Neil deGrasse Tyson Complains That “Dune 2” Isn’t a Shining Beacon of Scientific Accuracy
Neil deGrasse Tyson Complains That “Dune 2” Isn’t a Shining Beacon of Scientific Accuracy
Famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has scientific bones to pick with Dune's sand-thumping and worm movements.
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Science fiction not science facts. When was the book written again? And why is an Astrophysicist giving opinions on worm biology? Not his area of expertise?
The specific thing he's bitching about is sand physics, that is that sand doesn't really 'thump'.
This is something that is actually specifically addressed in the book, I'm not sure about the movie; short version is that the sand and weather on Arrakis are weird, and the sand forms more solid areas than elsewhere.
So not only is he complaining about a minor (from a realism perspective, it's important in-universe) detail, he's also showing that he did not read the book
In the movie, the first time Paul uses a thumper he has to dig in a few spots before he finds one that the thumper will work on.
Which is funny because on Earth sand actually does create resonant chambers in the desert dunes that do, under specific circumstances, drive sound hundreds of miles. It's the phenomenon of singing deserts, that goes from anywhere between low rumbles up to flute like warble, it's been documented since the times of Marco Polo. We even have squeaking sand beaches. So, as usual, the pedantic twat is actually technically incorrect.