Brian Cox

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[[File:File:I will do science to you.jpg|thumb|Hmmm... I'm wet already.]]
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In 2010 Cox presented and narrated ''Wonders of the Solar System'', in which he seemingly blew most of the BBC's budget on traveling to exotic locations to eloquently explain the wonders of the solar system. This included a solar eclipse seen in India and looking at massive glacial fields to demonstrate how the ice crystals of Saturn's moons are arranged. He also focused on the vast differences between the many moons in the solar system and how they differ in the potential to support life.  
 
In 2010 Cox presented and narrated ''Wonders of the Solar System'', in which he seemingly blew most of the BBC's budget on traveling to exotic locations to eloquently explain the wonders of the solar system. This included a solar eclipse seen in India and looking at massive glacial fields to demonstrate how the ice crystals of Saturn's moons are arranged. He also focused on the vast differences between the many moons in the solar system and how they differ in the potential to support life.  

Revision as of 12:22, 30 March 2011

Your little sister probably has this picture above her bed. You never knew science was so cool.
Anyone who thinks the Large Hadron Collider will destroy the world is a twat.
—Brian Cox[1]

Professor Brian Cox is a physicist and current TV personality born in Oldham, Lancashire. In the 1990s he was a dreeeeamy pretty boy English pop idol who played keyboards in Dare and D:Ream (of 'Things Can Only Get Better' fame, Labour's 1997 election anthem), to thousands upon thousands of screaming pre-adolescent girls.

After his pop career washed up, he returned to physics and got himself a doctorate instead before becoming a professor at Manchester University and a lead researcher for CERN. He has since gone on to do huge amounts of science advocacy and presenting on television and become much more famous than he was in his previous career. At his present age (47) he has no business looking as young and attractive as he does. Basically, he has lived the life every self respecting nerd desires.

Contents

Broadcasting career

After finally returning to physics, Cox found himself as a lead researcher at CERN, putting him in a great position to do lots of interviews talking about his work in the run up to the Great Switch On of the Large Hadron Collider. His first forays into TV pop science included the BBC's Horizon programme, headlining on the episodes "The Six Billion Dollar Experiment", "What On Earth Is Wrong With Gravity", "Do You Know What Time It Is?" and "Can We Make a Star on Earth?". Since November 2009, Cox has also been co-host of BBC Radio 4's The Infinite Monkey Cage with comedian Robin Ince - a "[w]itty, irreverent look at the world through scientists eyes" - and has also worked with Ince as part of Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People.[2]

In Janurary 2011, he and comedian Dara Ó Briain hosted the BBC's Stargazing Live, where they both lived the dream by acting like small children looking at planets and meteor showers.

Wonders

Hmmm... I'm wet already.

In 2010 Cox presented and narrated Wonders of the Solar System, in which he seemingly blew most of the BBC's budget on traveling to exotic locations to eloquently explain the wonders of the solar system. This included a solar eclipse seen in India and looking at massive glacial fields to demonstrate how the ice crystals of Saturn's moons are arranged. He also focused on the vast differences between the many moons in the solar system and how they differ in the potential to support life.

In 2011 he followed the series with the equally flashy Wonders of the Universe. This included insights into time, space, gravity and the origins of matter but there was also some behind-the-scenes banter to go with it. The series and Cox himself was criticised in the Telegraph by Brendan O'Neill for not making humanity special enough and trying to convince us all (in that way all Evil Atheists do) that we were nothing.[3] Cox responded passionately both via Twitter and in O'Neill's comments section, stating that the writer had spectacularly missed the point - many others were equally unimpressed, because if being made of stardust, and being tiny bits of carbon evolving on a rock yet still being able to decipher the mysteries of the universe wasn't mindblowingly awesome you probably don't have much to live for yourself. Numerous complaints were also sent into the BBC regarding the soundtrack to the series, which was stated to be too loud for many viewers. The show was then remixed for the second episode with the music noticeably quieter and far less epic, much to the chagrin of Cox who said that Wonders is piece of cinema, not a lecture. A counter protest was formed via Facebook[4] and successfully managed to skew a poll in the Guardian to show 82% of people in favour of the original soundtrack.

Cox announced via Twitter that the next series is slated for broadcast in 2012, this time called Wonders of Life - implying that he could be muscling in on David Attenborough's territory.

Science evangelism

Cox has been a noted promoter of science, and especially government funding for it. On practically every interview he does he mentions it. His talks for TED include "why we need explorers", which explores the need for good science funding and highlights the minuscule proportion of UK funding that was spent on science, despite the massive amount of money that science churns through the global economy.

Naturally, he opposes the 25% cut to UK science funding demanded by the current conservative-liberal coalition government. During the general election, Cox appeared on Channel 4's Alternative Election Night to discuss the state of UK science funding, why our own stupidity is the biggest menace we face, and how the Large Hadron Collider is emphatically NOT going to suck the world into a black hole. Indeed, in a Radio Times interview he expressed a belief that anyone believing that the LHC is going to kill us all is a twat, and stated via Twitter in 2011 that the 'so-called megamoon' has 'nob all to do with anything', and that '2012 is utter nonsense'.

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