As you watch this film, pay special attention to how the science is overlooked. Please answer the following questions (full and complete sentences):
1) When does Kate first notice the comet? What is her immediate reaction?
2) How does Randall respond when Kate approaches him with the data? How does he verify her results?
3) What specific statistical values do Kate and Randall present to the president? What is the president’s specific response and how does she “re-frame” the research?
4) Kate makes a point of stating the statistical significance of their findings. Which p level discussed in class today best corresponds with her findings? Based on what we learned, what does this p value suggest about the likelihood of a Type I Error (the comet will NOT hit the Earth)?
5) The president asks for the data to be “replicated” by Stanford, Harvard, Yale, etc. What is her reasoning for this?
6) How do the talk shows diminish Kate’s scientific expertise and focus on Randall’s instead? What are three specific examples?
7) How do Randall and Kate make their scientific findings known to the public? How does social media interfere with people taking them seriously?
8) Read the three articles below. Based on the current political climate, how plausible is the outcome of this film? Give a clear example of how social media has thwarted scientific findings from reaching and convincing the general public of significant results. How can we change this growing “distrust” of science moving forward? Cite at least TWO of these articles in your response!
Don’t Look Up (2021) Trailer
EMBO Reports – 2017 – Kabat – Taking distrust of science seriously.pdf
The Science Behind Don’t Look Up
Who the characters in Don’t Look Up Represent”