A scientific investigation has steps that must be followed in order to come up with the best results. These steps are as follows:
1. Ask a question.
2. Do research.
3. Make a hypothesis.
4. Perform an experiment.
5. Analyze the results.
6. Draw a conclusion.
These steps form the scientific method and are of vital importance when trying to perform an investigation.
In the “Walking on Water” section of the show, Jamie and Adam wanted to know whether ninjas could actually walk on water or not. They did research at a dojo where people can go to be trained and Adam built a pair of circular, wooden shoes. They made the hypothesis that they wouldn’t work and they didn’t. He experimented with starting positions but he still couldn’t walk on water. They came to the conclusion that it was not possible to use the shoes to walk on water.
The second section of the show was the other three trying to see if it was possible to catch a swinging sword with your bare hands. They designed a sword-catching rig and did tests to find the right strength of the hands and the right speed of the sword. They conducted the experiment four times and found that the sword moved too quickly to catch.
Lastly, Jamie and Adam attempted to see whether or not it was possible to catch a speeding arrow with one hand. They built a machine to shoot the arrow and a hand to catch it. However, after several tests, the only way the hand could catch the arrow was if they made the hand move at a superhuman speed. Based on the results, they came to the conclusion that a human could not catch a speeding arrow.
Over all, I think that the show was very scientific and they performed their investigations quite well. In both the “Stopping the Sword” and the “Catching an Arrow” sections, there was a lot of exact calculations being made and they conducted the experiment several times. However, they did not make their hypotheses very clear before the experiments. In the “Walking on Water” part of the show they gave us a good hypothesis and conclusion, but the experiment was not exact.
-Alex Henesy
3.5/5 Stars
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In this episode the Mythbusters crew tested several myths such as, using wooden braces to walk across water, could a ninja catch a sword, and catching an arrow by hand.
In order to test each of the myths the crew builds, or repurposes old equipment to meet their needs. In the case of "catching an arrow by hand" two separate rigs were built, one to shoot the arrows, and a robotic hand to catch them. Each was primed, and adjusted to activate at a set time, formulated by calculations, and estimates. They test these myths multiple times, and adjust settings when needed, in order to further validate or rather invalidate (as was the case with arrow catching) each myth.
In the scientific method a problem, or situation is imagined, an solution is offered, researched, and tested, then the results are gathered and analyzed. The show also follows this very same method in testing their myths.
On the whole I absolutely recommend Mytbusters, it is genuinely entertaining, but it also has some real substance too. I think it's entirely possible you might actually learn something while watching.
-James Hall
4/5 stars.
