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by Sulphur · · Score: 2, Funny

      Surely you are joking, Mr. Asimov.

    18. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He was a biochemistry professor at Boston University Medical School, and yes, he was on very low hours for the last half or so of his career as a biochemist (living 200 miles from the school where he notionally taught).

    19. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by Rogerborg · · Score: 1

      Also, they never, ever got to score with hot chicks, alien or otherwise. Scotty was married to his engines, and La Forge, well, running joke. That's hardly going to entice nerds into the field of engineering/mechanics. Still, at least it didn't raise any false expectations either.

      --
      If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
    20. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by lgw · · Score: 4, Informative

      Those guys who drive trains? Yeah.

      There have always been "design engineers" and "line engineers". Not all engineers design - many, perhaps most, keep complicated systems working properly (often manufacturing lines), but even line engineers do ad-hoc design from time to time, especially an engineer for something that gets shot at.

      Of course, you're not a "real" engineer unless you roll explosives up to the castle gate under a hail of arrows - all those guys calling themselves engineers for the past 400 years are just posers, not to be taken seriously. ;)

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    21. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by selven · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I disagree. Quite a few episodes have Scotty or Geordi finding a novel solution to a problem, and Scotty did invent the equations of teleporting onto a ship at warp. Sure, their day to day jobs are about fixing and maintaining, but they do show themselves as creative engineers when the time comes for it.

    22. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by Protoslo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I would agree that you have to design to be an engineer, but if you think that the Star Trek engineers don't design...you obviously haven't watched much Star Trek. Their skills are frequently called upon to design MacGuffins virtually from scratch that violate the laws of physics in innumerable ways. Not only are they engineers, they are cutting-edge theoretical (imaginary?) physicists.

      And you want to call LaForge a technician? Ouch.

    23. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by Movi · · Score: 2, Informative

      Ah, but O'Brien got promoted to engineer at DS9, and he scored a pretty hot asian!

    24. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by clong83 · · Score: 1

      I know it's bad form to respond to yourself... But why am I modded redundant? Seriously? Off-Topic, perhaps, but generally I would expect that post to simply be ignored...

    25. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by Surt · · Score: 1

      What do they do that would earn them getting referred to as an engineer rather than a doctor? Imagine calling a doctorate in psychology who does research on lab rats a shrink. Same area, different roles.

      --
      "Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
    26. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by Surt · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Because running into a critical design flaw that can only be fixed by a designer while a thousand light years from the nearest designer sucks? It's the same reason a space shuttle designer has flown on every mission.

      --
      "Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
    27. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by palegray.net · · Score: 1

      They're engineers in the Naval sense, ala Starfleet.

      --
      512 MB RAM, 20 GB disk, 200 GB transfer, five datacenters. $19.95/month.
    28. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by NonSequor · · Score: 2, Funny

      So, lemme get this straight: You have to design to be an Engineer?

      I better go inform all those Doctorates in my department they're not Engineers...

      Do they solve practical problems?

      --
      My only political goal is to see to it that no political party achieves its goals.
    29. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      neither is really an engineer as it turns out. i.e. They don't design.

      An engineer designs or operates engines. That is all. The push by the American engineering professional organizations to commandeer the word to mean something else seems to have worked. As they are operators of engines, they are more engineers than people that design electrical systems, bridges, or HVAC systems.

      And, based on comments in the show, Starfleet engineers "retire" to design work, so they work their way up to it over years (or earlier if they don't like ship work).

      --
      Learn to love Alaska
    30. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by outsider007 · · Score: 1

      You're right, that one should have been offtopic. *This* one should be redundant.
      and so should this one.

      --
      If you mod me down the terrorists will have won
    31. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by Volguus+Zildrohar · · Score: 1

      In the given context, I believe the emphasised definition should be #3.

      --
      When confronted with one problem, some think "I'll use recursion". Now they are confronted with one problem.
    32. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by Goldsmith · · Score: 1

      Who else would think to make a team of superhero basketball player/physicists modeled on the Harlem Globetrotters? That's genius and a very different representation of scientists than we're used to seeing.

      People drop out of grad school all the time. It's almost never that they can't do the material or don't "have what it takes." It's simply that for every student who gets a great project and avoids outside emergencies, there's another student who ends up at a dead end (I think the statistics are ~40% graduation rate). These things happen, but it means that smart people get to do something else with their physics background.

