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storytelling.html
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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en-US">
<head>
<title>Kevin Surya » Storytelling</title>
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<a href="index.html">about</a>
<a href="research.html">research</a>
<a href="publications.html">publications</a>
<a href="storytelling.html" style="color: gainsboro;">storytelling</a>
</div>
<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
<div class="main">
<div class="title">HOW DO WE TELL SCIENCE STORIES?</div>
<p>One of the most effective ways to communicate science to the general
audience is through stories. Everyone loves them. In films, music, and
theaters, artists have long experimented on and perfected the crafts of
spreading ideas and emotions at the same time. Perhaps, we, scientists,
can master such art as well.</p>
<br />
INTRODUCING CHARACTERS
<br />
<img src="Anastasia_musical.jpg" alt="Anastasia" width="95.5"
height="150" style="float: left; margin-top: 22px; margin-right: 22px"/>
<p>Lehman Engel, a former Broadway director, walked on a beach. He saw a
dreary pelican flying, looking for fish. What a poor bird. But soon, it
dived and emerged with one in its mouth. Lehman thought, "There was no
doubt that I was on its side because I had met the pelican first." So,
what if he was snorkeling underwater, mesmerized by a beautiful blue
fish? And suddenly, the pelican struck. Oh no! • Broadway musicals
like <i>Anastasia</i> typically present their main characters, and life
goals, early in the story. The audience then decides whom to root.
Their choices depend on the perspective given, which is framed by the
sequence and length of introduction. How could we benefit from Lehman's
inspiration? • We tell stories about nature. Explaining
observations is not straightforward because there are always competing
hypotheses: the null and the alternatives. These are our characters.
Anyone has a chance of surviving hypothesis tests. However, the null,
maybe because of its simplicity and or dreariness, often lies in the
shadow of the alternatives. The lack of stage time can instill a sense
of failure when all the alternatives get falsified in the end. But,
what if we change our perspective at the beginning? We can satisfy the
audience by making their beloved character the winner.</p>
<br />
PLOTTING THE PIECES
<br />
<img src="Orient_Express.jpg" alt="Orient Express" width="150"
height="95" style="float: left; margin-top: 22px; margin-right: 24px"/>
<p>What makes a murder-mystery novel like <i>Murder on the Orient
Express</i> so compelling that it grips readers to finish it in one or
two sittings? Why does Detective Hercule Poirot request each train
passenger whom he interviews to write their signatures? • A murder
is simple. What makes it complicated is that we never learn about it
all at once. Building the puzzle, Agatha Christie chops her story into
matching pieces—a clue and an answer—and orders them into a neat
sequence. Confusions go to the beginning and resolutions to the end.
Readers won't be able to sleep until the puzzle is complete. • The
manuscript outline fits this clue-answer system. More than a hook, the
introduction props the discussion. Readers become excited by collecting
clues and sensing looming awe, but all have to pay off at the end. Soil
scientist Joshua Schimel best presents this idea as a structure
familiar among journalists: the hourglass. The discussion on the
results and significance of a research project should match the
promise. Wouldn't we feel cheated if the conclusion springs from
nowhere? Or when it fails to close all loops? But if plotted well, the
intro and discussion couple makes for a satisfying ride.</p>
<br />
<i>coming soon</i>
<!-- PAINTING THE DAY WITH A SCARLET SKY -->
<br />
<img src="La_Japonaise.jpg" alt="La Japonaise" width="158"
height="300" style="float: left; margin-top: 22px; margin-right: 22px"/>
<p></p>
<!-- Film Producer Jon Landau always asks for the theme. What is the
heart of the story? People leave the plot at the theater and take the
theme home with them. -->
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REFERENCES
<br />
<p>Bajekal, N. 2016. <i>Titanic and Avatar Producer Jon Landau on What
All Great Movies Have in Common.</i> Newsweek.</p>
<p>Christie, A. 1934. <i>Murder on the Orient Express.</i> Collins Crime
Club: London. UK.</p>
<p>Engel, L. 1972. <i>Words with Music: The Broadway Musical
Libretto.</i> Schirmer Books: New York, NY.</p>
<p>Schimel, J. 2011. <i>Writing Science: How to Write Papers That Get
Cited and Proposals That Get Funded.</i> Oxford University Press: New
York, NY.</p>
<p>Images (from top to bottom) by Producers of Anastasia The Musical (<a
href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en"
style="color: silver; text-decoration: none";>CC BY-SA 4.0</a>),
Mary Evans Picture Library (public domain [PDM]), and Claude Monet
(PDM).</p>
</div>
<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
<div class="contact">
kevin surya · montana state university · bozeman · mt
· usa · <a href="mailto:sadikin.kevin@gmail.com"
style="color: gray;
text-decoration: none";>kevinsurya@montana.edu</a>
</div>
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