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VERSION:2.0
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UID:UW-Physics-Event-3792
DTSTART:20151023T203000Z
DTEND:20151023T213000Z
DTSTAMP:20260419T110438Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20150929T202712Z
LOCATION:2241 Chamberlin Hall (Coffee & Cookies at 3:15pm)
SUMMARY:Just Because We're Smart Doesn't Mean We're Crazy and Evil: Gi
 ving Scientists and Mathematicians a Fair Shake in Literary Fiction\, 
 Physics Department Colloquium\, Stuart Rojstaczer\, Writer/UW-Madison 
 Alumni
DESCRIPTION:How scientists are characterized in popular culture and th
 e arts likely plays a role in how much impact their opinions and resea
 rch results have upon society.  I am well aware\, given my lengthy his
 tory as a research scientist\, that much good science gets willfully i
 gnored and dismissed in the political arena and by the public partly b
 ecause they have a negative view of scientists that comes from popular
  culture.  As a writer of literary fiction\, I feel a political obliga
 tion to portray scientists and their work with realistic depth.  How d
 oes one get past the societal cliché of scientists and mathematicians
  being socially withdrawn\, eccentric\, emotionally stunted and ultima
 tely less than human?  One approach is to ignore this cliché entirely
  and to portray them as\, more or less\, ordinary people who happen to
  work as scientists and mathematicians.  Another approach is to embrac
 e the cliché initially in order to attract an audience and then to su
 bvert it.  This latter approach is the one I prefer and employed in my
  latest novel\, The Mathematician’s Shiva.
URL:https://www.physics.wisc.edu/events/?id=3792
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