Three Cheers for Two Students

The importance of, and hysterical resistance to, "The Principle" continues to be demonstrated.

The previous two times I screened "The Principle" you couldn't find room inside to sit down.

Given the massive, worldwide media assault, I expected similar circumstances at our U of A screening.

Instead, when we arrived, there were a paltry 25 people or so.

Turns out, as I was informed by students at the screening, that the faculty- specifically, certain Teaching Assistants on the astronomy faculty- had spent the previous few days demanding that students not attend the screening, repeating the hysterical "Scientists and Captain Janeway Hypnotized Into Film None Of Them Have Any Idea What They Said Or Read From The Script" media narrative, which will, as the film nears release, become one of the most richly comical sources of amusement in a long time 

Now it is very easy to see how wrong this is.

These folks are, allegedly and according to all appearances, scientists and teachers.

But scientists are trained to observe before they reach conclusions.

Teachers of science are, it is devoutly to be wished, paid to teach students to observe before reaching conclusions.

In the case of the University of Arizona, we see that at least some of the astronomy faculty are, as a practical matter, where the rubber meets the road, profoundly committed to the exact opposite of the scientific method, and are quite prepared to enforce this perversion of scientific methodology directly on their students.

But this approach is intrinsically and certainly doomed.

As I was leaving to return to Los Angeles, two of the attendees stopped me on my way out of the parking garage.

They told me they were members of the Student Events group at UA, and they were both very surprised to have seen how balanced "The Principle" was, in direct contradiction to what the media and the faculty at UA had said (without having bothered to see it first).

They invited us back for another screening, one for which they assured me they would do everything in their power to see to it that the actual *film* was described, rather than the hysterical fictions of a terrified establishment, which is apparently determined to do its utmost to keep you from the astonishing new scientific evidence which shows, as Lawrence Krauss has said, that Copernicus may in fact be "coming back to haunt us".

"The Principle" is the one film you absolutely MUST see this year.