      This is ok. We don't actually want as many PhD physicists as we have now. There are enough of us that we end up in banking, computer science, and chemistry; there are even some PhD physicist car salesmen (who have also been profiled in APS news). Cohen is a smashing success for someone who was unlucky enough to be handed a doomed-to-fail research project.

    33. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by commodore64_love · · Score: 1

      Still sounds like what I would describe as a "technician" in my workplace. i.e. The guys who get to have the REAL fun.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    34. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by yahwotqa · · Score: 1

      Yeah, and Topher Brink scored Summer Glau... for a few minutes, at least.

    35. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by cffrost · · Score: 1

      I wanted to be like Scotty or Geordi [...]

      If you want to be like Scotty, drink ethyl alcohol.

      If you want to be like Geordi, drink methyl alcohol.

      --
      Thank you, Edward Snowden.

      "Arguments from authority are worthless." —Carl Sagan
    36. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by boredsenseless · · Score: 1

      Not if you can just whip up a sexy holo-simulation of Leah Brahms to help solve the problem for you!

    37. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by Rogerborg · · Score: 1

      Bah, O'Brien was an Affirmative Action recruit.

      --
      If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
    38. Re:Cohen Should Abstain from Any Regret by IrquiM · · Score: 1

      The guy that fixes the toilet at work is refereed to as an engineer. Same with the guy that fixes the photocopy, etc. Being an engineer is nothing special anymore.

      --
      This is blinging
  3. Hey, how about you concentrate on the *comedy*? by elrous0 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I was a huge fan of the series, but those movies were pretty atrocious. I'm not sure if they went with different writers, or maybe they were just off their game, but I sure hope the new season gets the old groove back. The math and physics jokes are funny, though, but even those seemed to be missing from the movies.

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    1. Re:Hey, how about you concentrate on the *comedy*? by geekoid · · Score: 1

      I found the movie to be hilarious.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    2. Re:Hey, how about you concentrate on the *comedy*? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I will say that just about every episode with a special guest star were the worst by far.

    3. Re:Hey, how about you concentrate on the *comedy*? by sconeu · · Score: 1

      The problem with the movies was that they were all "message" movies. And often, the message was delivered with a sledgehammer.

      "Bender's Game" probably had the least message of them all... and was probably funniest (but that's because I misspent my college years with polyhedral dice...)

      --
      General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
    4. Re:Hey, how about you concentrate on the *comedy*? by Arthur+Grumbine · · Score: 1

      I will say that just about every episode with a special guest star were the worst by far.

      This is practically universal for all T.V. shows. The primary purpose of special guest stars is to advertise the show (and in return the guest commonly gets to plug their pet project/cause), not to increase the entertainment value of the show. This is why you almost never have a "special guest appearance" without numerous commercials in the days/hours leading up to the episode all reminding the viewer of the guest star's appearance. In worst case scenarios the writers shoehorn the guest star into the show at the sacrifice of dialogue, plot structure, and character consistency - sometimes even writing the entire episode to revolve-around/allow-for the guest star.

      --
      Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.
    5. Re:Hey, how about you concentrate on the *comedy*? by Dthief · · Score: 1

      They were great 30 minute episodes stretched into good feature length movies

      --
      www.RacquetUp.org - Helping Detroit Youth
    6. Re:Hey, how about you concentrate on the *comedy*? by dangitman · · Score: 1

      I was a huge fan of the series, but those movies were pretty atrocious. I'm not sure if they went with different writers, or maybe they were just off their game, but I sure hope the new season gets the old groove back.

      They weren't as good because they were feature-length movies. The 20-something minutes of a TV comedy series often doesn't translate well into a movie-length narrative. 20-something minutes is a good amount of time to explore a particular scenario, you end up just stretching it too thin over a couple of hours.

      --
      ... and then they built the supercollider.
    7. Re:Hey, how about you concentrate on the *comedy*? by PapagenoX · · Score: 1

      I found _Bender's Big Score_ pretty great, actually, and the second one amusing, but then the last two kinda meh.

    8. Re:Hey, how about you concentrate on the *comedy*? by Edmund+Blackadder · · Score: 1

      The one with Pauly Shore was not bad. Also the one with Lucy Liu was pretty funny. But maybe it is just me, I must admit I have robot fever.

