Yorkshire Philosophical Society

Event Information

Cartoons in science

Professor Jim Matthew
Emeritus Professor, Department of Physics, The University of York
and Hon. Vice-President of The Yorkshire Philosophical Society

Science is a serious business but it is important to laugh at it at regular intervals. Cartoons are a special form of humour in which a few squiggles are sufficient to promote both insight and amusement on a topic. In politics-yes. In science? Not so clear. The talk investigates how cartoons can not only lampoon scientists but can also convey useful scientific messages. It will address the complementary question: how much science do you need to know to appreciate and enjoy cartoons in science?

Report
by Carole Smith

This final lecture in the current series wittily encapsulated the fundamentals of the scientific method through the medium of the scientific cartoon. Explaining humour often does nothing for the joke, but these jokes often explained science – including its follies, fallacies, and unexpected successes. Some required knowledge of the subject, some needed no previous experience just a sense of humour, some were banal, some cruel, some were in-jokes (and not particularly funny), some were vulgar, some witty, thoughtful or subtle, and some were pure banana-skin hilarious. The settings frequently involved cliches like the leaning tower of Pisa, or Stone-Age men, falling apples, or entertaining juxtapositions. All presented the subject in an oblique way – the essence of humour as well as science.

The audience clearly understood the point of most of the jokes, and was kept in a ripple of laughter. This may be a tribute to the success of the YPS lecture series so brilliantly put together by Jim Matthew over the years.