

Once awakened it grows with unbounded fever and it can drive a boy or a girl or a man or a woman to wondrous things. It is this spirit which we all possess but which few ever awaken. There lies, I say, in every human creature what is beautifully expressed by the word enthusiasm – which is from the Greek en theos and it means 'a god within’, 'possessed by the gods’. Writing on the power of enthusiasm in the preface to his book Millergrams (1966), Professor Sumner Miller stated: Despite the simple production values, Sumner Miller’s trademark eccentricity and enthusiasm for his subject matter make the clip entertaining. His mistakes help humanise this brilliant professor for the audience. Sumner Miller makes no attempt to disguise the fact that he is reading from notes, and his occasional stumbles (over the Curies’ names, 'radioactive activity and such’) are left in. The production is very straightforward: a single camera set-up with the only variation being a gradual close-up. In describing what he means by 'modern physics’, he avoids any technical language that might alienate his audience and he sets the historical context for the discussion and experiment to come. The Days of My Life : An Autobiography (1989), p.Sumner Miller’s inclusive introduction reflects his wish to engage as wide an audience as possible with the joy of science: 'these programs are for everybody, ages four to 94, and in all walks of life’.Why cloud the charm of a Chladni plate with a Bessel function? If I had done what they wanted my programs would be as dull as their classes! I knew my purpose well and clear: to show how Nature behaves without cluttering its beauty with abtruse mathematics. They charged me with being superficial and trivial. The academics were a special triumph for me.
#Julius sumner miller lesson worksheets sound series
My first TV series on demonstrations in physics - titled Why Is It So? were now seen and heard over the land.Schools have abandoned integrity and rigor. We don't have academic honesty or intellectual rigor. Boys and girls are emerging from every level of school with certificates and degrees, but they can't read, write or calculate. We are approaching a darkness in the land.As quoted in "TV and Classroom Physicist : 'Professor Wonderful,' Julius Sumner Miller, Dies" by Gerald Faris, in The Los Angeles Times (16 April 1987).Kids are my favorites … their spirit and curiosity has not yet been dulled by schools.in Science Demonstrations, #30 Physics of Toys: Electrostatic - Magnetic, Instructional TV Service (1969).I have some stuff in a state of combustication. Julius Sumner Miller, in What Science Teaching Needs, Junior college journal, volume 38 (1967), by American Association of Junior Colleges, Stanford University.To my own teachers who handled me in this way, I owe a great and lasting debt. What we do, if we are successful, is to stir interest in the matter at hand, awaken enthusiasm for it, arouse a curiosity, kindle a feeling, fire up the imagination. This is a sorry endeavour for no one can be taught a thing. (I take physics merely as an example.) What is the same thing: No one is taught anything! Here lies the folly of this business. We do not teach physics nor do we teach students. Why Is It So?, (1964), Australian ABC Television show."It is important that we subscribe to the requirements of nature.".Why Is It So?, episode 1 (1963), Australian ABC Television show.Otherwise, you see, your work becomes nothing but an idle chore. Whatever work you undertake to do in your lifetime, it is very important that first you have a passion for it - you know, get excited about it - and second, that you have fun with it.Stock phrase, which he used often throughout his career, after he had demonstrated something to an audience, beginning in 1959 with his educational program, Why Is It So? on KNXT Channel 2 in Los Angeles, California.Quotes What we do, if we are successful, is to stir interest in the matter at hand, awaken enthusiasm for it, arouse a curiosity, kindle a feeling, fire up the imagination.


This article about a physicist is a stub. Professor Julius Sumner Miller ( – April 14, 1987) was an American science popularizer, most famous for his work on children's television programs, including his work as "Professor Wonderful" in "Fun with Science" portions of syndicated episodes of The Mickey Mouse Club. Whatever work you undertake to do in your lifetime, it is very important that first you have a passion for it - you know, get excited about it - and second, that you have fun with it.
