Wednesday, October 31, 2007

In honor of Halloween....

Three of my favorite science-related quotes from the movies, all from Ghostbusters:

Dean Teager: Your theories are the worst kind of popular tripe; your methods are sloppy, and your conclusions are highly questionable. You are a poor scientist, Dr. Venkman.
---
Ray Stantz: Personally, I like the University. They gave us money and facilities, we didn't have to produce anything. You've never been out of college. You don't know what it's like out there. I've worked in the private sector. They expect results.
---
Peter Venkman: Back off, man! I'm a scientist!

Any other good ones to share? (Real science post coming in a day or two....)

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Doug,
I think there is some truth to the second statement. What do you think?

Unknown said...

My favorite science quote is from Young Frankenstein:

"From that fateful day when stinking bits of slime first crawled from the sea and shouted to the cold stars, "I am man!", our greatest dread has always been the knowledge of our mortality. But tonight, we shall hurl the gauntlet of science into the frightful face of death itself! Tonight, we shall ascend into the heavens. We shall mock the earthquake. We shall command the thunders, and penetrate into the very womb of impervious nature herself!"-Frederick von Frankenstein

And here's one from Ghostbusters:

"Why worry? Each one of us is carrying an unlicensed nuclear accelerator on his back."-Peter Venkman

Unknown said...

I just watched the movie again last week. Here are some great lines.

Venkman: You're always so concerned about your reputation. Einstein did his best stuff when he was working as a patent clerk!
Ray: Do you know how much a patent clerk earns?
Venkman: No!

and

Venkman: Egon, this reminds me of the time you tried to drill a hole through your head. Remember that?

Egon: That would have worked if you hadn't stopped me.

and

Ray: Listen... do you smell something?

finally

Venkman: Ray, pretend for a moment that I don't know anything about metallurgy, engineering, or physics, and just tell me what the hell is going on.
Ray: You never studied.

Douglas Natelson said...

Aaron - I still really enjoy the physicsy explanation-by-analogy....

Egon: Well, let's say this Twinkie represents the normal amount of psychokinetic energy in the New York area. Based on this morning's reading, it would be a Twinkie thirty-five feet long, weighing approximately six hundred pounds.

Real Genius is another movie that gets some of the grad school experience right, even though its characters are supposed to be undergrads (at an obvious stand-in for Cal Tech).

Chris Knight (to his thesis adviser): If you think that by threatening me you can get me to do what you want... Well, that's where you're right. But - and I am only saying that because I care - there's a lot of decaffeinated brands on the market that are just as tasty as the real thing.

gilroy0 said...

Ah, Real Genius. The best "quote" from that movie isn't a quote at all. It's the library scene at the tail end of the "cram for finals" 80s Power Montage(TM), when one of the nameless background geeks suddenly breaks down while studying. He starts screaming "Aaah! Aaah!" individually at each person at the study table, then stands up and runs from the room.

Then Ick, one of Our Heroes, calmly gets up from the library couch and takes his spot at the study table. No one else reacts.

:)

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Senior Facility said...

I don't know anything about metallurgy, engineering, or physics, and just tell me what the hell is going on.