Richard Hamond's Engineering Connections

[beelsebob]

For those of you who can get at iPlayer, one of the top gear idiots is going through engineering bits relevant to F1 cars... It'll be old news to most people, but it's still a fun watch.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b011dcb2/Richard_Hammonds_Engineering_Connections_Series_3_Formula_1/

[Just_a_fan]

I watched most of it on the night. The F1 link was really just a way of making the subject "sexy". Difficult to sell science/engineering programs to the British public these days. Adding a "sexy" tag to it helps with that.

The things they were looking at were quite interesting even without the F1 link - albeit done in a fairly light weight way.

[Muulka]

It's really aimed at children TBH- the way Hammond acts at times, and the simplicity with which things are explained really shows it. It's still interesting though. Was that the RB6 that they had at Silverstone? I thought that they weren't allowed to use cars from less than 2 years ago...

[beelsebob]

It's really aimed at children TBH- the way Hammond acts at times, and the simplicity with which things are explained really shows it. It's still interesting though. Was that the RB6 that they had at Silverstone? I thought that they weren't allowed to use cars from less than 2 years ago...

By the same logic, Top Gear is aimed at children. Acting like a kid is his (along with Clarkson and Slow's) job.

Unfortunately, the simplicity there is about as complex as science presentation gets on the BBC.

Pretty sure it was an RB5 they had there.

[andrew]

It's on again tonight at 20past midnight on BBC2. I'll give it a watch even though I find Richard Hammond to be an annoying little twerp and a bit of a dimwit. James May is much better for anything remotely educational, if you want to limit yourself to the Top Gear team.

[bettonracing]

Guys, the intention of the show is not to be legitimately educational. For crying out loud their litmus proof for the "world's best car" is to fit the car with a helipad and land a helicopter on it while moving.

Have a drink & relax guys.

Kurt

[Muulka]

It's really aimed at children TBH- the way Hammond acts at times, and the simplicity with which things are explained really shows it. It's still interesting though. Was that the RB6 that they had at Silverstone? I thought that they weren't allowed to use cars from less than 2 years ago...

By the same logic, Top Gear is aimed at children. Acting like a kid is his (along with Clarkson and Slow's) job.

Unfortunately, the simplicity there is about as complex as science presentation gets on the BBC.

Pretty sure it was an RB5 they had there.

I thought that too, but it had the inboard mirrors... Maybe a car made from bits? Or an RB6 without the flexy-wing?

[andrew]

The input from the experts was good and the programme could have managed fine with just them. A bit light but sadly this is what the BBC classes as educational these days - a Top Gear halfwit speaking about something they know nothing about.

[Diesel]

The bits at lotus were interesting, never seen a fuel tank put in to the tub before, interesting to see how it's literally squeezed in.

[Muulka]

The input from the experts was good and the programme could have managed fine with just them. A bit light but sadly this is what the BBC classes as educational these days - a Top Gear halfwit speaking about something they know nothing about.

TBH I don't think that any of them are that thick- they just get on like it. Clarkson in particular probably hides his intellect the most.

This is completely off-topic

[Just_a_fan]

I think what riles most people about Clarkson et al is that they get to mess around doing something they obviously thoroughly enjoy whilst getting paid silly amounts of money for it.

I'd love to spned my days hooning around an airfield or some European mountain pass in the latest supercar. If I have to act like a 12 year old to get the job then sign me up!

[beelsebob]

I think what riles most people about Clarkson et al is that they get to mess around doing something they obviously thoroughly enjoy whilst getting paid silly amounts of money for it.

I'd love to spned my days hooning around an airfield or some European mountain pass in the latest supercar. If I have to act like a 12 year old to get the job then sign me up!

To be honest – acting like a 12 year old in those cars almost is a prerquisite to me wanting that job... If I had to behave in them it would be a whole lot less appealing.

[ESPImperium]

Was that the RB6 that they had at Silverstone? I thought that they weren't allowed to use cars from less than 2 years ago...

It was, and it was DC driving it. It was being filmend for this programme, as well as for a BBC F1 television thing that DC used last year at one of the latter GPs last year.

How they got arround the regs, it was a TV day and a Shakedown of RB6-05 or RB6-06 that Vettel and Webber used for the final GP of the season last year. I have a feeling it was RB6-05 that Vettel used from Belgum to Abu Dhabi last year. In other-words the chassis that won the drivers championship for Vettel.

It was a good programme, altho simplistic, was a good programme to explain most of the basics. However, id really like to see a programme presented by someone that could go into more detail, for us tech-heads.

[beelsebob]

Was that the RB6 that they had at Silverstone? I thought that they weren't allowed to use cars from less than 2 years ago...

It was, and it was DC driving it. It was being filmend for this programme, as well as for a BBC F1 television thing that DC used last year at one of the latter GPs last year.

How they got arround the regs, it was a TV day and a Shakedown of RB6-05 or RB6-06 that Vettel and Webber used for the final GP of the season last year. I have a feeling it was RB6-05 that Vettel used from Belgum to Abu Dhabi last year. In other-words the chassis that won the drivers championship for Vettel.

It was a good programme, altho simplistic, was a good programme to explain most of the basics. However, id really like to see a programme presented by someone that could go into more detail, for us tech-heads.

Agreed on the technical front, unfortunately, I saw a documentary on how BBC science programming evolved. The original mandate was that each program must be at least one of "educational, entertaining or informative". Unfortunately, in the 70s and 80s management applied a new rule that educational programming must be entertaining as well. Thus we're stuck with a double standard for all BBC programming. The news is allowed to be just informative; DrWho is allowed to be just entertaining; but science programming must be both educational and entertaining.

No hard core lectures for you

[Ciro Pabón]

Sorry, mods, I cannot resist.

Well, if that's the case, I have news for BBC.

Hardcore lectures.

http://www.ted.com/

I dare you to say they are not darn interesting, much more than softcore. Some of them are the XXX-core of lectures, I'd say. Wink, wink.

For example, some "jaw dropping" (this is an actual category of the site):

Blaise Aguera y Arcas shows Photo Synth
http://www.ted.com/talks/blaise_aguera_ ... synth.html

Hans Rosling gives you good news on poverty and then does something amazing
http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_r ... verty.html

Notice how important is to have a person behind the talk. It's not the gadget, it's the person behind it.

Some people can make you hear or read, others cannot.

Notice also how when delivering a complicated presentation you can give yourself luxuries you cannot normally have, like saying things out of the blue and being stupid when needed.

I feel, strongly, that in scientific or technical lectures is where the person can be closer to the audience because there is a connexion between audience and speaker beforehand. In those programs or lectures you cannot substitute the technician for the presenter. Remember Sagan, for example, or Attenborough. Would you hear a lecture by Feynman but delivered by any other person? This is something you can have in mind when you write here, btw. It's us, not the gadgets. That's what makes a site interesting or a caricature of knowledge. Nothing attracts a strong soul more than knowledge and this soul submits willfully to no one but those who teach.