Thread by @mikamckinnon

It's #StargateAlive time! I was the scientist, so if you watched the show you know my handwriting really, really well. All that math? Legit real physics, although often modified to function in a fictional setting.

I had cheatsheets of my actors' handwriting so I could mimic it well enough to do "Finish this equation" props (like this notebook for @dhewlett blending solar flares & black holes & time travel). #StargateAlive

Other times, I'd be the one creating cheatsheets for my actors to reference to make sure they didn't slip in extraneous factors of 2 (naughty naught!) #StargateAlive

(I allllmost feel bad I'm posting David in his old-man makeup. Almost.)

One of the biggest challenges is that the math needs to be recognizable yet still challenging: How sad would we be if our fictional heroes were stumped by F=ma?!
#StargateAlive

One of my favourite single equations was in SGA Brainstorm, where I got to start with parallel universes & end up with storm formation. Mathematically sound, yet so not something you'd EVER do in physics class. #StargateAlive

Brain Storm was when we had our highest concentration of scientists on set (@BillNye & @NeilTyson). It's also when I met @martingero (& got intimidated enough to go silent for the longest 30 seconds ever) & developed instantaneous envy for @jewelstaite's boots. #StargateAlive

But SGU is when I go to do the most science ever. The first few episodes? That's all a undergrad geology lab modified for planetary exploration.

(I so wish I could've gone with them to film in the desert!) #stargateAlive

I got to fill an entire hallway with equations, using the starship as notebook paper where every wall segment reflected a different plot point, argument between scientist-crew, or pet project from one of my scientists wandering off to reflect on problems to solve. #StargateAlive

Yes, that means if you look closely enough at the background math, you can actually get hints about future episodes. Spoilers! ;) #StargateAlive

While the core boards at the entryways were constants (with a map describing what type of problem was where), the "hero" boards for each episode were removable so that directors could pick where in the hall they wanted thrilling math-action to take place. #StargateAlive

The boards were later auctioned off and are now in private fan hands.

Amusing, the fan didn't actually believe that I wrote them when I tried to give them a bit of extra info to go with their purchase. Ah well. #StargateAlive

This is my fav board in all of Destiny. It was located right on the edge of the set, next to the "and to infinity!" greenscreen run by VFX sup @marksavela. It references my first research project as a wee proto-physicist. #StargateAlive

That's the science @dhewlett & @DavidBlue were mysteriously arguing about one episode, an argument that was never clarified in-script.

They were fighting about the shape & fate of the universe. They learned enough cosmology to pick sides based on their characters! #StargateAlive

How can you do anything but adore a cast that learns about competing options for the shape and fate of the universe (& then-current research results) to make character choices?! SciFi can totally be a teaching platform, dammit!

#StargateAlive

I quickly learned to photograph EVERY snippet of math I ever did. It was important both to back-reference during future episodes (consistency!), but also to repair or replicate if something got nudged, erased, or smeared after filming started. #StargateAlive

Confession: My real-life handwriting is far tidier than my on-screen handwriting. Apparently I'm implausibly neat for a scientist! ;)

I also smuggle books onto spaceships. No shame. #StargateAlive

But I didn't always get my long, luxurious hallways of math to my lonesome. Sometimes just out of shot was a wee bit more crowded, and I had to be as tiny & fast as possible darting in to reset furious scribbles or wild erasures between takes. #StargateAlive

For every thing you see an actor interact with on camera, odds are it has duplicates. I think I made something like 3 sets of 12 identical notebooks for Rush to flip through, scribble in, and tear out pages! #StargateAlive

We'd also occasionally use my actual textbooks in shots. My sups were worried I'd lose them, but I feel better those freaking things got some use after I finished school!

Can you guess the widest shot in this set? Totally loved how abruptly the staging cuts off! #StargateAlive

My first fan-event was TimeGate, a Stargate x Doctor Who convention in Atlanta. I was SO NERVOUS people would be mean to me & pick at my science. Instead, they were totally awesome & I made my first con-friends I still see at DragonCon. #StargateAlive

When I do practical science fiction presentations, I transition into audience participation with Freeze Lightning, setting my audience the task of generating plausible-but-plot-won't-let-us-solve-it-yet solutions. #StargateAlive

That's the key of being a scifi scientist: How can science support the plot?

Anything that doesn't? Isn't going in the story. #StargateAlive

Gratuitous math? Yeaaaah, let's do that! The orange/blue was always fun. #StargateAlive

The Stargate cast & crew not only created interesting science-inspired stories, but they also ran a lovely set and have been awesome to me. So yeah, I'd love to see #StargateAlive again, back on air with a whole new series!

If you want me to come talk scifi science at your next convention, pester your event organizers. Many of them have no idea the job even exists (or how unusual Stargate was by employing the same one year after year). Storytime is always fun! #StargateAlive

Q: Have you ever hidden Stargate Easter Eggs in your other film work?
A: Totally. The asteroid in @CWNoTomorrow is a blend of 16 Psyche (target of @NASAPsyche) & 99942 Apophis (named by fans for @actualApophis). #StargateAlive

Q: Any other places the science of Stargate lives on? #StargateAlive
A: Cosmology is way too much fun to contain in just one show. The concepts later popped up in Dark Matter. Thread:

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Q: I had no idea Stargate had a science consultant until today! Where can I learn more?
A: Searching Stargate + my name should find quite a bit. See also: #DriveToRevive #TestTheDrive #StargateRising & #StargateAlive. (oooh, I feel so rebellious doing multiple hashtags!)

#StargateAlive science:
Fan Q&A with @BaronDestructo [text]: josephmallozzi.wordpress.com/2008/09/14/sep…
Fan Q&A with Louis Ferreira [audio/text]: louisferreira.org/Mika_McKinnon.…
Q&A with @Inverse [text]: inverse.com/article/18647-…
Q&A with @fromthedesk_ [text]: fromthedesk.org/10-questions-m…

More #StargateAlive science:
Q&A with @SciEntExchange [text]: scienceandentertainmentexchange.org/article/scient…
Conversation with @CaraSantaMaria's Talk Nerdy [audio]: carasantamaria.com/podcast/mika-m…
Scifi Science with @listen2spacepod [audio]: listentospacepod.com/episodes/2016/…

Yet more #StargateAlive science:
Profile with @yalescientific [text]: yalescientific.org/2017/04/young-…
Profile with @APSphysics [text]: aps.org/publications/a…
Mika's lessons from doing scifi science at @PhysicsToday [text]: physicstoday.scitation.org/do/10.1063/PT.…

Final batch of #StargateAlive science:
Science of SGA Brain Storm for @io9 [text]: gizmodo.com/real-atmospher…
Science of SGU Human for @io9 [text]: gizmodo.com/cryptography-e…

@ae_stories has audio of my first time on set (called "Go On…Do Science at Them!"), but I can't find it.

D'awww, I was just reminded of now-topical Wrinkle In Time references when doing a Stargate & scifi science Q&A with @SwiftOnSecurity! Monster-thread; this bit is about why you can get 2 of causality, relativity, or faster than light travel:

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Oh! & if you like physical books, I did a Q&A with BioWare writer & Stargate fan @SamMaggs for Wonder Women, her book of profiles on women in STEM. worldcat.org/title/wonder-w…