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The hill I will die on: If Hollywood blockbusters must dabble in science, can’t they get the small stuff right?
Project Hail Mary, Jurassic Park: from dino-mosquitoes to a spaceship’s roar, pointless mistakes on the scientific details make me wince
TL;DR
- The author, a science writer, was annoyed by a scientifically inaccurate scene in the film Project Hail Mary involving an improperly loaded centrifuge.
- While accepting larger scientific impossibilities that drive the plot, the author finds small, careless mistakes more irritating.
- Examples of tolerated scientific liberties include the alien Rocky's spaceship in Project Hail Mary and faster-than-light travel in Star Wars.
- The author points out factual errors in Jurassic Park, such as the impossibility of de-extincting dinosaurs from fossils and the misrepresentation of a nectar-feeding mosquito as blood-sucking.
- The core complaint is that filmmakers should pay attention to small scientific details, as they are hard-won and their inaccuracies are disrespectful.
- The author concludes by stating that if accuracy in scientific minutiae is too difficult for filmmakers, they should reconsider making science-related films.