I’m going to have to science the shit out of this!

I just watched the excellent movie “Black Mass” starring Johnny Depp as the criminal James “Whitey” Bulger. But the reason for this post isn’t to talk about that movie. It’s to talk about the second trailer, subtly different from the first, I saw for the movie “The Martian” in which Matt Damon’s character, Mark Watney, says “I’m going to have to science the shit out of this!” The book on which the movie is based is one of the few I gave a 5 out of 5 rating last year and will definitely read again. The two trailers I’ve seen give me hope the movie will be as good as the book.

Even if the movie is only almost as good as the book I hope it is seen by a large number of people who consider themselves religious. I want those people to think about the role religion and prayer played in the rescue of the eponymous character (i.e., none) and compare that to the role science and engineering played. I want them to think about the role religion has played in giving us the wonders we take for granted like the ability to talk with a family member in real-time thousands of miles away. Or be cured of an infection that just a hundred years ago would have meant a death sentence. Or give someone born deaf the ability to hear via a cochlear implant.

You’re welcome to your religious beliefs but I’ll take science any day of the week when it comes to making my life better.

Update 2015-10-02: I saw the movie this afternoon. I thoroughly enjoyed it and encourage everyone to see it. Having said that the book is better. But that is because I’m a geek who appreciated all of the science and engineering in the book which had to be left out of the movie to keep it to a reasonable length. Note that the science and engineering in the book can be appreciated by anyone who can add 2 + 2 and get 4.