New presenters of amazing programs on science are helping to create exciting catalysts for thought

I do not have a head for it, but I do have love for it. Practically, I profit from it; philosophically, I endorse it.; Curiosity, inquiry and a willingness to be proved wrong, to bow to the better explanation when it comes along -- these are tonics against the inflexible fundamentalism, the epidemic unthinking, that makes the world a shakier place. And so I have been taking comfort and inspiration from what seems to be a great flowering of science-themed programming, much of it on the Internet, where subjects that mainstream commercial television dubs "not for everyone" may take root and flourish. Apart from PBS, home to "Nova" and "Nature," and some dedicated (or half-dedicated) cable networks like National Geographic Channel, Science and Discovery, television tends to like its science fictional. And while science fiction is a known gateway to a career in serious science and can be similarly stimulating, the workings of the nonfictional universe are more profoundly exciting and all the more amazing for being, you know, real.