On a chilly and dark Friday evening in November 2015, Samuli Siltanen, professor of mathematics in the University of Helsinki, was particularly tense and nervous as he walked into Elmun Baari in Helsinki, Finland. Unlike most people at the bar, relaxing with friends and having a few drinks, Samuli was there for a unique challenge.

Many scientists spend considerable time giving presentations at various academic conferences and teaching classes throughout their careers. The target audience in such scenarios is often a group of people with similar educational backgrounds interested in the scientific knowledge being disseminated. On the other hand, communicating with a non-expert audience requires a different strategy as, most often, their scientific knowledge varies considerably, and their primary interest lies in real-world applications rather than theoretical and technical nuances of science. Moving away from the conventional style of scientific talks to less formal and entertaining formats can bring non-expert audiences closer to the scientists and make learning fun. One promising tactic for effective science communication is the use of humour.

Science SLAM brings scientists and a curious public together for an evening of entertainment and learning. The scientist who, within 10 minutes, can impress the audience with their bold performance, while teaching them a scientific concept, wins. Competitors are encouraged to be creative with their presentations and interact with their audience during the performance. Samuli was entering the bar not as one more client but as one of the six finalists in the 8th Science SLAM Helsinki competition. And those sipping on beers and chatting away with friends were his jury.

Combining humour with science communication can be terrifying, especially for presenters who don’t have enough public speaking experience. Samuli, however, had liked putting on a show since a very young age. His participation in hobby theatre and math clubs throughout his schooling and classroom teaching experience in later years helped him acquire the skills needed to explain math concepts easily and engagingly. His interest in science communication further grew from participating in a podcast series focusing on popularising science and having had the opportunity to be on Finnish national television on multiple instances as a science guest. Despite this, Samuli’s uneasiness as he walked into a confined space surrounded by a cheerful crowd in a bar was only rational. After all, today, he had to make random strangers laugh while talking about mathematics. But how was he to do that?

Science, especially mathematics, is considered a serious and logical field. On the contrary, comedy is all about laughter and amusement. Unlike other sciences, the tricky thing about making jokes about mathematics is the prerequisite for the audience to be already aware of the mathematical concepts. But this is seldom the case. Hence, the presenter must explain the mathematical concept first while trying to build up the comedic storyline around it.

Math stand-up comedians like Matt Parker and Dave Gorman have already developed an excellent formula for creating funny routines and inspiring people about math. Matt Parker’s book Humble Pi focuses on hilarious math errors in the real world. Some excerpts from his book- “There is a sculpture in Nottingham, the Sky Mirror, which is a shiny, paraboloid-like shape, and local legend has it that it has been known to set passing pigeons on fire. (Spoiler: it probably hasn’t.).” or “When it was reopened, the Millennium Bridge was described as probably the most complex passively-damped structure in the world. Not an epithet most of us would aspire to”. He infuses quick humour in his text while casually explaining a mathematical concept, making his writings funny. Similarly, in one of his stand-up routines about perfect numbers, Dave Gorman defines what a perfect number is and gives some examples, which are 6 and 28. Since the next perfect number is 496, he brings in the comedic element, using an interesting historical fact that the famous Greek mathematician Pythagoras spent his entire life looking for a 3rd perfect number but in vain.

The process of developing a comedy routine involving science requires careful planning. The initial step is selecting a theme and deciding on a sensible approach to the theme. Weeks before the competition, Samuli started devising his plan for the event. He first chose a topic close to his heart – inverse problems. Inverse problems, in math, is the process of using results from observations and calculating the factors that produced them. A more straightforward example is trying to decipher the shape of an object from observing its shadows and not the object itself. Samuli’s initial struggle was figuring out how to make this topic relatable to an audience with a non-mathematical background.

Keeping audiences engaged can be challenging if they are unable to relate to the presenter and/or the scientific topic. Samuli, instantly, had an idea instigated by his photography hobby. He took pictures of his family members with a twist: a random fish hanging from the ceiling. The challenge he would present to his audience was that of removing the fish from the otherwise beautiful photographs. This, probably unbeknownst to most, is a mathematical problem, and he would explain how it can be solved using inverse problems.

