A bit belated, but such is the life of a college student who is attempting to beat her Worst Jane Eyre Essay Ever in to something a bit tamer, hopefully even a Not Quite The Worst Jane Eyre Essay Ever. If I’m lucky. I may just have to settle for the I Was Going To Set It On Fire But Realized That Some Grade Is Better Than No Grade So Here It Is Try Not To Let It Drive You Mad And Summon Dark Elder Gods Jane Eyre Essay.
I was catching up on my blogs and got hit with the reminder that the Ig Nobel awards have once again come and gone for the year! I’m looking forward to when the full audio of it comes out. In the past, it’s been via Science Friday on NPR, so it’ll be a bit of a wait. But it’ll also be worth it.
Io9 has a detailed roundup of the winners. There’s also some extra fun currently on the front page of The Annals of Improbably Research, spread over several posts that I am far too lazy to link to individually.
I love the Ig Nobels, deeply. I think it’s a great bit of PR for science. Yes, it points out bizarre research, but frankly if people are going to complain about how ridiculous it is that scientists get paid actual money to study people getting beer bottles smashed over their heads, they’re going to do it no matter what. These are bitter, sad people who wouldn’t know the joy of inquiry if it bit them on the behind, and I would go so far as to say are probably just mad that they couldn’t find a way to have fun while making a living. These are also, as I mentioned before when talking about the studies done in the Mt. St. Helens area, people who think that reality actually complies with common sense and our own assumptions, which is just silly.
Really, I think the Ig Nobels reach the people who still remember how much fun it was, in grade school, to make a fake volcano and then giggle gleefully as it exploded all over their nice new pants. (Not that kids necessarily get to have that much fun these days.) You know, the ones with the cute frogs on them. These people may not be scientists now, but you don’t have to be a scientist to love science and see the fun and excitement in it. So the Ig Nobels are really just a post-it note on the nose of life that says, “Remember: Science is fun!”
My favorite part of the Ig Nobels is actually the 24/7 lectures. I love them. Love, love, love. To the point that I save old recordings of the awards and fast forward through them to listen to the little lectures. It’s fun to hear very learned people try to describe what they do in a rushed, breathless voice, and the seven word studies are always absolutely hilarious. Paul Krugman is this year’s wonderful example.
Love it!