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Don't Be Such a Scientist
Talking Substance in an Age of Style
Randy Olson
Photographs
256 pages
Publisher:
Island Press, USA
After nearly a decade on the defensive, the world of science is about to be restored to its rightful place. But is the public really ready for science? And is the world of science ready for the public?
Scientists wear ragged clothes, forget to comb their hair, and speak in a language that even they don't understand. Or so people think. Most scientists don't care how they are perceived, but in our media-dominated age, style points count.
Enter Randy Olson. Fifteen years ago, Olson bid farewell to the science world and shipped off to Hollywood ready to change the world. With films like Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus (Tribeca '06, Showtime) and Sizzle: A Global Warming Comedy (Outfest '08), he has tried to bridge the cultural divide that has too often left science on the outside looking in.
Olson’s new book Don’t Be Such a Scientist delivers the message that 'scientists need artists'. He delves into the principle of 'arouse and fulfill', suggesting that while scientists are great with the fulfillment part, the power of art can help arouse the interest of the broader audience. In an age of information overload, the communication challenge is even greater for science. Drawing on communication theory, storytelling dynamics, and his own observations from a career in science, Olson makes the case that while accuracy is forever important, a priority must be made by the science community to grab the public's attention.
Randy Olson earned his PhD at Harvard University and achieved tenure at the University of New Hampshire before resigning and moving to Hollywood, obtaining an MFA from the University of Southern California School of Cinema, and embarking on a second career as a filmmaker. Since film school he has written and directed the critically acclaimed films Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus (Tribeca, ‘06, Showtime) and Sizzle: A Global Warming Comedy (Outfest, ’08), and co-founded The Shifting Baselines Ocean Media Project, a partnership between scientists and Hollywood to communicate the crisis facing our oceans.
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