The next step in the process is incorporating good jokes and practising comedic timing that resonates with the audience. Samuli planned and scripted his entire talk and revised his many initial drafts with help from family and colleagues. Finally, confidence is crucial for good performance, and that comes with practice. Samuli rehearsed and rehearsed, hoping for the best.

The receptiveness of humour in science communication has been long debated. The primary concern arises from the possibility of sacrificing the credibility of a scientific topic and its presenter due to the infusion of comedy. Then there are topics like climate change or vaccination, where some worry that humour may undermine the seriousness of the scientific messages and discourage the audience from taking action or making informed decisions. For example, in 2011, CDC published an emergency preparedness guide “Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse”. The aim was to educate people of all ages on how to prepare for natural disasters and pandemics in a humorous way with the help of zombies! Even though the guide itself garnered enough engagement and went viral on social media, follow-up studies showed very few people took the initiative to prepare their houses for future disasters. Thus, invalidating the real purpose of the campaign.

On the flip side, the ‘humour in science’ advocates believe that watching a scientist tell jokes to convey scientific information can be perceived as a valid source of scientific knowledge, particularly when audience members find the comedy funny and the humour to be positive. In recent years, many scientists around the world are using humour and stand-up comedy for communicating science. The popularity of events like Science Slam, DC Science comedy, founded by science writer and comedian Kasha Patel, or the Brightclub, organised by University College London, points towards a positive acceptance of humor. Some examples of other popular science communication mediums that have successfully incorporated humour are The Infinite Monkey Cage podcast by BBC Radio and PhD comics by Jorge Cham.

Back in the bar, despite his persisting sense of unease, Samuli walks into the spotlight with a smile. He stands before the screen that is part of the presentation space and starts doing something strange. He snaps a selfie not with a mobile phone but with a big professional camera. The awkwardly shot image instantly appears on the huge screen behind him. The crowd laughs. He then puts a big red plastic lip in his mouth and takes another funny-looking selfie. The crowd laughs and cheers again. This is followed by various images of Samuli’s family with a strange fish on the screen. Using them, he shows his audience how math can help remove unwanted “elements” from pictures and restores his beautiful portraits. The crowd cheers in delight. Samuli feels his nervousness starting to ease, and himself enjoys the rest of the routine.

That night, Samuli taught an entire crowd of little drunk strangers some mathematical concepts in a bar. With the help of a fish and plenty of laughs, he went on to win the Science SLAM Helsinki 2015.

With the increasing need for effective science communication and emerging creative mediums, why not humour us with some science?

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references

Avalon Television (2010, Nov 10). Maths – Dave Gorman Stand Up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM46_5Yd5II

Chartier, T. (2022, May 5). Derivative humor—a stand-up mathematician spills the beans https://www.mathvalues.org/masterblog/derivative-humor-a-stand-up-mathematician-spills-the-beans

Fraustino, J. D., & Ma, L. (2015). CDC’s use of social media and humor in a risk campaign—“Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse”. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 43(2), 222-241.

npr (2022, June 3). Kasha Patel: Why we should use comedy to explain science. https://www.npr.org/2022/06/03/1102651804/kasha-patel-why-we-should-use-comedy-to-explain-science

Parker, M. (2019). Humble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors. Penguin UK.
Pinto, B., & Riesch, H. (2017). Are audiences receptive to humour in popular science articles? An exploratory study using articles on environmental issues.

Pinto, B., Marçal, D., & Vaz, S. G. (2015). Communicating through humour: A project of stand-up comedy about science. Public Understanding of Science, 24(7), 776-793.

ScienceSlam Helsinki (2016, Jan 11). How to defuse a photobomb – Samuli Siltanen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfGcwrx_sI0

Yeo, S. K., & McKasy, M. (2021). Emotion and humor as misinformation antidotes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(15), e2002484118.

Yeo, S. K., Becker, A. B., Cacciatore, M. A., Anderson, A. A., & Patel, K. (2022). Humor Can Increase Perceived Communicator Effectiveness Regardless of Race, Gender, and Expertise—If You are Funny Enough. Science Communication, 44(5), 593-620.