  4. Futurama's still on? by commodore64_love · · Score: 1

    I thought FOX (bastards!) canceled that show over 5 years ago (along with Family Guy,Dilbert,Firefly,Lonegunmen,Brisco County,Sliders,Space Above and Beyond, .....). I guess there are drawbacks to not having cable tv. Oh well. Maybe Hulu has the new episodes.

    Favorite episode - Why Frye saves the planet by playing Space Invaders. Classic.

    --
    "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    1. Re:Futurama's still on? by gyrogeerloose · · Score: 4, Informative

      I thought FOX (bastards!) canceled that show over 5 years ago [...]

      The bastards at Fox did cancel the show. The new episodes are going to run on Comedy Central.

      --
      This ain't rocket surgery.
    2. Re:Futurama's still on? by geekoid · · Score: 1

      They did cancel it. The demand has been s high, it's coming back

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    3. Re:Futurama's still on? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      It's Friday night. I have no date, a bottle of Shasta, and an all Rush mix tape.

    4. Re:Futurama's still on? by ZeroExistenZ · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I thought FOX (bastards!) canceled that show over 5 years ago

      They cancelled it. Internet community cried out it never had a chance with its programming and how it was the next evolution of the simpsons (they were getting old, and futurama connected with the upcoming technological revolutions), so after a few years (7 or so) they brought out movies of Futurama on DVD only to test the success and keep it alive resulting in 4 Futurama movies.

      The DVD success has given them enough momentum to restart the series; first new episode will be aired the 24th this month if I recall this alright.

      So, to me it's not that strange to see Futurama more in the media again and get it more weight at relaunch by showing the intelligence in it in science magazines and other media to draw in attention of people who would enjoy the humor alike.

      I for one, am rejoicing! 10 years ago I enjoyed this series and devoured it, but maybe the world wasn't ready for it yet.

      --
      I think we can keep recursing like this until someone returns 1
    5. Re:Futurama's still on? by SeNtM · · Score: 1

      Yes they did, but that is why Torgos Executive Powder was created.

      --
      "There ought to be limits to freedom." -George W. Bush
    6. Re:Futurama's still on? by OakDragon · · Score: 1

      They had to make room for such quality programming as "The War at Home" and "The Cleveland Show."

      --
      Dark Reflection
    7. Re:Futurama's still on? by commodore64_love · · Score: 1

      This Bud's..... I mean, video's for you. Family Guy Canceled:
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyxO0558KG0

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    8. Re:Futurama's still on? by orcateers · · Score: 1

      Its hard to say it "never had a chance" when it was on for five full seasons. Five seasons is a lot. Five seasons means the show was a success.

    9. Re:Futurama's still on? by Rogerborg · · Score: 1

      Good news, everyone...

      --
      If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
    10. Re:Futurama's still on? by firehawk2k · · Score: 1, Funny

      I thought FOX (bastards!) canceled that show over 5 years ago [...]

      The bastards at Fox did cancel the show. The new episodes are going to run on Comedy Central.

      I'm sorry, don't you mean the BOX network?

    11. Re:Futurama's still on? by unknownroad · · Score: 1

      It's Saturday night; I've got no date, a two liter bottle of Shasta, and my all-Rush mix tape... let's rock

    12. Re:Futurama's still on? by Dogtanian · · Score: 1, Insightful

      They cancelled it. Internet community cried out it never had a chance with its programming and how it was the next evolution of the simpsons (they were getting old, and futurama connected with the upcoming technological revolutions)

      Eh... I think you're overstating it. Futurama isn't- and I doubt was ever meant to be- "serious" sci-fi. It's basically a parody of mid-to-late twentieth century science fiction and its cliches.

      It also relies heavily on the "take an aspect of present-day society and parody it by doing an absurdly high-tech/futuristic version of it" humour.

      I don't think it was ever intended to be a remotely serious idea of what the future was like, which is why saying "futurama connected with the upcoming technological revolutions" is a bit OTT. Futurama isn't really about the future, except in a very humorous way. It's about the present and the past shows we grew up with.

      Sure, it certainly includes some genuine geek humour that not everyone will get. This likely endears it to the later group, but it still doesn't make it serious sci-fi- and that isn't a criticism, because I don't think it was ever meant to be.

      As for The Simpsons, I think you're mistaken in assuming that Futurama is its natural successor. For all its humour, Futurama is still more limited by its premise than The Simpsons' deceptively basic setup- which in fact is what made the latter so successful. It's also a more niche-appeal show, and always will be.

