Search results for ""author randy olson""

In Don’t Be Such a Scientist, Randy Olson recounts the lessons from his own hilarious—and at times humiliating—evolution from science professor to Hollywood filmmaker, sharing the secrets of talking substance in an age of style. The key, he argued, is to stay true to the facts while tapping into something more primordial, more irrational—and ultimately more human. Now, in this second edition of his provocative and groundbreaking book, Olson builds upon the lessons and storytelling of Don’t Be Such a Scientist, providing an epilogue to each chapter for the current times, and adding a fresh introduction and new chapter on the importance of listening for science communicators (and beyond).Don’t Be Such a Scientist, Second Edition is a cutting and irreverent manual to speaking out and making your voice heard in an age of attacks on science.Invaluable for anyone looking to break out of the boxes of academia or research, Olson’s writing will inspire readers to “make science human”—and to enjoy the ride along the way.

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Ask a scientist about Hollywood, and you'll probably get eye rolls. But ask someone in Hollywood about science, and they'll see dollar signs: moviemakers know that science can be the source of great stories, with all the drama and action that blockbusters require. That's a huge mistake, says Randy Olson: Hollywood has a lot to teach scientists about how to tell a story-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 detail-a stultifying procession of "and, and, and." 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 for-which Olson boils down, brilliantly, to "And, But, Therefore," or ABT. At a stroke, the ABT approach introduces momentum ("And"), conflict ("But"), and resolution ("Therefore")-the fundamental building blocks of story. As Olson has shown by leading countless workshops worldwide, when scientists' eyes are opened to ABT, the effect is staggering: suddenly, they're not just talking about their work-they're telling stories about it. And audiences are captivated. 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 it's done.

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