Emotion and personality in science

Categories: New Zealand specific, Sciblogs

Following from an earlier post of mine Is there room for emotion in science, Victoria University is running its very first Tell Us A Story event. The website tells us that:

This is not an ordinary science presentation event!

The aim of this challenge is to woo the audience with stories of inspiration, passion, heart-ache, struggle, love – all the things scientists aren’t allowed to mention in academic papers.

The challenge heats and finals are both open to the public and are a perfect opportunity to glimpse a more personal side to science. They’re free too!

The stories don’t have to be about the speaker’s research. Although, prizes will be given to presenters that weave in aspects of science or engineering. The important thing is to talk about something that means a lot to them. It could be:

A story of inspiration – like the moment they first were inspired to pursue science

A cultural journey – like their experience of traveling to New Zealand to study

A romantic story – like how they fell in love with a sub-atomic particle

This event looks to put into science what many consider to be missing from scientists: emotion and personality.

I hope it’s a success and I’d love to see it happen in other centres around the country.