Computer animation
In order to present detailed mathematical equation derivations, the show employed a technique its creators called the "algebraic ballet". Computer animation presented derivations in step-by-step detail, but rapidly and with touches of whimsy, such as algebraic terms being canceled by a Monty Python-esque stomping foot or the hand of God from Michelangelo's "The Creation of Adam". Blinn felt that "Cosmos" had taken itself "too seriously", and so he aimed to include more humor in the "Mechanical Universe" animations. The goal was to avoid putting the viewers' "brains into a 60-cycle hum", without sacrificing rigor; the creators intended that students could learn the overall gist of each derivation from the animation, and then study the details using the accompanying textbook. Computer animation was also used to portray idealizations of physical systems, like simulated billiard balls illustrating Newton's laws of motion. (Blinn had used some of the same software earlier to visualize the interaction of DNA and DNA polymerase for "Cosmos".) One commenter deemed these animations "particularly useful in providing students with subjective insights into dynamic three-dimensional phenomena such as magnetic fields".