Bad science in fiction Hall of Shame

[YNM]

2 minutes ago, Gargamel said:

Gravity was a really fun ride...

I'd ride a rollercoaster in the theme of Gravity, yes. Not just watching it.

[DAL59]

6 hours ago, YNM said:

There are other stacks though.

Edited 1 hour ago by YNM

Those are wider than they are tall though.  Stacking 20 on top of each other is a bad idea.

[YNM]

8 minutes ago, DAL59 said:

Those are wider than they are tall though.  Stacking 20 on top of each other is a bad idea.

That notice board somewhat visible in the picture says "don't go anywhere near it".

Looks stable, but if you stomp them wrongly it'll just crumble.

 

Not the case with interlocking intermodal internationally-standardized intentionally-incredibly-ruggedized containers.

Edited April 4, 2018 by YNM

[Nibb31]

I can usually live with a limited breakage of the laws of physics, as long as the breakage is consistent with the fictional universe and the plot is interesting enough to take your mind off of the inaccuracies. For example, there is noise in space in Star Wars.

What I do have trouble with is totally illogical or out-of-character behavior from the protagonists for no apparent reason (as in The Last Jedi), or a totally illogical plot device (like the mirror universe in Star Trek Discovery).

The mirror universe is populated with mirrors of the main characters, who among the billions of people in each universe, and the fact that they have different personalities and backstories, all end up in the same storyline. What are the odds?

Also, given the fact that mirror universe people have different personalities, different social backgrounds, and wildly different lives, how come their parents, grand parents, and great grand parents all met exactly the same partners at exactly the same times and had the exactly same lineage and gave their children the exact same names.

It makes absolutely zero sense.

On another note, I watched the Russian movie Salyut-7 the other night. It was actually pretty enjoyable, with decent special effects, historically accurate CGI models, and realistic physics. You just have to get over the fact that it is 98% fiction, being based on the fictionalization of a Russian propagandist fake-news documentary that was released a couple of years ago. However, it was totally destroyed by the final scene where

 

Space Shuttle Challenger pulls up alongside Salyut-7, with its payload bay doors closed, and the US astronauts wave from the cockpit window as if they were driving by in a school bus. It ruined the movie for me.

Edited April 4, 2018 by Nibb31

[YNM]

36 minutes ago, Nibb31 said:

The mirror universe is populated with mirrors of the main characters, who among the billions of people in each universe, and the fact that they have different personalities and backstories, all end up in the same storyline. What are the odds?

Well, a mirror don't go upside-down despite going right-to-left...

[wumpus]

2 hours ago, YNM said:

That notice board somewhat visible in the picture says "don't go anywhere near it".

Looks stable, but if you stomp them wrongly it'll just crumble.

I'm curious how long it takes the vegetation to grow like that.  It certainly shows that it has been stable for some length of time, but only in that *exact* position.

[kerbiloid]

9 hours ago, YNM said:

 

1000 years later...

Spoiler

1000 years more later, TV

Spoiler

 

1 hour ago, Nibb31 said:

Space Shuttle Challenger pulls up alongside Salyut-7, with its payload bay doors closed, and the US astronauts wave from the cockpit window as if they were driving by in a school bus. It ruined the movie for me.

Ha-ha, you had a hope that they succeed.

Edited April 4, 2018 by kerbiloid

[YNM]

25 minutes ago, wumpus said:

I'm curious how long it takes the vegetation to grow like that.

Probably a few years. Or even one.

Yes, welcome to the tropical jungle !

 

EDIT : While I'd defend that number, in reality they've been there for at most just under a decade. But you'd be surprised how quickly they come, also those cars have been "dismantled" (bogies, interior removed, leaving just the carriage body), which takes a year or two (they were withdrawn from service at most a decade ago).

1 hour ago, Nibb31 said:

Space Shuttle Challenger pulls up alongside Salyut-7, with its payload bay doors closed, and the US astronauts wave from the cockpit window as if they were driving by in a school bus.

If one were Roger Moore and the other were hot russian chicks that'd be James Bond : In Space ! XD

Edited April 4, 2018 by YNM

[razark]

18 minutes ago, YNM said:

If one were Roger Moore and the other were hot russian chicks that'd be James Bond : In Space ! XD

[YNM]

@razark Why hadn't I noticed it XD Now I want to see it !

 

I guess it's the thing with Sci-Fi : you can't defy far off.

Not with... anything else.

[kerbiloid]

And btw about the highly sci-fi JB-007 series, Moonraker.

Unlikely they could totally eliminate humanity with orchids. It's too cold here. Dandelions maybe.

Edited April 4, 2018 by kerbiloid

[YNM]

35 minutes ago, kerbiloid said:

Unlikely they could totally eliminate humanity with orchids.

It was just the poison I think ?

Also, that is a great film. It's raking all the things from Star Wars straight to the Shooting Stars.

 

[Atlas2342]

In the Expanse universe, don’t they take drugs to survive high-g loads during travel? How would a drug prevent your organs from turning to mush during these burns?

