Ira Glass is one of the most successful storytellers around. His This American Life on PBS has been on the air for 15 years and is still going strong. So, when he gives advice on telling stories, it's worth listening.
That, in a nutshell, is why I find it so difficult to make science not just accessible, but interesting to non-scientists. As scientists, our characters are data and ideas, not people. Our plot is the unraveling of a mystery, but it's a mystery about nature not about people.
But I'll keep Ira's advice in mind every time I write about a new finding here. I'll try to find a character -- a person -- who's affected by the story, even if it's the scientist responsible for the discovery, and I'll try to formulate a story with a surprising and universal plot. Please remind me when I fail.
Stories need characters you can relate to. The plot has to be surprising, leading to thoughts about the world that are interesting and universal. (source)
That, in a nutshell, is why I find it so difficult to make science not just accessible, but interesting to non-scientists. As scientists, our characters are data and ideas, not people. Our plot is the unraveling of a mystery, but it's a mystery about nature not about people.
But I'll keep Ira's advice in mind every time I write about a new finding here. I'll try to find a character -- a person -- who's affected by the story, even if it's the scientist responsible for the discovery, and I'll try to formulate a story with a surprising and universal plot. Please remind me when I fail.
Facts like who discovered it, when and why it was discovered is enough to cover all the advice that Ira Glass is recommending. Science by itself is already something interesting and surprising. So I guess there is no longer a need for you to be reminded about this as you post more discoveries here.
Hewlett