Lecture Series History: 2012
In 2012, the Natural History Museum of Utah's annual Lecture Series presented the theme "Sharing Science Stories: Science Without the Fiction." Read on to learn more about the theme and speakers.
About the 2012 Lecture Series
Nature of Things is the Museum's signature lecture series. This year, we offer a series about Sharing Science Stories. This theme is at the heart of the Museum's mission, from the exhibits in our galleries at our new home, the Rio Tinto Center, to the research conducted by our scientists, to the programs we present around the state. Over the course of the series, master science storytellers working in a variety of media will join us to share amazing stories and discuss the challenges of communicating complex scientific ideas. We hope the series leads you to think about how the telling of science stories shapes public engagement with science, public policy, and our individual choices. Since our first Nature of Things presentation in 2007, the R. Harold Burton Foundation has provided the critical underwriting support to make this program possible. Sincere thanks to the foundation, and all of our generous sponsors, for making this year's series such a tremendous success.
2012 Speakers
Randy Olson
Storytelling: Clear Proof Scientists Descended from Humans
Scientists often have a hard time with the idea of storytelling. Many even suffer from "story-phobia," the irrational fear of "bending the science to tell a better story." But Randy Olson, a scientist-turned-filmmaker, believes scientists descended from humans and still possess vestiges of storytelling skills that can make their communications more effective. In films like Flock of Dodos and Sizzle, Olson uses the power of story to put science front and center in an age of information overload.
Dr. Brian Greene
Why Science Matters
Dr. Brian Greene can distill impossibly complex theoretical physics, like the concept of the multiverse, into a form we can all understand. He is dedicated to sharing science stories with broad audiences to combat perceptions of science as cold, distant, or irrelevant. Understanding the transformative power of science, he argues, like great music, art, or literature, should be considered an indispensable part of what makes life worth living. Join Greene for a whirlwind exploration of one science story-the quest to unravel some of the biggest mysteries of space and time-and come away with a visceral understanding of why science matters.
Sharon Begley
Neuroplasticity: New Stories About Your Brain
There are always stories behind the science stories-that is, human dramas that underlie scientific discoveries. Nowhere is that truer than in neuroscience, which has undergone a revolution over the last 20 years. While the previous dogma held that the adult brain is essentially fixed in form and function from the age of three, it is now clear that the brain can change its structure and patterns of activity throughout life. Renowned science journalist Sharon Begley has been writing about this paradigm shift for over ten years. Join us as Begley shares an astonishing story with implications for health, disease, and emotional balance featuring, among others, a scientist who thinks he can cure dyslexia, a blind Turkish painter, and the Dalai Lama.
Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich
Making Tricky Science into Sticky Stories
Radiolab is public radio's cult sensation about science, wonder and discovery. With curiosity and wit, co-hosts Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich use sound to illuminate ideas and blur boundaries between science, philosophy and human experience. Abumrad and Krulwich will be in Salt Lake City for their live stage show "In the Dark" performing later in the week. Before that show, they will join us at the Museum to open up their playbook and share some of their secrets for taking the complex and confusing and turning it into the profound and memorable. They'll discuss the elements that make a good story great and delve into why some stories-like climate change-are terribly boring and problematic to tell.