The Search for Solutions

Released: 1980-06-10

Runtime: None minutes

Episode Overview

An astronomer discusses his method of collecting photographic evidence; a giant hole in Arizona was learned to be the imprint of a meteorite; a re-enactment of a recorded sighting by English monks; a phone company employee uses his highly-trained ear to listen for subtle signs of disturbance on the phone lines; an epidemiologist was able to deduce why the women and children of a tribe in New Guinea were dying; a criminologist discusses the types of legal evidence used in criminal trials; a psychologist testifies in court about the unreliability of the human memory and a witness's response to police photos; in the case of the man convicted of bank robbery, a criminologist comments on how the witness identifications may have been manipulated; paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey collects evidence of his theory that there were once three human species co-existing in Africa at once; a recent photo of a huge crater on the dark side of the moon may have been the result of a major meteorite.

Series Overview

A nine part television series, produced by J.C. Crimmins for PBS. Music composed, arranged and performed by Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays. The stated purpose of “The Search for Solutions” is to stimulate interest in science and technology, primarily among the young. The film comprises nine 18-minute sections touching on various aspects of scientific inquiry that its makers say can be shown as a whole, as it is in this engagement, or in any combination of its parts.