Houston, We Have a Narrative: Why Science Needs Story

Houston, We Have a Narrative: Why Science Needs Story

Â Ask a scientist about Hollywood, and youâ€™ll probably get eye rolls. But ask someone in Hollywood about science, and theyâ€™ll see dollar signs: moviemakers know that science can be the source of great stories, with all the drama and action that blockbusters require.

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Thatâ€™s a huge mistake, says Randy Olson: Hollywood has a lot to teach scientists about how to tell a storyâ€”and, ultimately, how to do science better. With Houston, We Have a Narrative, he lays out a stunningly simple method for turning the dull into the dramatic. Drawing on his unique background, which saw him leave his job as a working scientist to launch a career as a filmmaker, Olson first diagnoses the problem: When scientists tell us about their work, they pile one moment and one detail atop another moment and another detailâ€”a stultifying procession of â€œand, and, and.â€ What we need instead is an understanding of the basic elements of story, the narrative structures that our brains are all but hardwired to look forâ€”which Olson boils down, brilliantly, to â€œAnd, But, Therefore,â€ or ABT. At a stroke, the ABT approach introduces momentum (â€œAndâ€), conflict (â€œButâ€), and resolution (â€œThereforeâ€)â€”the fundamental building blocks of story. As Olson has shown by leading countless workshops worldwide, when scientistsâ€™ eyes are opened to ABT, the effect is staggering: suddenly, theyâ€™re not just talking about their workâ€”theyâ€™re telling stories about it. And audiences are captivated.

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Written with an uncommon verve and enthusiasm, and built on principles that are applicable to fields far beyond science, Houston, We Have a Narrative has the power to transform the way science is understood and appreciated, and ultimately how itâ€™s done.
Country USA
Manufacturer The University of Chicago Press
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2022-12-22
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	The University of Chicago Press
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2022-12-22
Format	Kindle eBook

Houston, We Have a Narrative: Why Science Needs Story

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