The passion evident in Sumner Miller’s statement is reflected in his performance in this clip. A tiny spark can set the world aflame and the light of a single candle can pierce the darkness. Once awakened it grows with unbounded fever and it can drive a boy or a girl or a man or a woman to wondrous things. It is this spirit which we all possess but which few ever awaken. ![]() There lies, I say, in every human creature what is beautifully expressed by the word enthusiasm – which is from the Greek en theos and it means 'a god within’, 'possessed by the gods’. Writing on the power of enthusiasm in the preface to his book Millergrams (1966), Professor Sumner Miller stated: Despite the simple production values, Sumner Miller’s trademark eccentricity and enthusiasm for his subject matter make the clip entertaining. His mistakes help humanise this brilliant professor for the audience. Sumner Miller makes no attempt to disguise the fact that he is reading from notes, and his occasional stumbles (over the Curies’ names, 'radioactive activity and such’) are left in. The production is very straightforward: a single camera set-up with the only variation being a gradual close-up. ![]() In describing what he means by 'modern physics’, he avoids any technical language that might alienate his audience and he sets the historical context for the discussion and experiment to come. Sumner Miller’s inclusive introduction reflects his wish to engage as wide an audience as possible with the joy of science: 'these programs are for everybody, ages four to 94, and in all walks of life’.
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