I haven't seen The Martian movie. The article was making interesting observations on science and technology and how we view it and scientists.
The screenwriter described it as a
spiritual movie in which science is worshiped as a religion and scientists are superheroes rather than ordinary mortals.
On balance people think science is beneficial from the poll results.
Stephen Hawking is somewhat of a pessimist and thinks we need science to rescue us from apocalyptic dangers such as global warming,nuclear war,collisions with asteroids and conquest by nomadic aliens.
So we need to able to escape planet earth and live elsewhere. He publicly supports a Russian billionaire's million pound project to search for aliens which he is certain exist somewhere, though he doesn't think we should be letting them know of our existence through S.E.T.I. style message sending.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/stephen-hawkin ... ai-1521968
On another thread, ant featured this aspect of apocalyptic pessimism. which for those so persuaded, science seems to be the only solution as there is nothing else but the natural material world as they see it.
On a lighter note a B.B.C. comedy series from a few years back called Stella Street featured this anxiety in one episode called; The End.
It features various Hollywood stars and British movie and rock stars, all for some bizarre reason having moved to Surbiton a suburb of London.
Some bad language in this, but funny if a bit cruel in one or two depictions of screen legends.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGlKXEqM8ys
