Collaborations between storytellers and scientists benefit both sides, as well as the larger public.
From the PLOS Blog: "Science and art find common ground: the importance of storytelling"
I really believe in the importance of the work I do as ASK-Communications. I think "everyday" people deserve to know about developments in the areas of health and science – which often impact "everyday" life – and I think the talented experts who push ahead innovation in these fields deserve to have their work more widely understood and recognized.
So the first paragraph of this PLOS blog quickly caught my attention: "Early in my PhD program, I realized that I was struggling to explain my research to my family. Whenever we got together, they would swap stories about their lives. But when they asked me about my work, I automatically switched into lecture mode. I could tell that everything I was saying sounded like gibberish to my relatives. It wasn’t that they couldn’t understand my work: it was my failure to make my work relatable to them."
The author (Sara ElShafie, Doctoral Candidate, Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley) reached out to Pixar Animation Studios and undertook a collaboration to explore how storytelling could help with her problem – with interesting results. I encourage you to read about her experience here: https://blogs.plos.org/blog/2018/05/16/science-and-art-find-common-ground-the-importance-of-storytelling/
Thank you for reading my blog! This is a space where I share personal thoughts — an opportunity for self-expression that has nothing to do with my professional writing. None of the thoughts or opinions expressed in this blog should be construed as anything but my own, nor should they be affiliated with any company or person I contract with or write for.
NOW that that's done... I'd love to hear from you about this blog post in the comments!
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