Factual mistakes in shows and books

[FPAlpha]

Back when Avatar was in the movies i saw it with some friends, 2 of them biology students at the time and they went ballistic when they saw Sigourney Weaver put small probes of some stuff into test tubes with a handheld dropper thingy.. "That's not how you do it!!!"

I let such small things slide, it's very minor and not important to the story. However it irks me sometimes when it's a major faux pas or when realism is ignored because the writing is lazy (i like the show Supergirl very much but it's one of the worst offenders.. recently one character put on a power enhancing exoskeleton (think Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow) and she hit someone full force with her bare fist.. it should have pulverized every bone in her hand).

Another thing that i never realized was a mistake was the widespread usage of power paddles whenever someone#s heart has stopped and they need to jumpstart it again like you would do with a car. I learned that's not how it works.. paddles are used when the heart beats in a dangerous arrythmic way and it actually stops the heart so it can restart in a natural and hopefully correct way, so it's more like a reboot of the heart instead of jumpstarting it. It's especially irksome of some medical show claims they have doctors on staff to help them with realism and then they pull this off consistently.

 

[Owain Taggart]

There's a certain amount in any kind of topic, I think it's a combination of two things: bending the facts a bit to fit the story, and sometimes it's just a plain lack of research. I feel though that if it's important enough in the story to mention, then they should at least get the basics down.

One of my favourite examples is with a locally-filmed TV show. A character in the pilot mentions that he has a "telescope with a refractor". Small mistake, but irritating enough, as we have a strong astronomical community in this city and they could have called any of us for research. In reality, a telescope is either a reflector or a refractor. It's the type of telescope, and the correct term for the character to say would have been 'refracting telescope".

Another example I like to use is a Little Caesars commercial from a few years back. Common enough mistake that you see it all the time by those who don't know how to set up scopes and it's one that's fairly crucial: the end of the tube facing the wrong way looking down at the ground rather than towards the heavens. Wouldn't see very much at all!

Admittedly, small problems, although I think it's the small things that can end up making a big difference.

 

[Relayer1]

Back when I was a kid I loved the Six Million Dollar Man, but couldn't understand why a bionic arm and legs allowed him to lift such heavy objects without crushing his spine...

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ Maybe that's bionic too.

My favorite inaccuracy is one I see on L&O all the time - the ability to use image enhancing software to zoom in to any picture (even one that's so grainy it looks like a 1950's test pattern) almost down to the molecular level. I'm sure most crime shows do this as well.

 

[sojourner]

^ Maybe that's bionic too.

My favorite inaccuracy is one I see on L&O all the time - the ability to use image enhancing software to zoom in to any picture (even one that's so grainy it looks like a 1950's test pattern) almost down to the molecular level. I'm sure most crime shows do this as well.

"Enhance" is such an over used one it has it's own youtube videos.

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[Asbo Zaprudder]

I guess Blade Runner is to blame for that trope.

Not really a factual mistake but I wonder from where the semi-scripted automata in Westworld obtain their energy -- nanomachine equivalents of mitochondria?

 

[-Brett-]

CPR deserves an honorable mention. Shown pretty routinely on TV. I imagine medical dramas are an exception (don't know, don't watch them), but everything else as far as I've seen almost invariably gets it wrong.

 

[Santaman]

Shotgun related stuff is up there with the worst, if a shotgun has enough force to blow your oponent away you sure as hell will be blown away yourself probably breaking both your arms, action = reaction you know... laws of physics..

 

[publiusr]

CPR deserves an honorable mention. Shown pretty routinely on TV. I imagine medical dramas are an exception (don't know, don't watch them), but everything else as far as I've seen almost invariably gets it wrong.

Doesn't often work
http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/10/health/cpr-lifesaving-stats/

 

[The Katatonic]

This is a great blog - the author who writes it is a pediatric nurse, and among other topics she covers is debunking medical errors in fiction and TV. https://redwoodsmedicaledge.com/

I'm not sure whether the prevalence of medical errors is due to ignorance, needing it to be true for a story, or what. I have to say I don't particularly notice them unless they're pointed out to me.

