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Science Corner: Portrait of an Emerging Scholar

B & W Photo of J. R. R. Tolkien in his army uniform
Recognizing that the Tolkien family did not endorse the film, I’ve opted to use a photo of the man himself rather than promotional material from Tolkien. (Photo public domain)

This post discusses the film Tolkien. I don’t think there is anything in this film to spoil, given that it depicts events from a century ago, but consider yourself advised.

Tolkien, a biographical film about author and philologist J. R. R. Tolkien, is admittedly a stretch from my usual science-themed fare. But when I realized the advertising of the film underplayed its focus on the early days of Tolkien’s scholarly career, I figured I should bring it to the attention of this community. Consider it the inverse of Avengers: Endgame; a film I suspect most Emerging Scholars will want to see even if relatively few moviegoers do. I expected something like a cross between War Horse and Shakespeare in Love, an on-the-nose tour of WWI and the elements of Middle Earth Tolkien drew from it; what I got was more of a spiritual sequel (prequel?) to Dead Poets Society.
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Science Corner: To Infinitesimal and Beyond!

ants photo
“We should talk some time. Have your people call my people.” (Photo by Muhammad Shahmeer Athar )

This reflection on the themes of Ant-Man and the Wasp tries to avoid spoilers, but as always feel free to wait until you’ve seen the movie if you want to know nothing about it when watching.

I know I’ve already covered several movies recently, but I hope you’ll indulge me one more time this summer for the film I’ve been most looking forward to this year: Ant-Man and the Wasp. I love the dynamic and inventive visuals of size-changing in action. I’m intrigued by the Quantum Realm. Most of all, the idea of a superhero who talks to ants brings me a lot of joy.
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Science Corner: Ashes to Ashes, But What of Synthetic Dinosaurs?

Photo of active magma flow
Is this how the dinosaurs end? Not on Chris Pratt’s watch. (Photo by skeeze)

This reflection on the themes of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom avoids spoilers, but as always feel free to wait until you’ve seen the movie if you want to know nothing about it when watching.

It is widely reported that an asteroid strike 65 million years ago caused dinosaurs to go extinct, although a variety of hypotheses including widespread volcanic eruptions remain plausible as alternatives. In Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, there is no doubt that a single volcano could wipe out the small cluster of de-extinct dinosaurs inhabiting the ruins of two abandoned theme parks. And so congress calls on rockstar “chaotician,” dinosaur survivor and one-man Greek chorus Jeff Goldblum for expert testimony on whether to mount a rescue effort. What they get is a doom-laden sermon delivered as only Goldblum can, through which the film waves at a number of weighty, real-world topics before getting down to the real business of widescreen therapod pyrotechnics.
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Science in Review: A Droid in Every Garage

Droid L3-37 from Solo: A Star Wars Story
Revolutionary robot L3-37 (Photo © Disney)

This week’s discussion covers some specific, spoiler-y details from Solo: A Star Wars Story. Proceed accordingly.

Last week we took a look at how Solo: A Star Wars Story interrogates the role of spaceships and interstellar travel in the Galactic Empire. The abstract concept of transportation (as opposed to specific transportation technology) is not an obvious theme for science fiction, but artificially intelligent robots are. What it does with ships, Solo also does for droids, taking a ubiquitous feature of the setting and giving them their day in the twin suns.
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Science in Review: Just Gotta Get Right Outta Here

Photo of Han Solo and Chewbacca in the cockpit of the Millenium Falcon from Solo: A Star Wars Story
The trio united – Han, Chewie, and the Falcon. (Photo © Disney)

This reflection on the themes of Solo: A Star Wars Story tries to avoid spoilers, but as always feel free to wait until you’ve seen the movie if you want to know nothing about it when watching.

“Fast ship? You’ve never heard of the Millennium Falcon?” “It’s the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs.” With those lines, Han Solo and ultimately George Lucas stirred up a controversy still brewing 40 years later. Han’s boast sounds impressive, but when you find out a parsec is a unit of distance, not time, you wonder how it’s meant to prove the speediness of the legendary ship. Hands have been waved at explanations, but now with Solo we get as much of an in-galaxy justification as we can likely expect. A trivial point to be sure, but the deep dives into astrophysics inspired by that dialogue represent about as much science as Star Wars is interested in. To be sure, all of the films feature technology far beyond our current capabilities, but mostly they are part of the setting rather than the theme.
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