Since these things come up in numerous threads, I'm going to start this one in the Cooler.
What are your favorite things that Hollywood just gets 'dead wrong.' I'll start with some non Sci-Fi, more 'real world' Hollywood'isms I cannot stand (but feel free to add 'Sci-Fi' too).
Firearm suppressors are my personal favorite. All they do is lower the report of an ignited cartridge about 10db, possibly more depending on distance. Yes, this is a full order of magnitude, but lowering from 130db to 120db to avoid hearing damage still means it's loud as freak when you're nearby.
Insert John Wick II as the latest to push this myth.
Threatening by pointing guns is a pure Hollywood'ism that needs to die, and only applies to military forced that have completely brandished rifles. Police hate Hollywood for this, as everyone else who respects firearms. Police to not go around pointing their weapons. At most, they unbuckle their holster, and are ready to pull, or have pulled because they are moving rapidly, but have their weapon pointed down and away from everyone and everything. Pulling means you are expecting-to-fire, aiming (pointing) means you ARE going to fire! Law abiding citizens are even more restrained that police officers, because they do not seek harm, but avoid it unless someone is literally going to die in front of them.
Virtually everything from Hollywood, short of a few, professionally done (by select law enforcement and military contractor companies who 'show it correctly').
Radar lock is my next favorite. Radar either tracks or it doesn't, and it's pretty instantenous after scanning and finding a target. Also, it's not used for infrared, which is so simple -- at least in the 1950s compatible flavor (which all aircraft are, even Russia as they copied the AIM-9B design when one was lodged into a Chinese fighter during a Taiwanese Straight conflict -- off-bore is another discussion) -- it's literally a copper wire used for simple audio 'growl' that tells a pilot how 'hot' the CCD sees the target.
Blame Bruckheimer-Scott's Top Gun basically creating this one -- although I love it when I see it in space games, as if we went backwards in technology.
Tracing phone calls may have changed in the age of cell relay, although triangulation is similar. Lines are mapped, especially for 911, although information can be spoofed in the case of the former. Towers are also mapped. It's just a matter of access to the data, which the US government can -- depending on which laws you consider that apply.
Blame countless movies, the list is endless, even in the age of cell phones now too.
What are your favorite things that Hollywood just gets 'dead wrong.' I'll start with some non Sci-Fi, more 'real world' Hollywood'isms I cannot stand (but feel free to add 'Sci-Fi' too).
- "Silencers" (firearms)
- "Pointing Guns" (law enforcement, as well as law abiding citizens)
- "Lock-On" (weapon platforms)
- "Tracing" (phone calls)
Firearm suppressors are my personal favorite. All they do is lower the report of an ignited cartridge about 10db, possibly more depending on distance. Yes, this is a full order of magnitude, but lowering from 130db to 120db to avoid hearing damage still means it's loud as freak when you're nearby.
Insert John Wick II as the latest to push this myth.
Threatening by pointing guns is a pure Hollywood'ism that needs to die, and only applies to military forced that have completely brandished rifles. Police hate Hollywood for this, as everyone else who respects firearms. Police to not go around pointing their weapons. At most, they unbuckle their holster, and are ready to pull, or have pulled because they are moving rapidly, but have their weapon pointed down and away from everyone and everything. Pulling means you are expecting-to-fire, aiming (pointing) means you ARE going to fire! Law abiding citizens are even more restrained that police officers, because they do not seek harm, but avoid it unless someone is literally going to die in front of them.
Virtually everything from Hollywood, short of a few, professionally done (by select law enforcement and military contractor companies who 'show it correctly').
Radar lock is my next favorite. Radar either tracks or it doesn't, and it's pretty instantenous after scanning and finding a target. Also, it's not used for infrared, which is so simple -- at least in the 1950s compatible flavor (which all aircraft are, even Russia as they copied the AIM-9B design when one was lodged into a Chinese fighter during a Taiwanese Straight conflict -- off-bore is another discussion) -- it's literally a copper wire used for simple audio 'growl' that tells a pilot how 'hot' the CCD sees the target.
Blame Bruckheimer-Scott's Top Gun basically creating this one -- although I love it when I see it in space games, as if we went backwards in technology.
Tracing phone calls may have changed in the age of cell relay, although triangulation is similar. Lines are mapped, especially for 911, although information can be spoofed in the case of the former. Towers are also mapped. It's just a matter of access to the data, which the US government can -- depending on which laws you consider that apply.
Blame countless movies, the list is endless, even in the age of cell phones now too.
