Randy Olson
Born
October 03, 1955
Website
More books by Randy Olson…
“In 2009, I attended Book Expo in New York City, where they had three editors of bestselling novels on a panel discussion. At the end of the discussion, the moderator asked the editors if they could make one prediction about the future of novel writing. They all thought for a moment, then one of them said that in the future, you won’t have forty to fifty pages of set up in a murder mystery before the body is discovered. To the contrary, the dead body will have to appear in the first few pages, as people’s attention spans are clearly waning.”
― Connection: Hollywood Storytelling meets Critical Thinking
― Connection: Hollywood Storytelling meets Critical Thinking
“Last week I sat through a day of environmental talks. You know what I remember from that entire day? Only one thing-the story a guy told about how he was sitting on an airplane and the lady next to him asked for cream for her coffee, but when they brought her the small plastic containers of cream, she said, "No thanks; the plastic isn't biodegradable." And he thought to himself, "I can hardly hear her over the jet engines that are burning up fifty gazillion barrels of fuel a minute, and she's worried about a thimble-sized piece of plastic?"
That's all I remember from that day. Why is that? It's the power of a well-told story that is also very specific. Stories that are full of vague generalizations are weak. Specifics give them strength.”
― Don't Be Such a Scientist: Talking Substance in an Age of Style
That's all I remember from that day. Why is that? It's the power of a well-told story that is also very specific. Stories that are full of vague generalizations are weak. Specifics give them strength.”
― Don't Be Such a Scientist: Talking Substance in an Age of Style
“Truly Be the Voice of Science
If you want to make a major contribution to science communication, you need to know from the outset that it will be a long and personal journey. It won't be easy. It won't be safe. And it's doubtful you'll be able to control the timeline.
No one told Carl Sagan to write science fiction novels, get involved with Hollywood filmmaking, or go on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. He simply had an inner voice driving him to reach out and share his passion for science. He was the voice of science, by his own doing.”
― Don't Be Such a Scientist: Talking Substance in an Age of Style
If you want to make a major contribution to science communication, you need to know from the outset that it will be a long and personal journey. It won't be easy. It won't be safe. And it's doubtful you'll be able to control the timeline.
No one told Carl Sagan to write science fiction novels, get involved with Hollywood filmmaking, or go on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. He simply had an inner voice driving him to reach out and share his passion for science. He was the voice of science, by his own doing.”
― Don't Be Such a Scientist: Talking Substance in an Age of Style
Topics Mentioning This Author
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