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Title details for Houston, We Have a Narrative by Randy Olson - Wait list

Houston, We Have a Narrative

by Randy Olson
ebook
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Communicate more effectively about science—by taking a page from Hollywood and improving your storytelling skills.
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.
Expand title description text
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

Kindle Book

  • Release date: September 15, 2015

OverDrive Read

  • ISBN: 9780226270982
  • Release date: September 15, 2015

EPUB ebook

  • ISBN: 9780226270982
  • File size: 2811 KB
  • Release date: September 15, 2015

PDF ebook

  • ISBN: 9780226270982
  • File size: 20289 KB
  • Release date: September 15, 2015

Formats

Kindle Book
OverDrive Read
EPUB ebook
PDF ebook

subjects

History Language Arts Science Nonfiction

Languages

English

Communicate more effectively about science—by taking a page from Hollywood and improving your storytelling skills.
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.
Expand title description text
History Language Arts Science Nonfiction
  • Details

    Publisher:
    The University of Chicago Press

    Kindle Book
    Release date: September 15, 2015

    OverDrive Read
    ISBN: 9780226270982
    Release date: September 15, 2015

    EPUB ebook
    ISBN: 9780226270982
    File size: 2811 KB
    Release date: September 15, 2015

    PDF ebook
    ISBN: 9780226270982
    File size: 20289 KB
    Release date: September 15, 2015

  • Creators
  • Formats
    Kindle Book
    OverDrive Read
    EPUB ebook
    PDF ebook
  • Languages
    English
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