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2015 'Dance Your PhD' Winner Announced (sciencemag.org)

Posted by Soulskill on from the do-a-loony-goony-dance-'cross-the-kitchen-floor dept.

sciencehabit writes: Jargon seems unavoidable in science. When you try to explain your work, it becomes a minefield of technical concepts and abstract reasoning. But what if we just want the gist of what you do, the essence of your research? Oh, and make it a dance. The results are in from Science magazine's annual 'Dance Your PhD' contest. The winners include a ballet about a protein, a tango about entangled photons, a Bollywood spectacle about the immune system and, this year's top prize-winner, a dance by Florence Metz of the University of Bern, Switzerland, who combined hip hop, salsa, and acro-yoga to explain her PhD on the intricacies of water protection policies. She goes home with $1000 and a trip to Stanford University in the spring to screen her PhD dance and give a talk — hopefully jargon-free.

18 comments

  1. Pole Dance by PPH · · Score: 1

    FTW!

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    Have gnu, will travel.
    1. Re:Pole Dance by i.r.id10t · · Score: 1

      I'm just dancing while I finish my post-Doc ...

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      Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos
    2. Re:Pole Dance by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can't dance.

      But I'm still getting my undergraduate degree... maybe if I start now, by the time I get to a PhD I'll be better than fucking Fred Astaire.

  2. Grad students? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What upside down world is this where people have time to dance and sh#$ while doing their PhDs? Someone at my school saw this and thought it would be a good idea. Nobody did it. Thank god.

  3. Nah, not really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The less you have to say, the more you add icing.

    Contrast with how things were done 50 years ago:

    https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/techr...

    This guy basically invented pretty much everything, and you can read it in an evening.

    1. Re:Nah, not really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh, lighten up. It's just a bit of fun.

    2. Re:Nah, not really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, I will not lighten up about how universities have become a cult-like merchandiser of "educational products" and forcing everyone to get into massive debt just to get an office job. To satisfy HR drones...

  4. Related by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not really about a Ph.D but similar idea.

  5. Wonderfully surreal and out-of-the box by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

    I'm surprised there isn't more chatter here about this. A good many of these entries are quite clever and creative.

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    If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    1. Re:Wonderfully surreal and out-of-the box by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unless of course the PhD was in modern interpretive dance. Then you would just be watching the thesis without any added "creativeness".

    2. Re:Wonderfully surreal and out-of-the box by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      I'm surprised there isn't more chatter here about this. A good many of these entries are quite clever and creative.

      The average slashdotter can't dance and doesn't have a PHd, so it's unclear as to what there is to attract us to this story. This seems like a story for people who claim to love science but can't tell you how the scientific method works.

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      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    3. Re:Wonderfully surreal and out-of-the box by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      Well, I think it probably stems from people in highly specialized fields trying to explain really really domain specific information and getting utterly blank stares.

      From the second link:

      "My main aim with this video was to make people laugh," Metz says. But she's now finding that the dance helps people understand her work better. "This bridge between academia and the nonacademic world is crucial."

      So, you know, have fun with it, and see if you can explain to your mom what you've been researching.

      Honestly, un-clench a little.

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      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    4. Re:Wonderfully surreal and out-of-the box by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Honestly, un-clench a little.

      Don't worry, I'm not butt-hurt. I'm just trying to help some people understand why some other people might think this is dumb. Me, I don't think some content that makes you say "meh" is worthy of comment.

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      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  6. Why? by azav · · Score: 1

    This is fucking stupid. All the stupid.

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    - Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
    1. Re:Why? by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      Because it's hilarious.

      Why does it need to have a reason?

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      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    2. Re: Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      +1 Thank you. It is utter BS

  7. But! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What about architecture? Were they dancing about architecture?