I’m thrilled to be welcoming Scientific American’s blog editor Bora Zivkovic to the University of Alberta, March 5-9, 2012. As part of his visit, please join us Friday, March 9 for a special night of story telling and music where we’ll find the people, places and things that make science what it is.
Featuring host Bora Zivkovic, musical story telling with Robin Woywitka and the Super 92, and local story tellers from Edmonton’s science community.
Bora Zivkovic is enthusiastic about explaining science through stories. He encourages his writers and others to move away from the the inverted pyramid of science reporting, where the most important findings come first to telling us what really happens in the lab and in the field.
“”Human beings are natural story tellers and story listeners,” says Bora. “While presenting data in a table takes training, we are all naturally attuned to stories. Telling a science story as a story is a wonderful way to hook people in. I think it’s a natural way of talking and explaining things”
Stories don’t always have to be the written kind either. Robin Woywitka will be keeping the night rocking with prairie roots music and story telling songs. Robin is an archeologist and musician who knows the importance of keeping stories simple so they can get at the truth. “When you’re doing science, you always want to eradicate noise. You want to get the noise out of your data. And I think a really good song writer does the same thing. You get rid of the noise out of the subject that you’re talking about. You don’t want to have a song that’s just all this detail. You want to find the trend underneath. Those are the songs that people connect to the most.”
Come on out for night of stories and science you won’t forget.
Friday, March 9, 2012 Doors 8pm
The Artery, 9535 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta
7 responses to “Beyond 42: How science can use stories to explain life, the universe and everything”
[…] to classes, labs and research centres, I let Bora rest up for Friday night. On Friday we hosted Beyond 42: How science can use stories to explain life, the universe and everything. Bora opens the night with his own story about the value of narrative. (Photo by Marc-Julien […]
[…] week, we’re experiencing the power of stories to communicate science. Join us for Beyond 42: How Science Can Use Stories to Explain Life, the Universe and Everything. This event, recorded […]
[…] This week, we’re talking science and storytelling. Guest host Marie-Claire Shanahan speaks to science journalist and author Deborah Blum about her national bestseller The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York. The book tells the fascinating story of the way that chemical detectives started a revolution in the investigation of crime. And Desiree Schell talks to Bora Zivkovic, blog editor at Scientific American, about a new event that teaches science through personal stories. […]
[…] makes a thought provoking podcast and regular event out of it. I even tried my hand at organizing a science and story-telling event in Edmonton a few years ago. Colleagues of mine in science education have also studied how stories […]
Intro27 marca 2012, 09:02 przecież do k..y nędzy w sejmiku, nawet jak jest w toruniu, siedzą tam samorządowcy z BYDGOSZCZY!!! Co oni tam robią?? Głosują jak im całbecki każe?? Trzeba dogadać się z Inem, Świeciem, Solcem i całą rezsztą zachodniego wow!aództjwe!! Trzeba się też promować w polsce np. przez sport, piłkę, żużel, zmodernizować stadion na Polonii, wspierać Zawiszę.
It absolutely was a common condition among the wealthier class, who because little other food was available lived totally on meat. When considering gout treatment and prevention you ought to compare the rewards and disadvantages of drug-based and natural treatment. As it turns out the medication was for ALEVE! That has been what he was given for three years.
The Sutton & Barto book is indeed the earliest mention I have found of the hashing-trick. Well spotted!Don’t we need to choose the size of the hashing range (i.e. bit mask) as an a priori model complexity parameter?