A couple of months back I blogged about a ‘science and society’ project that two colleagues and I undertook at Imperial College.
It involved asking people to draw what they thought was important in science today and provide a voice commentary while they drew. To make the product a little more interesting, we took the resulting sketches, painted them up a bit, and joined them in the manner of the Surrealist technique known as ‘Exquisite Corpse’. You can refer to the original post here for more details and some analysis of the result. That post included only a static picture; but by popular request I’m here posting the full (10 mins) movie version with sound. See what you think.
The Exquisite Corpse of Science from Tim Jones on Vimeo.
Since the mid 1980s, I've worked in university and industrial research, as a manager and editor in technology and environment for an international NGO, and held senior business development, strategy, and procurement posts in industry. I hold a PhD in chemical engineering from Birmingham University, an MBA from Warwick University Business School, and an MSc in Science Communication from Imperial College. In 2008, I left industry to focus full-time on my passion for science and technology, and to share that enthusiasm with others as a freelance science communicator. I live in London with my American wife Erin.
[...] You can watch the movie of this project here. [...]
Tim,
This is wonderful!
Are you able to set the movie for streaming so it starts faster?
And do you have any plans for expanding the project – or getting others to do similar things?
Great stuff! Interesting that the more people are involved in science, the more optimistic (and more specialised) they seem to be. It’s amazing how well these all work together. The overall effect is surprisingly appealing.
Bravo! Bravo! Reminds me of the ‘Why is science important’ project. You should definitely show it to the audience at Science Online London!
p.s. agree with Andrew – make it streaming if possible
Excellent! Working at the interface of science and law, I do appreciate this kind of project that attempts and contributes to bringing society back to science, or vice versa depending on how you look at it.
Thanks Clare. No substitute for just grabbing people and asking them what they think!
These people see different pieces of the jigsaw from different perspectives; but I agree they somehow fall together and the various comments echo off one another.
Thanks Karen. Yes, this sits along the why is science important project very well I think. It’s proved to be a real conversation starter from all sorts of angles, so sure – lets get it out there!
P.S.
I’m sorting out a better streaming version of this.
Dannie,
Glad you liked the piece. I think when people get over the initial shock of this format, they really open up and have fun.
I wonder what would happen if you asked the same question about what people thought about the law and lawyers? Let me know !!!
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