Smash Lab

This program has the same problem I often see in _Mythbusters_. Intelligent,
skilled people doing things in fields they aren't familiar with not checking
their assumptions or examining prior art. (Do schools not teach this any more?)

Take their attempts to improve crash barriers. They ignored - or maybe just
didn't bother finding out - how Jersey Barriers actually work, and added large
blocks of frangible concrete to the bases. The results were, of course, worse
than with the unaltered barriers. Because those work not by absorbing momentum
but by redirecting it. Vehicles striking at a shallow angle are redirected
away from the barrier by its shape. Vehicles striking at steep angles are
directed upwards, turning velocity into altitude and then dropping them down
across the top of the barrier.

After two failures, one of them actually stated "We've just added a stunt
ramp." Yet they still didn't stop and examine their preconceptions, but set up
another test.

This is as bad as when Jamie made the classic mistake of thinking rockets need
something to push against, and directed the exhaust of his rocket boat under
water. As I predicted when I heard him state his plan, the boat did far worse
than when exhausting into air.

And I am so tired of people referring to concrete as "cement."

Yes, fields often benefit from an outside view. But far more common is people
making fools of themselves by not learning the basics first.