Physicists Dissecting "Interstellar"
Not even that…. good.
Accurate Science Fiction?
I love watching science-fiction films. In fact, as Student Union President during my Master’s I used to organize geology-related films about which whe had recently rearned in lectures. At least geology-related science-fiction films are usually so bad that they are good again: The Core, 2012, San Andreas, Dante’s Peak etc. Just for reference, in The Core the main characters used a giant drill through magma in the earth to jump-start the metal core’s rotation…. cough.
Whenever I watch a sci-fi movie from a field I am less familiar with, I find it exciting to learn if the plot was at least marginally in accordance with the laws of nature. Honestly, there exits the full breadth of science-accuracy delivered by Hollywood from almost-documentary to completely bogus fluff. In my opinion, the Goldilocks situation is met if they achieve to combine excitement and awe with a reasonable adherence to laws of nature, e.g. “Jurassic Park”.
For the past New Years days I made it an occasion to re-watch “Interstellar” – a gem in the astrophysics realm I had already seen in the theater when it was released. Most of the plot seemed relatively plausible to me. But I am not an astrophysicist, and what do I know about the details of General Relativity? So let’s find out what the the professor of astrophysics at North Carolina State University, Dr. Katie Mack, has to say in her review for the World Science Festival.
Cinema Peer Review: Astrophysicist Katie Mack Reviews ‘Interstellar’
Well, returning from that read, I’m glad that Matthew McConaughey is still with us and did not have to be spaghettified. Dr. Mack brought up numerous pain points that I did not realize they were there. Ach, you were the chosen one, Interstellar.
Bonus
Scientific American: In “2012” neutrinos melt Earth’s core, and other disasters
American Geophysical Union: Cinema Peer Review: Astrophysicist Katie Mack Reviews “Interstellar”
GeoTimes: Watching The Core: A movie review
Arizona Geological Survey: Review: San Andreas – The Movie
