Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Associated Press
MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) - Professor Alan Alda has a homework assignment for scientists. Yes, that Alan Alda.
The actor known for his Emmy-Award-winning work on the TV show "MASH," is a founder of the Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University on eastern Long Island.
Alda tells The Associated Press the center is sponsoring a contest asking scientists to explain, in terms a sixth-grader could understand: "What is time?"
Well-known for his affinity for science, Alda is the longtime host of PBS's "Scientific American Frontiers."
He says society must have a better understanding of science.
This is the contest's second year. Last year, scientists were asked to explain what a flame is. Alda says he was 11 years old when he asked a teacher that question and got an answer he didn't understand.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