[Bill Phil]

4 minutes ago, Atlas2342 said:

In the Expanse universe, don’t they take drugs to survive high-g loads during travel? How would a drug prevent your organs from turning to mush during these burns?

Maybe a stimulant to keep the heart working, combined with a molecule that strengthens cells? Probably something for pain as well...

Edited April 4, 2018 by Bill Phil

[kerbiloid]

16 hours ago, YNM said:

21 hours ago, kerbiloid said:

Like every human has a dial-up modem in the brain.

No-one said that's impossible yet. If anything, it's just coming around...

But in VR.5 series they enter the same virtual realities by hearing the phone. And interact (walk, talk, make bad things)
While IRL it would stay in everyone's personal mind, and only gentle people in white clothes can help with its exhibition.

[YNM]

58 minutes ago, kerbiloid said:

But in VR.5 series they enter the same virtual realities by hearing the phone. And interact (walk, talk, make bad things)
While IRL it would stay in everyone's personal mind, and only gentle people in white clothes can help with its exhibition.

... so widespread "disorder" ?

[kerbiloid]

10 minutes ago, YNM said:

... so widespread "disorder" ?

Kind of "Don't gallucinate alone. Invite your foes in your delusion."

[DAL59]

7 hours ago, Nibb31 said:

Also, given the fact that mirror universe people have different personalities, different social backgrounds, and wildly different lives, how come their parents, grand parents, and great grand parents all met exactly the same partners at exactly the same times and had the exactly same lineage and gave their children the exact same names.

It makes absolutely zero sense.

It only diverges at one point a few decades before the show though.

 

2 hours ago, Atlas2342 said:

In the Expanse universe, don’t they take drugs to survive high-g loads during travel? How would a drug prevent your organs from turning to mush during these burns?

Your organs can survive the amount of gees shown in the show, but you would be knocked out.  The Juice keeps you awake. 

[razark]

22 minutes ago, DAL59 said:

It only diverges at one point a few decades before the show though.

At 2:36, you see the Apollo landing, with the Mirror Universe flag swapped for the American flag.  Therefore, the point of divergence must have been much earlier than the event depicted in the opening.

[Nibb31]

 

1 hour ago, DAL59 said:

It only diverges at one point a few decades before the show though.

In fact, there are references in Star Trek lore that claim that the Terran Empire existed in the mirror universe centuries before Star Trek Enterprise.

In the mirror universe, Burnham is raised by Georgiou instead of Sarek, which means that it diverges at least before Burnham's birth, which means that although the universe follows different timelines, Burnham's biological parents, who had different personalities and lived different lives, still managed to have sex at the exact same moment and conceived the exact same individual with the exact same genes and gave her the exact same name. It makes no sense.

Other example: Mirror-universe Burnham is presumed dead. What happens if prime-universe Burnham now has a child ? We end up with people who exist in one universe and not in the other. After a few generations, these divergences will cascade and you end up with totally different populations in both universes and the "evil twins" plot device falls apart.

This is what I hate about Star Trek. There are so many parallel universe, alternate timelines, and time travel plot devices that just about anything is possible and the writers don't have to adhere to any kind of rules. It's just stuff that's made up as they go along to make easy plot tricks.

 

Edited April 4, 2018 by Nibb31

[mikegarrison]

On 4/3/2018 at 7:47 AM, ARS said:

2. Kinda strange, but that's Hollywood science for you. Don't even ask how that's supposed to work, I've seen in a more ridiculous example that apparently drinking vodka makes you resistant enough to radioactive fallout, so much that you can basically strolling around inside Chernobyl nuclear power plant without radiation suit

I think you misunderstood. It's just that if you drink enough vodka, you don't really care if you are strolling around inside the Chernobyl nuclear power plant without a radiation suit.

[mikegarrison]

22 hours ago, YNM said:

And on the point of "cringe" commentary, take a look at this "gem"

That whole thing was worth it to set up the joke about how she stole the plans for the car several years earlier.

16 hours ago, magnemoe said:

And that race cars tend to use 4 or 5 point seat belts rather than the simple 3 point ones, if knocked out or seriously injured its hard to leave the car fast.

Race cars use 5 or 6 point harnesses, but they release with one twist of the buckle. It can be hard to get out of race cars quickly, but mainly that's because of the roll cage structures.

[YNM]

1 hour ago, mikegarrison said:

That whole thing was worth it to set up the joke about how she stole the plans for the car several years earlier.

Well, a good Bond film has shock, awe, and humour in them  (like the last one featured in the thread, that's straight off Star Wars XD)

Edited April 5, 2018 by YNM

[StrandedonEarth]

8 hours ago, YNM said:

Also, that is a great film. It's raking all the things from Star Wars straight to the Shooting Stars.

I saw Moonraker as a kid and loved it, of course, but only managed to see it once more before forgetting about it. And I forgot all about that scene, that was hilarious. Thanks for that!

[DAL59]

6 hours ago, razark said:

At 2:36, you see the Apollo landing, with the Mirror Universe flag swapped for the American flag.  Therefore, the point of divergence must have been much earlier than the event depicted in the opening.

We don't know it was apollo.  It could be the newly formed empire claiming the moon.