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.