      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    13. Re:Futurama's still on? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry. I accidentally modded this overrated instead of funny. I'll mod up two other posts of yours.

    14. Re:Futurama's still on? by theTerribleRobbo · · Score: 1

      And yet they promote it as if it's still theirs?

      http://fox8.tv/shows/futurama

      I am very confused.

    15. Re:Futurama's still on? by theTerribleRobbo · · Score: 1

      And yet they promote it as if it's still theirs?
      http://fox8.tv/shows/futurama

      I am very confused.

      (... I am also very confused that my first attempt at commenting showed up attached to a different parent. Err.)

  5. Favorite Simpsons joke by ch-chuck · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Nelson says, about something very difficult, "That's like asking what's the square root of a million - we may never know!"

    --
    try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
    1. Re:Favorite Simpsons joke by 91degrees · · Score: 1

      I rather liked the "this perpetual motion machine [Lisa] made today is a joke. It just keeps going faster and faster. Lisa, get in here! In this house, we obey the laws of thermodynamics!"

    2. Re:Favorite Simpsons joke by allo · · Score: 1

      yes, that one is great. but lisa has some good quotes on her own: Brain i do not need you anymore, now i have friends!

  6. No wonder Futurama is so awesome by ruiner13 · · Score: 1

    Whether a doomsday scenario is possible in the Universe of Futurama is of great interest to David X. Cohen, the show's Executive Producer and head writer, and a former writer and producer for The Simpsons. Cohen has a bachelor's degree in physics from Harvard and a master's degree in computer science from UC Berkeley, and is not afraid to use them.

    The bolded part is the proof!

    --

    today is spelling optional day.

    1. Re:No wonder Futurama is so awesome by dangitman · · Score: 1

      The bolded part is the proof!

      Yeah, because we all know that Computer Science majors are the funniest guys on earth. Cohen's the exception, not the rule.

      --
      ... and then they built the supercollider.
  7. Comedy vs. drama by sbjornda · · Score: 2, Funny
    From the article:

    Because Futurama is a comedy and not a drama like Star Trek

    Star Trek not a comedy? Why didn't someone tell me I wasn't supposed to laugh?

    --
    .nosig

    1. Re:Comedy vs. drama by Low+Ranked+Craig · · Score: 1

      How dare you. The wrath of ./ shall descend upon your blasphemous head. Unless you were talking about the original. That WAS funny except for the OK Corral episode - that one was epic.

      --
      I still cannot find the droids I am looking for...
    2. Re:Comedy vs. drama by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 1

      Star Trek not a comedy? Why didn't someone tell me I wasn't supposed to laugh?

      -- .nosig

      Because the Captain forgot to say "Make it so"

    3. Re:Comedy vs. drama by lgw · · Score: 1

      Hare dare you mock the original - Kick could totally kick Picard's ass. And he slept with more races of aliens than Worf got beaten by, which is saying something!

      Actually, about half of the original series were pretty epic, and still stand up as top-drawer television SF writing today, while the bad ones were pretty amazingly bad. Funny how people don;t quite agree which were which, though.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    4. Re:Comedy vs. drama by Zordak · · Score: 1

      Can we all agree that the hippies on acid episode was bad?

      --

      Today's Sesame Street was brought to you by the number e.
    5. Re:Comedy vs. drama by EvanED · · Score: 1

      Hare dare you mock the original - Kick could totally kick Picard's ass.

      Yeah, if they ever got into a fight. Picard would outwit, intimidate, or placate Kirk before that happened though. ;-)

      Actually, about half of the original series were pretty epic, and still stand up as top-drawer television SF writing today, while the bad ones were pretty amazingly bad.

      You can say the same thing about TNG, though they had a bunch of "all right" episodes. TNG's first season was almost universally awful (writers must have been on acid when writing "Where no man has gone before", or else it was the winning episode in the competition amongst writers to see who could come up with the worst episode), and there were some pretty spectacular duds in later seasons too. But there are also so many episodes that are just stupendous.

      (I need to watch more TOS; I've only seen a couple episodes. All the movies though... and #6 is my favorite of all 11.)

    6. Re:Comedy vs. drama by lgw · · Score: 1

      Bah, Kirk has been outwitted, intimidated, and placated by far better than Picard, and ended up fighting or sleeping with most of em anyway! (Or both - counting the times Kirk hits a woman is key for any ST drinking game).

