Houston, We Have a Narrative: Why Science Needs Story Audiobook (Free)

Consult a scientist about Hollywood, and you will probably get vision rolls. But talk to someone in Hollywood about science, and they’ll find dollar indicators: moviemakers understand that science can be the source of great stories, with all the current drama and action that blockbusters require.

That’s a huge mistake, says Randy Olson: Hollywood includes a lot to teach scientists about how exactly to show a story-and, ultimately, how to perform technology better. With Houston, We Have a Narrative, he lays out a stunningly simple method for about Houston, We Have a Narrative: Why Science Needs Tale turning the dull into the dramatic. Drawing on his unique background, which noticed him keep his work as an operating scientist to start a career being a filmmaker, Olson initial diagnoses the problem: When scientists reveal about their function, they pile one second and one detail atop another moment and another detail-a stultifying procession of ‘and, and, and.’ What we need instead can be an understanding of the basic elements of tale, the narrative structures that our brains are all but hardwired to appearance for-which Olson boils down, brilliantly, to ‘And, But, Therefore,’ or ABT. At a stroke, the ABT strategy presents momentum (‘And’), conflict (‘But’), and quality (‘Therefore’)-the fundamental blocks of story. As Olson has shown by leading countless workshops world-wide, when researchers’ eyes are opened up to ABT, the effect is staggering: instantly, they’re not just talking about their work-they’re informing stories about it. And viewers are captivated.

Written with an uncommon verve and enthusiasm, and constructed in principles that are applicable to fields significantly beyond science, Houston, WE’VE a Narrative gets the power to transform just how science is grasped and appreciated, and ultimately how it’s completed.