NextStage had a moment of silence yesterday. Four folks in the NextStage family, Sweetness, CDFW, KBar and myself, took a moment to mourn the passing of Don Herbert, TV's Mr. Wizard. KBar just kept repeating "Damn". CDFW offered "Yes. Damn. Hadn't thought about him for a while. This man was important to my childhood. As I think about it, the fact that he wasn't there for the following generation might explain a lot."I'm one of those folks who remember Mr. Wizard as a strong influence. He didn't demonstrate science to me, he demonstrated the magic of imagination, how disciplined thinking could create worlds that no one else had experienced. Those gentlemen that drop Mentos into Diet Coke? They pay homage to Don Herbert whether they know it or not. Anybody remember Bill Nye the Science Guy? He pays homage and I'm sure he does know it.
Don Herbert was from a very different age. Science was extremely important because the United States was in this Cold War with a place called The Soviet Union. Maybe you heard about it? Don Herbert's Mr. Wizard TV show and science was also important because it took place in a time when everybody knew "science" could answer all our questions.
Yes, this was a time when the single word, "science", meant everything anybody in a lab coat and a blackboard did. "Science" covered every field imaginable and Mr. Wizard brought it all to us in the comfort of our living rooms and in ways that demonstrated it was fun and safe and something we could do, too.
Now there are too many fields. Not everybody has a lab coat or a blackboard. Science isn't always fun and often isn't safe and (according to the latest test scores) not something everybody can do.
I'm going to miss Mr. Wizard. I did think of him from time to time. Sometimes when I prepare a presentation I'll remember something Don Herbert did to focus attention, a little trick of the hands or gaze. Any sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic. Don Herbert, Mr. Wizard, walked that line. He made magic into science and then let us use the science to explore the magic again.
Good bye, Don Herbert, Mr. Wizard.
I'll be speaking at the Society for New Communications Research Annual Awards Gala Summit on 5-6 Dec 07 in Boston. Come on by and say hello.
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