A newly published survey More than 500 science conference presentations over a two-year period were conducted to determine whether scientists were funny, which is itself ridiculous, if not the most productive use of time. The results were about what you’d expect: Two-thirds of the attempts at humor elicited either polite laughter or outright silence, and only 9% landed well enough to make most of the room laugh. Not surprisingly, the biggest laughs came from technical glitches like slides malfunctioning and mics cutting out. (Nothing brings an audience together faster than watching something go wrong for someone else.)
Anyone who has sat in on a conference, anywhere, on any topic, knows that scientists do not have a monopoly on bombast. It’s hard to present comedy to any audience that isn’t enthusiastic. Even SNL calls its opening segment a “cold open” – the audience hasn’t laughed at anything yet, making it the hardest to get the first laugh.
Roughly 40% of the conversation avoided humor altogether, which is safe but probably made the afternoon even longer. More interestingly – according to science – it makes the conversation less memorable. One physician-scientist said, “Despite the incredible wealth of interesting material at conferences, it can be hard to stay engaged. And by engaged, I mean stay awake.” told natureWho also spoke with one of the study’s eight (!) co-authors.
