Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Could Batman Really Exist?

To date, I have not described my anticipation at the new Batman film, "The Dark Knight." When the trailer debuted on the internet, I was enthralled, captivated. Batman is, after all, my favorite superhero and has been since I started reading comics in the 1970s. And I was one of the guy skeptical about Heath Ledger's casting but I trusted director Christopher Nolan. The trust was well placed.

There were always three films on my summer To Do list (Iron Man was a happy and quite entertaining surprise). Wall-E spoke to my kid heart; Indiana Jones 4 spoke to my teenager heart; and The Dark Knight spoke to my adult, crime fiction heart. But, of the three, if forced to choose just one to watch, Batman would win.

Now, today, I offer you this story in Scientific American: "Why Batman Could Exist--But not for long" (hat tip to David Louis Edelman via Lou Anders). In this interview, E. Paul Zehr, a professor of kinesiology, describes the real-world version of a Batman. It's leading up to his book, Becoming Batman: The Possibility of a Superhero, published in October. You can tell Zehr has done his research: just click on some of the link. Quite enjoyable and it might help you pass the time until Friday.

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