      I really recommend TOS - it's not modern special-effects SciFi, but 60s-style SF writing. Other than "Where no man has gone before" (the terrible second pilot), there's never a dramatic focus on a gadget or piece of technology per se, so the outdated gadgets and effects never hurt the story. Mostly, I just love the different approach to cultural/moral conflict - they never endlessly debate morality during an an episode, instead providing just enough comments from the crew to make it clear that there is a moral choice to be made, then Lirl just picks some approach and everyone goes with it. The philosophical musings are usually left to the last 30 seconds of the show, when they talk about what happened instead of what might happen.

      Plus Kirk screws up every so often, and then has to dig himself out (or occasionally, deeper), which is much better storytelling than "the captain robotically makes the best possible decision on the information he has available".

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    7. Re:Comedy vs. drama by lgw · · Score: 1

      s/Lirl/Kirk/ Wierd.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
  8. Your orders? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Drop down, increase speed, and REVERSE DIRECTION!

  9. So much for studying by T+Murphy · · Score: 1

    Haven't watched Futurama, now I guess I have to. Given it's a week before finals, I'll send slashdot an invoice for the credit hours I end up re-taking because I was busy watching cartoons instead of studying.

    --
    My webcomic
    1. Re:So much for studying by dangitman · · Score: 1

      Haven't watched Futurama

      Inconceivable!

      I'll send slashdot an invoice for the credit hours I end up re-taking because I was busy watching cartoons instead of studying.

      You should be sending slashdot a bill for all that time you've been reading slashdot, when you could have been watching Futurama.

      Oh well, maybe you've at least absorbed some subliminally. For a long time, slashdot had Futurama quotes in its HTML headers.

      --
      ... and then they built the supercollider.
  10. Degrees by MrTripps · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Cohen has a bachelor’s degree in physics from Harvard and a master’s degree in computer science from UC Berkeley" He obviously has too many degrees that he isn't using and is a detriment to the American economy. (snark)

    --
    "I'm not a quack, I'm a mad scientist! There's a difference." - Dr. Cockroach
    1. Re:Degrees by Surt · · Score: 1

      I'd be hard pressed to name anyone who was a greater detriment to the american economy, though I suppose there are the creators of slashdot to consider.

      --
      "Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
  11. An equation with two unknowns by hkz · · Score: 1

    “I believe this ‘paradoxicality’ equation to be unsolvable,” he says, pointing to the equation, E=9.87sin(2B)-7.53cos(B)-1.5sin(B), written on a blackboard. “Ergo, time travel is impossible. But I can’t quite prove it.”

    So the humor here is that it's paradoxical to want to solve a single equation with two variables? Or am I being too geeky here? After all, the solution is *trivial*...

    1. Re:An equation with two unknowns by pclminion · · Score: 2, Interesting

      So the humor here is that it's paradoxical to want to solve a single equation with two variables? Or am I being too geeky here? After all, the solution is *trivial*...

      Is it? It's quite possible that that equation has no solutions in the reals, though I can't be assed to work it out right now. Given Cohen's penchant for deep mathematical jokes, I wouldn't be surprised if the value of B is complex.

      An equation with only complex solutions, where the solutions are supposed to be physical quantities, can in some sense be said to be "unsolvable," or rather, it has no true physical meaning because its solutions are not physical.

    2. Re:An equation with two unknowns by hkz · · Score: 1

      Take B = Pi. Then E = 9.87*sin(2Pi) - 7.73*cos(Pi) - 1.5*sin(Pi) = 9.87*0 - 7.73*-1 - 1.5*0 = 7.73. (Assuming multiplication binds stronger than addition.) Not so complex, right? Am I overanalyzing this?

    3. Re:An equation with two unknowns by pclminion · · Score: 1

      We don't know all the constraints. What if E must be greater than 100, for instance? It has no solutions.

    4. Re:An equation with two unknowns by Zordak · · Score: 2, Informative

      An equation with only complex solutions, where the solutions are supposed to be physical quantities, can in some sense be said to be "unsolvable," or rather, it has no true physical meaning because its solutions are not physical.

      Any time you put a capacitor or an inductor in a circuit, you have just created an equation with only complex solutions, with true physical meaning. The real portion is magnitude and the imaginary portion is a phase shift. If I remember my mechanical stuff correctly, the same thing happens when you put a spring or a dashpot in a mechanical system.

