[ASC-list] Beauty and the Geek looking for scientists

[Charles Willock]

Hi All,

   I happen to think that there is some potential for BandG but it may
   not be quite what the promoters are aiming at.

   A year or two back there was a program "SuperNanny" on Aust TV - dealing
   with how to treat young kids who were misbehaving.  (It might also have 
   been characterised as "how to put a young kid in the 'naughty-corner' 
   in 7 different ways").  While the behind-the-scenes analysis might have
   more weight than was apparent on the screen, viewers didn't rank it
   particularly highly

      http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0429442/     ( 5.4 )

   Around the same time there was a program (possibly "Little Angels") with 
   a similar basis - much less well promoted - but which seemed to have a far
   more profound psychological analysis. 

       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Angels_(TV_series)

   Contributors included Tanya Byron, now Professor of Public Understanding
   of Science at Edge Hill University.

   Given the level of interest by the public in trying to understand the 
   other gender, and the ability of the public to see through the limited
   depth of Supernanny, I wonder if, at some point, it might be worth considering 
   an alternative show - perhaps on a similar social basis - but addressing
   the situation in a more analytic/informative way than was done in the first
   Australian BeautyandtheGeek show.  After all, if the BBC can reach the 
   legendary status it has based on films about animals then there must be
   some possibilities for more profound insight in the area of (closer-to-our-
   -kind) human relations.  FWIW, on YouTube, BBC clips are ranking in the 
   order a million while BandG are of the order 1000.



Charlesw

Alternatively, perhaps it needs to be asked ...

   If Beauty and the Geek is a social experiment (as claimed), has it been 
   written up somewhere?  If not, did they do something wrong first time and
   now are having to repeat the experiment?  


> Hmm. So they say that:
> 
> > "The premise of the show is to carry out a social experiment. . .. We will
> > couple together beautiful, socially savvy women with highly intelligent
> > males, and through a series of challenges, see what they learn from each
> > other. The idea is to embrace and celebrate the talent and individuality
> > of each contestant."
> 
> I confess I've never seen the show, but the promos suggest a completely
> different proposition, namely: we put socially awkward nerds and outrageously
> stupid bimbos together and humiliate them all for your viewing pleasure!
> 
> They don't make it look like much 'learning', 'embracing' or 'celebrating'
> are going on at all . . .
> 
> Does anyone have any experience of the show besides my cynical observations
> from afar?
> 
> 
> Regan


      "Creativity and innovation are measured not by what is done, 
           but by what could have been done ... but wasn't"

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------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charles Willock                                 charlesw at cse.unsw.edu.au
c/- School of Computer Science and Engineering       
University of New South Wales,                  
New South Wales  Australia  2052    http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~charlesw