UNINTENTIONAL COMEDY - ERRORS IN MOVIES AND EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL - AS A TEACHING TOOL

Geologists have long enjoyed pointing out scientific boo-boos in movies and other media. A saving grace of such errors is that they can be very useful in classes. Showing a video clip or image and having students identify and assess the errors is both entertaining and educational. Some boo-boos are obvious, such as a volcano erupting under Los Angeles. Others give students opportunities for thought and sometimes calculations. Is it possible to have the magnitude 10.5 earthquake that gave a 2004 NBC miniseries its name? What's wrong with the explanation of how seismic waves move from one medium to another given in the geology lecture in "The Core?" What are three major errors in an often-shown animation of tsunami generation (https://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/hazards/visualizations/tsunami.html)? Discussing such questions develops critical thinking and healthy skepticism. It also opens the topic of the boundary between simplifications needed for dramatic purposes and substantive errors. It would make sense for instructors who use boo-boos in class to come up with a way of sharing examples and experiences.