# Thoughts on Michiu Kiko? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 17, 2014, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-michiu-kiko/683898 "2014-03-17T02:43:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-michiu-kiko/683898/1 "2014-03-17T02:43:39Z")
I want to like the guy, but I am really sick of NBC using him as their go-to scientist for everything instead of finding us a real expert trained in a specfic field. And, Kiko never once excuses himself as not being an authority on everything! I know he’s a physicist, in theory 😉 …but, he oughta stay in his swim lane! Your thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-michiu-kiko/683898/2 "2014-03-17T03:05:06Z")
Nitpick: His name is [Michio Kaku](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michio_Kaku). ---
**Author:** ![dofe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ba0ec/32.png) [@dofe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dofe)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-michiu-kiko/683898/3 "2014-03-17T04:02:40Z")
I don’t see the problem. It’s no different than how NBC uses Dr. Nancy Snydernam as their go-to medical specialist, even though she is an ENT physician who may not necessarily have specialized knowledge in other specific areas of medicine. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-michiu-kiko/683898/4 "2014-03-17T04:05:26Z")
He wrote a good book called _Physics of the Impossible_. Great bathroom reading. No joke. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-michiu-kiko/683898/5 "2014-03-17T13:24:04Z")
He is physicist but he has a working knowledge of general science. Good enough for how in depth they go on most science stories. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-michiu-kiko/683898/6 "2014-03-17T13:59:47Z")
I think he’d have been a much better host/narrator for the new Cosmos than NdGT. ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-michiu-kiko/683898/7 "2014-03-17T16:38:12Z")
I haven’t seen him on NBC, but in general I’m not a fan. He tends to exaggerate and make very broad statements. I think, in his mind, he’s just being enthusiastic about science and technology and expressing it at a level laymen can understand. But I never listen to an interview with him and end up feeling like I’ve really learned anything other than that he think science is gee-whiz neato. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-michiu-kiko/683898/8 "2014-03-17T17:19:02Z")
A few years ago the blogosphere jumped all over him over some comments regarding human evolution. Here’s PZ Myers take on him: > **[Why do physicists think they are masters of all sciences? | ScienceBlogs](https://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2011/02/16/why-do-physicists-think-they-a)** > > If you asked me about cosmology, I'd defer to physicists — I've read Stenger & Hawking & Krauss & Carroll, and I might be willing to say a few generalities about what I've learned about the process, but I'd always say you should look to... ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-michiu-kiko/683898/9 "2014-03-17T17:26:29Z")
I find him to be one of the most “poppiest” of the pop scientists. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-michiu-kiko/683898/10 "2014-03-17T19:10:43Z")
My impression is that he’s mostly about the ratings rather than the science. He’s the go-to guy because he’s willing to stand behind a headline like “Scientists discover time travel!” when the real scientific truth is someone found a particular equation that, given the right inputs, results in time travel. The real discussion among scientists is whether the equation is made wrong by this possible result, but that won’t stop the news from reporting it as a discovery of time travel. When need some guy to talk about time travel in an educated and scientific manner, they cue Michio. (This, by the way, is a mostly made up scenario.) All that said, I don’t know his reputation as an academic or a scientist. He may be doing some really amazing work that is too boring for the headlines. I just know that he’s far too willing to settle for inaccurate or misleading sound bites when that’s what the script calls for. ---
**Author:** ![Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Full_Metal_Lotus)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-michiu-kiko/683898/11 "2014-03-17T21:40:25Z")
He’s been on the Coast To Coast Radio show several times cite: [http://www.coasttocoastam.com/guest/kaku-michio/5587\](http://www.coasttocoastam.com/guest/kaku-michio/5587%5C) Which says a LOT for his willingness to get behind the money, instead of the science. All in all, most of what he says is scientifically accurate, but he has been known to lend his credentials to some pretty “Woo-Woo” stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-michiu-kiko/683898/12 "2014-03-18T00:36:25Z")
I’ve read a few of his books and like him. He’s had the occasional essay in Scientific American and came across well. (My personal favorite living science writer is David Quammen.)