      --

      Today's Sesame Street was brought to you by the number e.
    5. Re:An equation with two unknowns by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I believed in the movie, they used variation of parameters and expanded the Wronskian (razzle-dazzle globe trotter calculus), which are pretty standard techniques for solving differential equations. Maybe B is an unknown function.

      Or maybe it's just a bunch of junk thrown together with no deep forethought.

    6. Re:An equation with two unknowns by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I assume the E means the base for the natural logarithm. Otherwise it is trivial. If it is 'the' E, then it is still not terribly difficult to find a solution; a moderately skill undergraduate mathematics should be able to solve it. As is stated in TFA the claim that it is unsolvable was disproven. I must still be interpreting the problem wrong though, because the article says it was disproven using the Wronskian and variation of parameters, which are techniques learned in differential equations and I don't see how they apply or why you would use them to solve a simple trigonometric equation.

  12. My favorite line from Futurama... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    From episode 2-16, The Deep South, as the crew of the Planet Express ship are plunging to the bottom of the ocean...

    Leela: "Depth at 45 hundred feet... 48 hundred, 50 hundred. 5,000 feet."
    Professor: "Dear lord! That's over 150 atmospheres of pressure!"
    Fry: "How many atmospheres can the ship withstand?"

    wait for it...

    Professor: "Well, it's a spaceship... so I'd say anywhere between zero and one."

    1. Re:My favorite line from Futurama... by oldhack · · Score: 1

      Damn, no wonder the show got cancelled. Maybe one in ten may get the joke. Maybe.

      --
      Fuck systemd. Fuck Redhat. Fuck Soylent, too. Wait, scratch the last one.
    2. Re:My favorite line from Futurama... by RasputinAXP · · Score: 4, Funny

      My favorite was from Luck of the Fryrish:

        * Horse race announcer: It's a quantum finish! And the winner is-(Man holds up a board with the winning horse on it)

              Horse race announcer: Harry Trotter!
              Professor Farnsworth: No fair! You changed the outcome by measuring it!

    3. Re:My favorite line from Futurama... by commodore64_love · · Score: 0

      1 atmosphere? That's it? They better not be doing any deliveries to gas giants like Saturn or Jupiter.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    4. Re:My favorite line from Futurama... by rkanodia · · Score: 1

      I love that line too, but the pedant in me is compelled to ruin it. Certainly a ship that was intended for deliveries to other planets would have been designed with the atmospheres of other planets in mind, which are potentially much more pressurized than that of Earth (consider for instance the high-gravity planet where Zapp broke the hover dolly with a load of pillows). Of course, Farnsworth is old and senile...

    5. Re:My favorite line from Futurama... by dcollins · · Score: 1

      Who knows what unit of measure the Futurama "atmosphere" is? Maybe it's based on the highest-pressure known planet!

      --
      We know where leadership by an anti-intellectual "strongman" who scapegoats minorities and likes boisterous rallies goes
    6. Re:My favorite line from Futurama... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      1 atmosphere = 33.7 ft/salt water
      5000/33.7 = 148.4 atmospheres

      5000 feet of salt water != 'over 150 atmospheres of pressure'. /yeah I went there.

    7. Re:My favorite line from Futurama... by FroBugg · · Score: 1

      Three errors: First, I've always seen the conversion given as either 33 feet or 10 m (which is actually 32.8), never 33.7. Second, the actual pressure varies slightly based on temperature and salinity. Third, you forgot to add the 1 atmosphere from the surface. So even if your 33.7 is accurate, it'd be 149.4 and fails to account for local variability.

    8. Re:My favorite line from Futurama... by dangitman · · Score: 2, Informative

      Who knows what unit of measure the Futurama "atmosphere" is? Maybe it's based on the highest-pressure known planet!

      Leela and the Professor gives us the answer when she says they're at 5,000 feet, and the Professor says that's over 150 atmospheres of pressure. Under salt water, approximately 33 feet of additional depth increases pressure by one atmosphere. (5000/33)-1=150.5 atmospheres. So it seems pretty clear they are using they same units we do.

      --
      ... and then they built the supercollider.
    9. Re:My favorite line from Futurama... by dangitman · · Score: 1

      Whoops, that should be (5000/33)+1=151.5 atmospheres.

