![]() Content was based on questions drawn from the natural world. ![]() Some I thought out – not too well, to be sure – but I was learning to think.Įach ten-minute episode comprised a lesson in some aspect of ‘quantum physics today’. To some I got the answers in dialogue with my Mama and my Papa and with my teachers. What is the Earth made of? Why is the sky blue? Why is the sunset red? How does a bird soar? Why does a brook gurgle? How does an earthworm crawl? Why is a dewdrop round? Why does corn pop? Why does a wood fire crackle? And a thousand like questions. Writing on his own early childhood and its influence on his philosophy Sumner Miller explains:Īll of a half-century ago – when I was a little boy on the farm in my native New England – I remember asking all kinds of questions. Or, more simply in my own phrase, 'Why is it so?’ To stir your imagination, awaken your interest, arouse your curiosity, enliven your spirit – all with the purpose of bringing you to ask, as young Maxwell put it, 'What’s the go of it?’ – or, as Kepler had it, 'Why things are as they are and not otherwise’. In the preface to his book, Millergrams (1966), a collection of questions and answers originally published in The Australian newspaper, Sumner Miller expresses his core aspiration for his audience: ![]() His infectious enthusiasm, animated delivery, wild expressive eyebrows and eccentric turn of phrase meant that science could be fun and entertaining as well as educational. For over two decades, from 1963 to 1986, Sumner Miller and his silent laboratory assistant ‘Mr Anderson’ entertained a surprisingly large ABC television audience in a series of lectures and demonstrations dedicated to questions of physical science. So there’s no one simple answer for whether acupuncture is effective it depends on what condition you’re trying to treat.Why It Is So, which was recorded live from the Physics Department of the University of Sydney, featured the iconic Professor Julius Sumner Miller, a professor of Physics from El Camino College, California. You see, the Cochrane Collaboration tend to study the efficacy of specific treatments for specific conditions. And what do we find? That it’s a bit more complicated than that… Many people find acupuncture an appealing treatment option (Image by mscaprikell, via Wikimedia Commons)For an answer, we turn as we always do to the Cochrane Library of systematic reviews. Now, this observation clearly falls into the “not science” category. This was sparked by a claim that was made to Stuart that the benefit of acupuncture could be “proved” by feeling better sometime after seeing an acupuncturist. Recently on the show, we had a discussion about what separates that which is science from that which is not. So it clearly reads zero!What do you think?Ī most ingenious paradox: tell me your answer in the comments! But wait a minute! Instead of aiding they may be opposing. Let me offer you some help! A thousand to the right and a thousand to the left – aha! The scale reads 2000. So now we have 1000 grams pulling to the lef and 1000 grams pulling to the right. Now from each end of the scale hang 1000 grams. Let these strings pass over pulleys, if you wish, to minimise friction trouble. All very simple! Now place this scale on a horizontal platform. Now hang 2000 grams on it: it reads 2000 grams. Hang 1000 grams on it: it reads 1000 grams. Tragically, he died in 1987 at the age of 77 (although, if he had lived, he’d be 102 by now, which would be quite impressive).īut if you’re craving some old-fashioned science communication, you can see some clips of his program Why is it so? on the ABC website, at Or, if you must, you can watch a certain chocolate commercial featuring an egg and a milk bottle.Īnd in the tradition of encouraging the enquiring of minds, here’s a conundrum from his book of “Millergrams”, also called Why is it so? The late, great, Professor Julius Sumner Miller, as seen in the heyday of black and white TV (photo: ABC)Ī real professor – actually a physicist who studied under Albert Einstein – Julius Sumner Miller demonstrated science to Australian television audiences from 1963 to 1986. Those who are older than, say, 30, should remember the great Professor Julius Sumner Miller. ![]()
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