The "ordinary" people...


...make this program almost unwatchable.

Seriously they have Eureka moments after every test - like "Wow we're so clever"! Such cheesy actors (or maybe they're not actors) it puts you off viewing it.

Just have Stephen and some nice CGI!

First episode was the worst, second not quite so bad but still...

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[deleted]

I agree, the reality show format and actors or normal people given lots of coaching was off-putting. They were also pushing the atheism angle and in episode 3, they actually have a "Stop Praying" billboard in the background of a dolly shot. I doubt the billboard was actually in the original stock footage, so someone went to a lot of effort motion tracking the shot to insert their message.

A lot of Stephen Hawking's arguments are very weak. They use an EEG to show that the unconscious brain helps make decisions before we are consciously aware. Then they argue that this shows that we have no free will. I would say that the unconscious brain is still part of our brain and not anyone else's, so it is still us making the decision whether you want to label one part of your brain "unconscious". If science proved that there was no such thing as free will, it would be senseless to ever throw someone in prison.

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A lot of Stephen Hawking's arguments are very weak. They use an EEG to show that the unconscious brain helps make decisions before we are consciously aware. Then they argue that this shows that we have no free will.

I agree that was quite a jump to conclusions. Of course, they eventually decided there was free will after all. I'm not really a fan of this show, there's quite an air of pretentiousness about it.

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There's no evidence that contra-causal free will exists. That's different from the fact that we can make decisions (and/or our subconscious minds can).

And criminal justice *IS* one of the real-world reasons why our lack of true "free will" matters.

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Complaining about atheism in a tv show with Stephen Hawking is like being bothered by Christianity being shoved in your face in Duck Dinasty 



If I don't reply, you're probably on my ignore list for something I forgot already

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I think the addition of "real" people is interesting, if only because it's different. I'm really enjoying the show.

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I also noticed how it seems like they go out of their way to choose the most diverse group of people possible. Heaven forbid they have 2 people of the same race or nationality in one show.

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You sound like one of those racist who thinks there's a "PC/diversity agenda" when you see non-white people on TV/movies.




If I don't reply, you're probably on my ignore list for something I forgot already

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I quit after the first two episodes, too "hokey" and not that instructive.

..*.. TxMike ..*..
Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes not.

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[deleted]

I almost detected a note of sarcasm as Hawking called them "our budding geniuses".

Supposedly they're supposed to be able work out the answers to the big questions themselves, but they're guided every step of the way by the experiments that are set up for them. It would be interesting to see what answers people came up with if they actually tried to work them out completely by themselves, without all the handholding.

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I agree 100%. Those supposed real people were so annoying and they were mesmerized by the dumbest things.

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I don't have a problem with it, and don't think it makes it remotely 'unwatchable'. It does seem like they're either actors and/or familiar with the science though (or are told about it ahead of time). They're often grasping stuff way too fast compared with the general public, unfortunately.

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