--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Television is just the wrong medium, at…" description: "\"Television is just the wrong medium, at least in prime time, to teach science. I think it is hopeless if it insists on behaving like television. . . .\"..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ab/jeremy-bernstein-79767_hopeless_television-is-just-the-wrong-medium-at-l_119863.jpg" --- # Television is just the wrong medium, at least in prime… ![“Television is just the wrong medium, at least in prime time, to teach science. I think it is hopeless if it insists on behaving like television. . . .” quote by Jeremy Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ab/jeremy-bernstein-79767_hopeless_television-is-just-the-wrong-medium-at-l_119863.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ab/jeremy-bernstein-79767_hopeless_television-is-just-the-wrong-medium-at-l_119863.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ab/jeremy-bernstein-79767_hopeless_television-is-just-the-wrong-medium-at-l_119863.jpg) > “Television is just the wrong medium, at least in prime time, to teach science. I think it is hopeless if it insists on behaving like television. . . .” [Jeremy Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bernstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Television, especially prime‑time, is ill‑suited for teaching science because its format prioritizes entertainment over depth and accuracy. **In simple terms:** TV can't effectively teach science. Key Takeaway Medium matters for education. Themes media education science communication format limitations Mood skeptical reflective Type critique observation When to use this quote - Science documentaries - Online video tutorials - Classroom lectures Key Concepts cognitive load attention economy Practical Applications - Use interactive platforms for scientific outreach. Questions to Reflect On - What formats best balance engagement and rigor? - How can TV improve its scientific credibility? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hopeless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopeless/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Like Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-television-426993/) [Mediums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mediums/) [Prime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prime/) [Prime time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prime-time/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-think-771672/) [Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach/) [Teach Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach-science-1399944/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) [Television Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television-just-436575/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-teach-231754/) ## Related quotes > [Film and television are just different. Film is cool because it's a complete package. You know the beginning, middle, and end. You can plan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-butler/film-and-television-are-just-different-film-is-cool-because-it-s-a/) [Austin Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-butler/) > [I am not a big fan of what I call 'ambient television,' which just washes through you in a very polite way. I like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-purefoy/i-am-not-a-big-fan-of-what-i-call-ambient-television-which-just/) [James Purefoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-purefoy/) > [“To function as a citizen, you need to know a little bit about a lot of different sciences—a little biology, a little geology, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-hazen/to-function-as-a-citizen-you-need-to-know-a-little-bit-about-a-lot-of/) [Robert M. Hazen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-hazen/) > [We must also teach science not as the bare body of fact, but more as human endeavor in its historic context-in the context of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isidor-isaac-rabi/we-must-also-teach-science-not-as-the-bare-body-of-fact-but-more-as/) [Isidor Isaac Rabi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isidor-isaac-rabi/) > [How scientists go about their job: and it's a process, it's a question of asking questions, respecting observation, respecting experiment, having tentative explanations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-nurse/how-scientists-go-about-their-job-and-it-s-a-process-it-s-a-question/) [Paul Nurse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-nurse/) > [“In a way our job is not so much to inspire the scientist in kids, but rather to allow it to grow on its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rivka-galchen/in-a-way-our-job-is-not-so-much-to-inspire-the-scientist-in-kids-but/) [Rivka Galchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rivka-galchen/) > [The world exists, as I understand it, to teach the science of liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-world-exists-as-i-understand-it-to-teach-the-science-of-liberty/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I feel it is unnatural and immoral to try to teach science to children in a foreign language They will know facts, but they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-v-raman/i-feel-it-is-unnatural-and-immoral-to-try-to-teach-science-to/) [C. V. Raman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-v-raman/) > [ We should not go to the \[poor countries\] and say: 'We come to ... teach you our science, to show you your errors.' ...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/we-should-not-go-to-the-poor-countries-and-say-we-come-to-teach-you/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [I think that local school districts - not the federal government - should make the decision about how they teach science, biology, economics. