Season 9

1988 · 12 episodes

Episodes

1The Magic of MemoryDo you think you've got a bad memory? Forget people's names? Would you like to able to remember things better? Tonight master magician Paul Daniels will help you out - not with any magic tricks, but with some fascinating memory-improving techniques. Paul's been using them for years, and recently they have even helped him to learn a foreign language - at the rate of over 700 words a week! Paul says anyone can improve their memory, so join him as he demonstrates (with the help of Dr Mike Gruneberg, Debbie McGee, the Man in the Moon, Father Christmas, and Donald Duck) the magical power of your memory.
2Sheer GeniusNylon stockings have always had a special appeal: to women for their silky sheerness; to men for their sensuous sheen. Imagine a world without them, where even the loveliest leg got lost among the laddered lisle. That's how life was before a manic-depressive chemist from the American mid-west invented nylon. For ten years Wallace Carothers struggled to crack the chemistry of synthetics, and to get a grip on his hang-ups about women. In the lab, he eventually achieved success; outside it, his life was a failure. Or so he thought; little did he know he was to become the man who touched a million legs.
3Your Child's Diet on TrialAre our children adequately fed? Does a modern diet provide them with enough important vitamins and minerals? Two major scientific trials on children's nutrition have recently been completed in Britain and the USA. The studies have asked the surprising question: could a poor diet affect children's behaviour and academic performance? Q.E.D. has been given exclusive access to these trials and their findings are being made public for the first time tonight. It's a programme no parent should miss.
4Glimpses of DeathFor Shakespeare, death was 'that undiscovered country' from which 'no traveller returns'. But today, as medical science improves, more and more patients can almost literally be brought back from the dead. And occasionally they tell of strange experiences, some of which appear to defy scientific explanation. Dr Peter Fenwick, an expert in brain function, has made a special study of 'near death experiences'. He asks: are they simply hallucinations; true glimpses of an afterlife; or do they hint at a new dimension of human consciousness?
5To Fly Like a BirdFor years, pioneer flyer Gunter Roshelt has striven to crack the secret of a bird's flight. He's tried everything, from solar energy to his own son's muscle power. But it was not until he flew across the Danube using a craft designed 170 years ago, that he got his latest inspiration. If birds fold their wings, then so should he. But would they work?
6Mad Dogs and an EnglishmanDeath Valley in California is the hottest place in the western hemisphere. Not even mad dogs go out there. Q.E.D. follows Gary Shopland's attempt to run 20 marathons in 20 days in temperatures of up to 1360F. Monitoring his physical and mental reactions to these extreme conditions were a physiologist, a paramedic and a sports psychologist - If mad dogs don't, then what makes Gary run?
7Whirlpools in the AirThe storm that swept the South East last October took everyone by surprise and changed the landscape for ever. Francis Wilson looks at the forces at the heart of the British 'hurricane', and investigates other whirlwinds that are around us. These whirlpools in the. air keep jumbo jets flying, create hailstones and blow people off their feet. A CBC production
8The Snooker MachineAt first it seemed just an amusing idea - why not teach a robot to play snooker? A little eccentric perhaps, but good for a laugh. Soon it became a project of startling technical complexity. Koorosh Khodabandehloo tells the story of how, with the help of Professor Richard Gregory , world champion Steve Davis and a team of computer experts, he painstakingly gave a mechanical arm sufficient artificial intelligence to challenge snooker commentator Ted Lowe to a match he will not easily forget.
9Putting You in the PictureAn in depth view of how the Imax 'rolling loop' system was developed and the inherent problems leading up to its development, that would allow large format 70mm film stock to travel transversely through a projector.
10With a Goal in MindTraditionally, it's the manager of a football team who's supposed to do all the thinking; the players are expected simply to keep fit and to deliver what he asks of them. But sports psychologist John Syer has other ideas. He believes that, by encouraging players to think for themselves, the performance of both individuals and of the team as a whole can be improved. As an experiment, Q.E.D. offered John Syer 's services to First Division Queen s Park Rangers for a period ot six weeks. The results surprised the whole club
11Breaking the Silence'It's like living in a glass cage,' says 42-year-old Christine Harding , who went totally deaf two years ago. But there's a slender hope on the horizon, if she becomes one of the few people in Britain to benefit from a small device called a cochlea implant. For some people it has brought back at least some sounds into their world of silence. Q.E.D. followed Christine as she learned to come to terms with going deaf and having the implant fitted. Would it work or would she have to cope with disappointment?
12It's Not Easy Being a DolphinAre you an Aspirer, Reformer, Succeeder or Mainstreamer? Could this explain why you fly British Airways, read the Guardian, use the Halifax or prefer Legal and General insurance? Or perhaps you are an Individualist, which might explain why you drink Guinness? Lifestyle analysis is just one of the new weapons in the adman's arsenal - which includes methods as diverse as psychod rawing - or even psychodrama. Q.E.D. meets one member from the four lifestyle groups, and looks at the research techniques Guinness used to design their latest campaign.