[ClearCase_guy]

Not to be a wet blanket, but The Big Bang Theory is a classic example of how science IS NOT done in the real world. Four nerdy guys hang out together and engage in endless hobbies and banter -- and oh by the way they all have PhDs (well, not Howard) and achieve great things ... because science is just kind of like that. It doesn't take hard work. No, no. Just be born brilliant and nerdy. And if you are not born brilliant and nerdy and if great scientific accomplishments don't just happen to you ... then maybe you should just major in journalism or gender studies.

[jocon307]

“The Big Bang Theory is a classic example of how science IS NOT done in the real world.”

I don’t want to be a wet blanket to your wet blanket, but it IS just a silly comedy show, it’s not even like it’s a drama or anything.

I like it a lot because a. it is funny (and the addition of Bialik and the gal who plays Howard’s wife have made it a thousand times funnier, they are both great) and b. it’s one of the rare TV shows that actually has smart people as characters. I always liked Frasier for that too, and of course that show was very, very funny also.

Recently a couple of episodes of Big Bang have been so good that instead of deleting them right away (we watch almost everything recorded) I’ve saved them and watched them again a couple of days later. I can’t say that about any other TV show, ever.

The one where the couples were mixed up (I forget why) as they did a scavenger hunt was just brilliant.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

and oh by the way they all have PhDs (well, not Howard) and achieve great things ...

Actually Howard is the only one who actually has done anything meaningful.

While "space plumber" is great for a giggle it is actually rather crucial if you want to be in space for more then a day or two.

As for the others I know Sheldon has made three "great discoveries" that turned out to be so much hooey. The only one I can think of that actually panned out was the one the red-haired girl helped him with. Raj spotted a comet and I can't think of anything ground breaking Lenard has done.

In fact the whole show seems to be about the fact you may be smart but unless you actually stop playing and start working you never get anywhere.

[Kirkwood]

Dude, its just a TV comedy show. It isn’t about real life.

[Hugin]

C’mon, it’s a TV show. They all go to work all day in the show. But it would be pretty boring to watch them working at a desk for a half hour.

[Moonman62]

I read a book by a cognitive scientist on learning, and he agrees with you. He said studies have shown that the best scientists aren't the born geniuses, but the hardest workers. He gives an example as the best geologist is the one who's seen the most rocks.

Now having said that, Big Bang is a comedy, not a documentary and it's very good for what it is.

[MD Expat in PA]

I love the BBT. It is a comedy and very funny at times. It does not however depict real life or all the hard work scientists do but FWIW, I’ve known quite a few “nerdy” scientists and some of the characters on the BBT remind me of some of my RL friends in some respect; their love of video games, comic books, sci-fi movies and heated arguments over whether ST or SW was better, ST original or STTNG, Kirk of Piccard…LOL!