anecdoter's Full Review: Popular Mechanics Magazine
Great New Products? You bet. Excellent automotive and home hints and tips? They're in there. Good, informative articles? Not quite.
Popular Mechanics always has intriguing covers, usually of some fantastic new mechanical beast that looks like it is light years ahead of anything anybody has ever dreamt of. Unfortunately, the articles behind these fantastic covers do not share the cover artist's ability at grabbing the flighty attention of the mind.
For example, one Popular Mechanics cover illustrated the seven most challenging questions science has yet to answer (Can we cure cancer? Can we be immortal? Is there life on other planets? Is there a human soul? etc.) However, the article that corresponded to the cover was a short three page article that summarized the answers to these questions with one or two paragraphs. The article promised that answers to these questions would be found in the next hundred years.
That sounds nice, but the only proof that the article gave was a single study done for each question. The article claimed that the existence of the human soul would probably be proved first because one researcher had worked with some Buddhist monks and found what parts of their brain was affected the most by enlightened meditation. While it is quite possible that the human soul does not exist, or is part of the mind, it is equally possible that the human soul does exist and is not related to the mind, or it uses the mind as a gateway. I do not know... however, I do know that this article did not even begin to acknowledge these possibilities.
In addition, the section about extraterrestial life mentioned the fact that pulsars are probably made by intelligent life, however it did not mention that SETI has spent of four trillion years of computer time analyzing the sky and has not found any conclusive proof of ETs. This article also failed to mention the ethical and scientific issues and challenges that correspond to each of man;'s greatest scientific dilemas.
In another issue of Popular Mechanics, a truck was modified to chase UFOs. While the article was mostly about what modifications were done to the vehicle, the cover made the article sound like a massive UFO hunt was orchestrated. While embellishment is a common human endeavor, I must admit that Popular Mechanics seems to be a information tease.
To be fair, this magazine did an excellent job discussing the Navy's plans for a new submarine. With the article were complete illustrations of the different classes of subs the Navy has used since the submarine was invented. Also, the article seemed to be quite balanced at discussing the argument about whether the Navy needs a new class of submarines now that the Cold War is over.
Aside from some information depleted cover stories, Popular Mechanics has some very good features. The shade tree mechanic feature is a good primer for anyone interested in general auto repair; however, it is usually not specific, not even to a make, and most people who attempt to work on there cars can find the same, if not better, information in a Chilton's created just for their model and make. The home repair feature is good for just about anyone who owns a house. These articles give good hints on a variety of topics that home owners need to know about, such as winterization, air circulation, fall maintainance, and septic systems. The Planet Watch is an excellent quick reference to anyone who is interested in environmental disasters and anomalies; unfortunately, these listings are only a sentence or two and fail at giving the reader any understanding about any of the details about these events.
I have found that the illustrations and diagrams in Popular Mechanics are among the finest around. They are always clear and concise witha proper use of color to illustrate thermal flows and/or motion. However, some, if not most, articles leave readers looking for more information.
For example: the many automaker "spy" reports all have good pictures of the masked vehicles, but there is hardly any information on what is to be expected on the technical side. While it is not possible to receive all the information about vehicles that automakers are trying to keep secret, it would be nice to, at least, read the impressions the photographer had of how the car handled and behaved as he took pictures of it.
As for the computer reviews in Popular Mechanics, it would be best to look at an actual computer magazine. While the reviews at PM do an adequate job, the reviews always sound more like press releases than actual field tests. The latest PC vs. Mac test proved that the two machines were just about the same, but did not talk significantly about the user interfaces of the machines, the software libraries for each platform,and how the upcoming releases of their respective operating systems might change the balance.
The In Brief section, which highlights scientific news and new products is good, but definitely lives up to the "brief" part of the a name. Most of the summaries come with a picture, but how good is a picture when you do not understand how something works or what its implications are? It would be nice if the editors added another paragraph to each brief that went past the what to how, and most importantly, why.
All in all, Popular Mechanics is a good magazine for those who love gadgets or who like to tinker with things. People fascinated by the latest in military technology would probably fall in love with this magazine; as it seems, about ten of each year's cover stories seem to involve military hardware. There is also some good information in this magazine for those who wish to expand their mechanical apptitude.
For those interested in the theories behind the technology, or what the implications of the new technologies are, it may be best to read magazines along the line of Scientific American or Discover.
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