Blue Bloods recently did an episode that made fun of the inaccuracies that happen in cop shows, where it's noted, for instance, that two female cop characters would wind up shooting each other, the way they're standing.

So I just wonder, do you notice it that much? Does it take away from your enjoyment of the story? Or do you suspend your disbelief and watch/read it?

My BFF is a 28 year nursing vet and she refuses to watch any medical show. She said they're all ridiculous. Didn't stop me from enjoying House though...

 

[The Katatonic]

I think I've seen a couple of TV shows with IPv6 addresses displayed onscreen -- "Mr Robot" and "Person of Interest" perhaps.

On topic, I'm more annoyed by factual mistakes in non-fiction news and documentaries than in fiction provided the latter is entertaining and any inaccuracies are reasonably consistent within the fictional universe.

I saw a mini-doc on Mr Robot and "supposedly" (I wouldn't know) all the code is written by real hackers....or, they at least called themselves as such...I was a bit flummoxed as to why they'd be so pleased to be shown in an interview, but then ...I obviously know nowt.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

I saw a mini-doc on Mr Robot and "supposedly" (I wouldn't know) all the code is written by real hackers....or, they at least called themselves as such...I was a bit flummoxed as to why they'd be so pleased to be shown in an interview, but then ...I obviously know nowt.

I guess some people feel a need to prove to the world that they exist and deserve the respect of their peers. It seems to be more prevalent among criminal types, who then act surprised when they get shopped to the authorities by those peers.

 

[Crazy Eddie]

Pretty much any movie or TV show that heavily features hackers or hacking or some kind of computer genius activity will be 90% bullshit and 10% "Loosely based on what hackers pretend they do, which is actually bullshit."

I didn't like how The West Wing made missile defense experts look like fools

In fairness, they kind of ARE, considering the defense contractors keep getting in trouble for faking the results of their tests.

 

[danellis]

...

My real profession is mathematician, which just doesn't come up in pop culture. ....

Did you ever watch Numb3rs?

dJE

 

[Nebusj]

Did you ever watch Numb3rs?

Occasionally. Not often; when the show was on I just didn't have the kind of schedule letting me make time for shows I didn't feel strongly about. My recollection was I felt like it was a competent enough crime show with the gimmick that they might name-drop the Ramsey Theorem or whatever.

No serious complaints, especially if (as I am) you're willing to allow experts to be good in a broader field than they would be in reality, and for all the test results to come back within an hour of screen time with unambiguous results.

 

[The Katatonic]

I guess some people feel a need to prove to the world that they exist and deserve the respect of their peers. It seems to be more prevalent among criminal types, who then act surprised when they get shopped to the authorities by those peers.

Yeah..but...I thought the whole point was to be an individual, under a non god, indivisible, or something like that? I don't get it....I mean, I get musicians and artists and writers (I fall under all three and STILL don't like being called out) like throwing themselves out...but...I dunno...it just seems so odd to make oneself known if they are breaking the law.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

^It's odd how people often either can't conceive the likely consequences of their actions or, even if they can, perform those actions anyway.

 

[Corwwyn]

As parent to a very young person, I've found very annoying the seemingly endless ignorance and/or laziness of illustrators of children's books.

I mean, you expect the characters to be anthropomorphic whatevers, and the trees, rocks, buildings often heavily stylized, etc. But, important, educational details should, to my eyes, be factual.

The most grievous, common examples that I see cropping up are rainbows with only 6 or even 5 colours, or bending the wrong way; and 4 pointed snowflakes without a 6 pointed anywhere to be seen. Grr.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

As parent to a very young person, I've found very annoying the seemingly endless ignorance and/or laziness of illustrators of children's books.

Why not just turn it into a game and say "There is a deliberate mistake in this picture, can you spot it?"

 

[publiusr]

The illustrations and the care taken in older childrens books are better than what passes for children's books now.

The info is out of date--but the level of care is better.

So having old lovely books with newer ones can show kids that we do learn and adjust.