      --
      ... and then they built the supercollider.
    10. Re:My favorite line from Futurama... by kimvette · · Score: 1

      That's where the dick and fart jokes come in.

      --
      The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
    11. Re:My favorite line from Futurama... by linzeal · · Score: 1

      Imagine the pressure of re-entry here on Earth.

      --
      An Education is the Font of All Liberty
    12. Re:My favorite line from Futurama... by kramulous · · Score: 1

      "Professor, how many atmospheres can the ship take?"

      "Well it's a spaceship. So anywhere between 0 and 1."

      --
      .
  13. Good news, everyone! by twoallbeefpatties · · Score: 5, Funny

    I've invented a device that sneaks nerdy physics jokes into primetime programming!

    ...I've also invented a machine that makes you read this aloud in your head, in my voice!

    --
    Libertarians somehow believe that private businesses should be stronger than governments but weaker than individuals.
    1. Re:Good news, everyone! by Own3d-You · · Score: 1

      GET OUT OF MY HEAD!

    2. Re:Good news, everyone! by Phantom+Gremlin · · Score: 1

      The Big Bang Theory also sneaks nerdy physics jokes into primetime programming!

  14. Physics jokes are fun, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Physics jokes are fun for physicists, but there seems to be a lack of technology/computers-related jokes in the movies.

    Who can forget the easy "10 home, 20 sweet, 30 goto 10" joke from the first (was it the first?) episode, the "two reels of tape look like boobs" painting/poster, the nightmare of Bender "and I think I saw a TWO in there!", etc. It's fine to make obscure jokes that only 5% of the viewers will get (old hardware or stuff like that perhaps), just like not everyone gets all the physics jokes.

    One exemple would be "Hey Fry, can I borrow 150 dollars? Sorry Bender, I only have 144. Oh, I can't store 144, that's where my speech processor is at.". The reference (of course) is the 220h default address of the Sound Blaster (220 hexadecimal = 144 decimal).

    Not sure if time-travel paradoxes jokes are considered physics jokes, but I like those too.

    They could also play with logic, similar to those fake Veridian Dynamics ads in Better Off Ted. Watch "Friendship. It's the same as stealing." to see what I mean. It's logic and you can almost agree with all their points up until the end. Reminds me of the crazy MPAA ads before movies.

    P.S.: we want more Amy! Half-naked Amy acting cute, charming and clumsy!

    1. Re:Physics jokes are fun, but... by EvanED · · Score: 2, Informative

      Oh, I can't store 144, that's where my speech processor is at.". The reference (of course) is the 220h default address of the Sound Blaster (220 hexadecimal = 144 decimal).

      You might want to check your math on that.

    2. Re:Physics jokes are fun, but... by hkz · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Slashdot makes up for it by posting an X-Fry, X-Leela, X-bender or other header with every HTTP response. If you know it or not, you've received thousands of these witticisms (unless you're New Here.) X-Fry: Leela, Bender, we're going grave-robbing. X-Fry: Hooray, we don't have to do anything! X-Fry: I haven't had time off since I was twenty-one through twenty-four. X-Fry: How can I live my life if I can't tell good from evil?

    3. Re:Physics jokes are fun, but... by damnfuct · · Score: 3, Informative

      What they meant to say is that 220h = 144 in base-6.887363549594899...

    4. Re:Physics jokes are fun, but... by Thiez · · Score: 1

      I never knew! That is so awesome :D

    5. Re:Physics jokes are fun, but... by commodore64_love · · Score: 1

      >>>220h default address of the Sound Blaster

      My "sound blaster" was called Paula. She was a sexy sound chip, located inside my beautiful amiga, and produced near-CD quality sound in 1985 (when Macs and PCs just went beep).

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    6. Re:Physics jokes are fun, but... by CannonballHead · · Score: 1

      It's the only time I've ever seen a base 16 number get converted to base 10 and get *smaller* :)

    7. Re:Physics jokes are fun, but... by Thiez · · Score: 1

      For those who want to try this at home:

      echo -e 'GET / HTTP/1.1\nHost: slashdot.org\n\n' | nc slashdot.org 80 | grep -E 'X\-(Fry|Leena|Bender)'

    8. Re:Physics jokes are fun, but... by eric-x · · Score: 1

      wget -S slashdot.org

    9. Re:Physics jokes are fun, but... by Thiez · · Score: 1

      netcat is my hammer!

