Document Type
Student Corner
Abstract
In Adam McKay’s 2021 satirical sci-fi movie Don’t Look Up, two astronomers discover a comet heading directly toward Earth. Despite overwhelming evidence and near-certainty of global extinction, their warnings are ignored and ridiculed. This paper discusses the mathematical and scientific foundations of the movie’s social and political reception, and specifically focuses on orbital prediction and probabilistic modeling as they relate to public understanding of risk. This paper shows how data is often undermined by political and social dynamics, by connecting the fictional events of the movie with real-world crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate emergency. In Don’t Look Up, when society repeatedly ignores clear scientific evidence, this demonstrates the gap between mathematical certainty and public response. This movie presents math as both a tool for discovery, and as a litmus test for collective rationality and the capacity to handle reality.
Recommended Citation
Vedwan, Nysa and Carey, Shane
(2025)
"The Odds Don’t Lie: Mathematical Reasoning and Societal Ignorance in Don’t Look Up,"
LASER Journal: Vol. 3:
Iss.
1.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/laser-journal/vol3/iss1/4
Included in
Numerical Analysis and Computation Commons, Ordinary Differential Equations and Applied Dynamics Commons, Probability Commons, Statistical Models Commons, The Sun and the Solar System Commons