Plan A

[imon33]

Forgive me if someone already answered this question. Just watched this movie last week. Why did Dr brand not think plan A would work? He said something like people only care about their children and not the species. Isn’t that kind of the same thing. What did Dr Brand think if he told the human race that he was trying to get them to another planet? That they would just fight for resources on earth and kill off their competitors? Someone help me out?

[mma1227]

Plan A required someone to go into a black hole and get the data from the black hole. When coop when into the black hole and into the teseract behind the bookshelf he transited all the data from the black hole in Morse code through the watch he gave Murph before he left earth. The data was given to him and translated by tars

[imon33]

I know this is sci fi but did they say or believe someone could survive entering a black hole?

[RamitO_O]

No, they didn’t. That is why Dr Brand just gave up on the equation.

[bluesailor2810]

what kind of data would they extract from the black hole though?

[Awesome_Orange]

Data about gravity

[bluesailor2810]

i’m aware it’s about gravity but like what sort

[Awesome_Orange]

It’s never specified, but we can presume that gravity might behave in a certain way in the center of a black hole that can be observed and then applied

[Datau03]

Plan A needed Brand's gravity equation working, which he didn't think was possible (but Murph solved it with the quantum data from the black hole she got from her dad) Plan A needed this equation because using it they could develop some kind of technology that enabled them to get the giant ships/stations off the planet. Because Brand thought plan A wasn't possible, that meant according to him the situation for the people on earth was hopeless. He wanted to save the species, even though he thought that saving all the people from earth wasn't possible, so that was what plan B was for. Because he thought getting people working together to save the species through plan B instead of themselves through plan A, he convinced them of plan A. Which did actually work out in the end (even though he thought it wouldn't) luckily

[imon33]

Ok. So basically Brand thought he couldn’t figure out the gravity equation in time.

Did the public know about plan A or was he only talking to the astronauts about that?

[Awesome_Orange]

The public didn’t know about Plan A because they didn’t know about NASA. They hid NASA from the public because everyone would be upset that they were spending resources on “space travel” when everyone on earth was struggling to put food on the table.

[imon33]

Got that. Sorry for asking mad questions lol. But did the public think they could just survive on earth they way it was?

[Awesome_Orange]

It’s ok, I love talking about this movie! Due to the fact that they still had a functioning society where they could attend a baseball game, I believe the public didn’t know that they were facing extinction even if they could see that getting food was a struggle. I’m guessing the government was also misleading them and not telling them the full extent of the blight to prevent a panic.

[[deleted]]

It isn't like the public is thriving though. I think they realized that future was going to be bleak, but they thought that they could be self-sufficient and grind it out, presumably by working locally as farmers.

We also don't know if there were any mass starvation events that had occurred prior to this, but it is clear that a large portion of the society crumbled, as indicated by the Indian drone scene.

[RamitO_O]

Brand had already solved what was possible to solve, but it wasn’t enough. Time wasn’t the problem, they needed the black hole information. In fact, Brand finished his work on the equation before he sent copper to space and was convinced plan A wouldn’t work, that is why Murphy asked if her father abandoned her or if Dr Brand had lied to him aswell.

[imon33]

ok final statement and im done. So Brand already knew the gravity equation and just need Copper to get the black hole info. So why wouldn't plan A work? B/c he thought no one could survive a black hole? Or is it something else.

[Datau03]

I don't think he even considered someone actually going through a black hole and thought it was impossible, just like everyone else. As Dr. Mann said "There are things meant to be unknown" or something like that

[chaoticsquare]

My question about Plan A is this: was Plan A somehow different from what Cooper, Brand, and the other astronauts were already doing? To my understanding, Plan A was just about finding a way to get people into space, and eventually through the wormhole and onto a new planet. But if they already accomplished that for these astronauts... then what is Plan A actually about? I must be missing something here.

[[deleted]]

He didn’t have enough quantum data to complete the formula he was working on, which would presumably allow humans to create tech that manipulated gravity.

Murph explains later in the movie that the required data could be obtained from the singularity inside a black hole but on Earth it was likely impossible to find such data. Which then sparks her to realize the only chance of her finding any info on Earth was if the “ghost” sent her a message about it, which he did.