    10. Re:Physics jokes are fun, but... by lgw · · Score: 1

      Paula? Fah. You had a burning romance with SID and you know it - not that there's anything wrong with that.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    11. Re:Physics jokes are fun, but... by salahx · · Score: 1

      144 in decimal is 220 octal, however.

    12. Re:Physics jokes are fun, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      More of a play on words rather than a logic joke, but...

      Professor Farnsworth: "There! I finished fine tuning my what-if machine. It can answer any what-if question accurate to within one tenth of a plausibility unit."
      Leela: "That's so plausible I can't believe it!"

    13. Re:Physics jokes are fun, but... by dangitman · · Score: 1

      My "sound blaster" was called Paula. She was a sexy sound chip, located inside my beautiful amiga, and produced near-CD quality sound in 1985 (when Macs and PCs just went beep).

      Uhhh, no. The original Mac was frickin' launched with a demo of it introducing itself via speech synthesis. If I recall correctly, it was 4-voice, mono, 8-bit sound.

      I loved my Amiga too, but don't go making stuff up, especially when your comment is disproved in one of the most famous moments in personal computer history.

      --
      ... and then they built the supercollider.
    14. Re:Physics jokes are fun, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      D'oh! I meant 544.

    15. Re:Physics jokes are fun, but... by Yvan256 · · Score: 1

      In their defense, the Tandy 1000 and PCjr went "beep-beep-beep-sshhhhhhh!" simultaneously.

    16. Re:Physics jokes are fun, but... by kimvette · · Score: 1

      How often do you read http response headers though?

      --
      The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
    17. Re:Physics jokes are fun, but... by commodore64_love · · Score: 1

      Speech synthesis and musical ability are not the same thing. The original Mac that I used to use in college sounded worse than my C64's SID and nowhere near as good as the Amiga's Paula chip.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    18. Re:Physics jokes are fun, but... by Blakey+Rat · · Score: 1

      It's good to know that, while so many hundreds of thing in Slashdot don't even fucking work, or work the exact same way they did in 1997 (when it's, lemme check my calendar, oh yeah, 2010) that they've wasted so much time making those stupid headers.

      Although I have to admit it's slightly clever as far as easter eggs go. I'd never have thought to look at the headers for the page itself in a million years.

      --
      Comment of the year
  15. Oblig. Suppository by drewzhrodague · · Score: 1

    "Good news, everyone -- it's a suppository!"

    Sorry, I had to, please forgive me mods!

    --
    Zhrodague.net - I do projects and stuff too.
  16. google generated slashvertisement by ArsonSmith · · Score: 0, Troll

    Is this a new slashvertisement generated by Google and posted to Slashdot as a way to target nerds/geeks? Sure seemed to have all the key buzzwords in the summery: Physics, Graduate-level, Futurama, theorem, mathematician, upcoming and PhD

    --
    Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
  17. Physics jokes? by StikyPad · · Score: 1

    So y = r cubed over 3. And if you determine the rate of change in this curve correctly, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised...

    Oh hey, I didn't see you guys all the way over there.

    --
    https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
  18. Re: Dark Matter Drive by garyisabusyguy · · Score: 1

    " I understand how the engines work now. It came to me in a dream. The engines don't move the ship at all. The ship stays where it is and the engines move the universe around it."
    Cubert Farnsworth

    --
    Wherever You Go, There You Are
  19. re Watch online by jelizondo · · Score: 1

    Given that Hulu and others will only stream to IPs based in the good ol' USA, you can watch the entire series here

    No subscription, no fees, only Futurama!

    Enjoy!

    --
    Be very, very careful what you put into that head, because you will never, ever get it out. - Cardinal Wolsey
    1. Re:re Watch online by Ambiguous+Puzuma · · Score: 1

      And then go buy the DVDs. The audio commentaries alone are worth the price (and there's one for every single episode).

  20. Missing the basic premise by actionbastard · · Score: 1

    Futurama has, and always will be, a love story. One nerdy guy's awkward pursuit of the the girl he fell in love with at first sight. All the 'science-y' stuff is just there to fill in the plot.

    --
    Sig this!
    1. Re:Missing the basic premise by logixoul · · Score: 1

      Fry is nerdy now? o_O

  21. One of the many reasons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    why Futurama is not funny.