Dumbed Down Science Docs - Very Annoying

I’d like to think that if I was wrong about something I would have the decency to admit to it, sometimes you don’t think you are wrong or don’t even realise it, but this time I think I may have made a stupid mistake.  This morning I watched the first episode of Brian Green’s excellent documentary series based on his book the Fabric of the Cosmos.  In this series there is less dumbing down than in other science docs, well the first episode didn’t seem as dumbed down as others.

I found the documentary extremely interesting especially when it described   Higgs Boson and the Higgs field, the way it was described by Brian Green made a lot more sense than the concept of a god particle that is responsible for mass.  Why is it common practice to deliberately mislead the public with silly names for scientific process, and why do science docs then tend to dumb these processes down?

I know the idea behind simple, easy to understand, science docs is to try and interest ‘Joe Public’ in science matters, but it spoils it for people like myself who want to understand it more, but are past the age of going to University or college, to learn about it in greater detail.  There should be some kind of idiot level; this documentary is for people who know nothing about science. This documentary is for people with some knowledge of science or astronomy or physics or whatever.

I wrote a post saying they will never find a god particle and I feel foolish because I based it on the dumbed down nonsense most documentaries spew out.  I suppose it is my own fault and I shouldn’t be so brazen in my opinions, but if something is explained in many programmes in a certain way and it makes no sense, then I feel the urge to comment on it.  Similarly when they are explained better like the concept of a Higgs field and the way sub-atomic particles move through space and how they create mass makes more sense when it’s explained in greater detail. 

So my post about why there is no god particle is likely rubbish and nonsense, based on the information I was aware of at the time, which of course was a limited dumbed down amount of information is incorrect.

I wish there were more complex science docs made. I understand why there isn’t, unfortunately in this day and age science is thought of as a pariah by many people.  Still I find it hard to believe there are not more people like myself who enjoy science but are never going to do a science degree.

On final note, the concept of the holographic Universe, I think I have mentioned before, is incredibly fascinating, wow; imagine what that will do to our understanding of life, the Universe and everything, if it is proved correct.  I look forward to watching the rest of Brian Green’s series, and you never know if I ever feel well enough, I may get around to reading his books.