How dull do you think scientists are?

Good luck. Some of the work I do involves attempting to encourage grads into teaching, and teaching science specifically, and commercials like that one don’t help at all. As well as insulting science and scientists, the ad also insults listeners by virtue of being uninspired, first-idea-off-the-layout-pad shite.

Posted about 1 year ago by BraveNewMalden

Sorry, what was that, I wasn’t really listening.

Only joking. I’m really interested in science – mainly darwinian evolution. I didn’t really like it at school, but now I can’t get enough of it – I’m nearly always reading a science book of some sort.

I don’t think that the Thorpe park ad is particularly helpful, but the scientific community could probably do more to make itself more interesting and accessible.

Posted about 1 year ago by Ben

Dullest post ever…

Posted about 1 year ago by Juvey

...and I’m a scientist too…_zzzzzzzz...well, a lab technician, but it’s the same thing innit?

Posted about 1 year ago by Juvey

Part of the problem is that many of the bullshitters who resort to marketing as a profession have to kid themselves that they’re not stupid by defining everything that they don’t understand as being dull. That covers pretty much everything apart from marketing, and even that they only understand on a very superficial basis. Really their clients at Thorpe Park should have rejected the idea, but then we don’t know how bad the alternatives were.

It’s not just the field of science that needs to attract more talent. Marketing could also do with enough decent people to keep the fucktrumpets where they belong (in sales).

Posted about 1 year ago by Spammed

My ex-boyfriend and best mate (yes we managed to not hate each other and stay friends) is a scientist. He is a chemistry lecturer. He is also the liveliest, funniest fruit loop I know. He talks at a hundred miles an hour and his mind races from one thing to the next. Often these things are silly things. He reads The Sun. We call him a film whore because he watches any crap going and declares it brilliant. He likes dancing, but only to cheese. In fact, we nicknamed his ipod the cheese box for that very reason. He likes a pint of cider. He is an avid Spurs fan. Yet he is an avid Deportivo fan (Spanish by birth by lived here in Blighty all his life).

There is never a dull moment. It terrifies me how clever he is, and how creative his job is on a regular basis. He goes underground and runs protons and neutrons (or something) round a bunker to see what happens when they crash into each other. He is the only person I know that genuinely loves his job. He gets to insert Star Wars clips into his lectures.

Not boring. Oscar, for the sake of the science community, sign up to Friday Cities London and prove ‘em all wrong.

End of passionate speech about scientists.

Posted about 1 year ago by Chez

Yes, scientists are boring. So are advertisers, so are journalists, so are doctors, lawyers, accountants and roadsweepers, if you let them talk at you. But yes, it’s lazy, thoughtless advertising that is no use to anyone. Typical of some moronic adman whose last contact with science was a dull teacher at school.

People learn to dislike (or even hate) science because they can’t see a use for it (as science gets more advanced – as we learn more things about the universe – it gets harder to understand).

Journalists don’t understand science, so it gets little coverage in the press, and the stuff that is covered is barely literate. That then contributes to a general impression that the public aren’t interested in science, which is how we get to ads like this.

Posted about 1 year ago by BartMalik

Yup – when the most exciting developments of our time come from science how can you call em boring?

For fecks sake – If it wasn’t for science, Thorpe Park wouldn’t exist! People would be dropping out of the rides when they get to the top of the loop!

Scientists solve crimes

Scientists save lives

Scientists invent gadgets

Scientists help us discover who we are / where we come from

Scientists rock :)

Posted about 1 year ago by Provdes

The ad also stinks because of the way it takes the piss out of global warming, a subject not previously known for its comedy potential. I’ll have to give it another listen but from what I remember of the ad, the creative team must’ve thought along these lines:

“Hmm. Thorpe Park. It’s a theme park, isn’t it? With exciting rides and stuff. Let’s do a commercial based around how exciting it is!”

“Yes. Orrrr… hang on…why don’t we turn that concept completely on its head…and do an ad on how boring it ISN’T!”

“Wow. And do you know what, something that occurred to me the other day, boring rhymes with warming.”

“So it does. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Global BORING! Wait a minute…there’s our ad! Where do you fancy for lunch?”

Posted about 1 year ago by BraveNewMalden

I am a scientist [“in training” I suppose…] and there are a handful of people who think I am dull, including myself sometimes, but my friends and family think I’m interesting. What is true of science is true of most professions: there are dull parts and there are interesting parts but you need the dull parts to get to the interesting parts.

Anyway, Thorpe Park is a dull place, the only interesting bit is the farm. And from personal experience most of the kids who go to Thorpe Park could do with centripetal force failing them when they’re at the top of Nemesis Inferno.

Posted about 1 year ago by HorseyofGormenghast

I agree with Horsey. There are boring feckers in all professions. I have two friends who are accountants. They are noisy, funny, intelligent and great company.

I completely disagree with Bartmalink. What a load of old toss. People dislike science because they can’t see a use for it?? Which Mori poll did that come up in. As we learn more things about the universe – it gets harder to understand?

What?