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-jindal/i-think-that-local-school-districts-not-the-federal-government-should/) [Bobby Jindal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-jindal/) > [I would teach how science works as much as I would teach what science knows. I would assert (given that essentially, everyone will learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-would-teach-how-science-works-as-much-as-i-would-teach-what-science/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [We must teach science in the mother tongue. Otherwise, science will become a highbrow activity. It will not be an activity in which all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-v-raman/we-must-teach-science-in-the-mother-tongue-otherwise-science-will/) [C. V. Raman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-v-raman/) > [None but a woman can teach the science of herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/none-but-a-woman-can-teach-the-science-of-herself/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [In the '70s and '80s there was an attempt in K-12 to teach science through art or art through science. The challenge today is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maeda/in-the-70s-and-80s-there-was-an-attempt-in-k-12-to-teach-science/) [John Maeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maeda/) > [In science it is not enough to think of an important problem on which to work. It is also necessary to know the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-szilard/in-science-it-is-not-enough-to-think-of-an-important-problem-on-which/) [Leo Szilard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-szilard/) ## More by Jeremy Bernstein > [Never speak more clearly than you think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bernstein/never-speak-more-clearly-than-you-think/) [Jeremy Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bernstein/) > [The number of neurons in the brain is very much larger than the number of components in a computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bernstein/the-number-of-neurons-in-the-brain-is-very-much-larger-than-the/) [Jeremy Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bernstein/) [Explore all 3 Jeremy Bernstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bernstein/) ## More Hopeless quotes > [Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory. This really came home to me once I started writing fiction, that memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/memory-is-like-fiction-or-else-it-s-fiction-that-s-like-memory-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) > [Entrepreneurs take measured risks, not hopeless gambles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kirk/entrepreneurs-take-measured-risks-not-hopeless-gambles/) [Charlie Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kirk/) > [“The sky is always beautiful. Even when it's dark or rainy or cloudy, it's still beautiful to look at. It's my favourite thing because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/the-sky-is-always-beautiful-even-when-it-s-dark-or-rainy-or-cloudy-it/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [Nothing is hopeless that is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/nothing-is-hopeless-that-is-right/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [Of Course God does not consider you hopeless. If He did, He would not be moving you to seek Him (and He obviously is)...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/of-course-god-does-not-consider-you-hopeless-if-he-did-he-would-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It all suddenly seemed like a hopeless fight, but so what? I told myself. What does it cost you to pretend that the can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-j-cogswell/it-all-suddenly-seemed-like-a-hopeless-fight-but-so-what-i-told/) [Kelly J. Cogswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-j-cogswell/) > [“An atheist is someone who is disappointed in his search of god. He is a man who strongly needed god but couldn't find him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/an-atheist-is-someone-who-is-disappointed-in-his-search-of-god-he-is/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [I am not anxious to be the loudest voice or the most popular. But I would like to think that at a crucial moment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-not-anxious-to-be-the-loudest-voice-or-the-most-popular-but-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It’s so easy to lose faith and become lost in all of the politics of the world. That’s why we need the arts. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/it-s-so-easy-to-lose-faith-and-become-lost-in-all-of-the-politics-of/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [If God is not with us, we do not want to continue. If the Sermon on the Mount is simply impractical, our mission work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-baker/if-god-is-not-with-us-we-do-not-want-to-continue-if-the-sermon-on-the/) [Heidi Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-baker/) > [I'm a hopeless father. I don't know why. I don't think I was supposed to be a father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-o-neal/i-m-a-hopeless-father-i-don-t-know-why-i-don-t-think-i-was-supposed/) [Ryan O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-o-neal/) > [Tell me, if I confess my feelings to you, will you say you feel the same? Or am I going to have to cringe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/tell-me-if-i-confess-my-feelings-to-you-will-you-say-you-feel-the/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) > [I have come to think that life is a far more limited thing than those in the midst of its maelstorm realize. That light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-have-come-to-think-that-life-is-a-far-more-limited-thing-than-those/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Hopeless. Freak. Elephant. Pitiful”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-cooner/hopeless-freak-elephant-pitiful/) [Donna Cooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-cooner/) [Browse all 1,202 Hopeless quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopeless/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Television is just the wrong medium, at least in prime time, to teach science. I think it is hopeless if it insists on behaving like television. . . .", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeremy Bernstein" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bernstein/television-is-just-the-wrong-medium-at-least-in-prime-time-to-teach/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hopeless" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bernstein/television-is-just-the-wrong-medium-at-least-in-prime-time-to-teach/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ab/jeremy-bernstein-79767_hopeless_television-is-just-the-wrong-medium-at-l_119863.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ab/jeremy-bernstein-79767_hopeless_television-is-just-the-wrong-medium-at-l_119863.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ab/jeremy-bernstein-79767_hopeless_television-is-just-the-wrong-medium-at-l_119863.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Television is just the wrong medium, at least in prime time, to teach science. I think it is hopeless if it…” — Jeremy Bernstein", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jeremy Bernstein", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bernstein/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Television is just the wrong medium,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bernstein/television-is-just-the-wrong-medium-at-least-in-prime-time-to-teach/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bernstein/television-is-just-the-wrong-medium-at-least-in-prime-time-to-teach/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```