Science doesn’t get much coverage in the press either. You reckon? Good God, haven’t you seen anything about stem cell research, cloning dolly the sheep, space travel, research in pharmaceuticals, the effects of climate change?

Crikey. Off on one this afternoon but please.

Posted about 1 year ago by Chez

“As we learn more things about the universe – it gets harder to understand? What?”

When you’re a small child, it’s easy to understand the basics of science that you’re being taught. When you get older, you learn the things we discovered in the last couple of centuries, which are more complicated (electron shells, complex numbers, DNA), and are harder to understand. The kind of topics modern ‘scientists’ work on are neccessarily much more complicated than the things the rest of us, who don’t have a science background, can easily understand. That’s how progress works, but it means that, in order to understand what’s going on now at the forefront, you have to have a much broader basic knowledge. Understand?

“Science doesn’t get much coverage in the press either. You reckon?”

Read the actual coverage of the subjects you mention. They’re not about science, they’re about economics (climate change), religion (cloning and stem cells), international relations (pharmaceuticals, space travel). There’s hardly any informed coverage of the actual science in the mainstream press, because it’s harder to understand, and (so the media perceives) less interesting for most people. In any case, there’s hardly anyone in ‘Fleet Street’ who understands the science well enough to be able to properly write about it.

Posted about 1 year ago by BartMalik

I have been asked to do a talk for 2nd year undergrads about doing a PhD. The talk has to be 20 mins long with 10 mins for questions. The students are doing a science course so they have an interest in science but the aim of my talk is to encourage the students to consider doing a PhD in science when they graduate. Does anyone have any ideas as to what I could talk about?

Posted about 1 year ago by HorseyofGormenghast

Good luck with that. Second year I was convinced I wanted to do a PhD, after my masters I never wanted to see a university lab ever again.

Try talking about the nature of science, it’s something that gets overlooked in undergrad studies I find.

(also: Science is heaps of fun and never boring)

Posted about 1 year ago by Tre

Talk about the interesting things they could be doing, the discoveries they could make. Cover the money they could make if their idea works (if your field is that sort of field). You want to make the PhD sound interesting, fun, rewarding, and so on.

Work some anecdotes in. There’s always something entertaining involving someone in your field. For instance, Aaron Klug, who won the 1982 Nobel prize for chemistry, was asked what he was going to do with the rather large amount of prize money. He replied: I haven’t made any plans, but I do want to buy a new bicycle. Ought to get a laugh, and should illustrate that your PhD could lead you to fame and money.

Of course, few people get to fame and money, so you should probably concentrate more on the rewarding nature of research and discovery. Which may be tricky if you’re already wading through a PhD yourself, I suspect.

Posted about 1 year ago by BartMalik

Hm, dunno how I missed this one, I’m a scientist too and I agree that science is given a dull image in the media. When childrens TV does science bits they seem to feel the need to dress up like a crazy old scientist or something, why can’t they present science as something normal?

Another thing I hate is the word boffins, its used all the time in the newspapers instead of scientists. That and frankenfood instead of GM food, how blatantly negative can you get? I wouldn’t mind so much if monstrous tomatoes started rampaging Day of the Triffids style, but that will never happen.

Its not all bad though, Braniac: Science Abuse is quite a fun show and the people on that are relatively normal.

I find that if I don’t mention I’m a scientist to people I’ve just met they’re fine, but as soon as I mention it they lose interest. I met a barber once, he told me that being a scientist is a pretty dead-end job. He clearly had no idea how much you can develop as a scientist, especially compared to a barber…

Posted about 1 year ago by AppleDave

It’s funny that you mention the money aspect. A couple of weeks ago I went to a careers event for PhD students and post docs and the general message was if you want to make any money out of your PhD you have to sell your soul to industry or to Barclays who will turn you into a banker-type whizz or get really lucky and be involved in a research project that enables you to sell and market your discoveries.

I think I will have to stick with daily anecdotes, like how the new protocol I was setting up in our lab failed to work for about 3 months and then when it finally did work the freezer where I stored all my samples decided to break down, meaning I lost all my productive work.

Actually…....after reading that maybe I should instill delusions of grandeur in them instead!

Posted about 1 year ago by HorseyofGormenghast

For goodness sake don’t tell them to do a PhD part time whilst working. Eight years and counting….

Depending on the science you do, you can get some travel thrown in too – not all scientists are daft, and there are some cracking conferences in Australia, Hawaii and so on if you can find a company that will pay you to go!

We always regard Pharma as where the money can be made -if they’re ethics driven, get ‘em impassioned to work on generic drugs that won’t rip off the third world.

Posted about 1 year ago by Kubsat

Failing that – get them involved with the Science Ambassadors scheme (setnet): we do this through it.

http://london.fridaycities.com/knowledge/events/conversations/17504

Not dull at all.

Posted about 1 year ago by Kubsat

Heh, that sounds great! I will tell them about the travel but I think I will have to elaborate slightly, recently I have been to conferences in Kensington and Birmingham. Next one lined up is for Harrogate. Nice.

Posted about 1 year ago by HorseyofGormenghast