Comedy and the art of STEM communication

Bec Hill makes a compelling case. It often feels as if we – as a global community – are sleepwalking into an oblivion of our own making despite being well aware of what we face when it comes to issues such as climate change. The missing link, according to Hill (pictured left), is communication, and that is where her comedy should be taken seriously.

An often-overlooked challenge for engineers is that of communicating their visions to a less technically-minded audience and when it comes to a field such as climate engineering, the issues are so far-reaching and nuanced the difficulties are magnified. Hill believes comedians such as herself have an important role to play in making such topics more accessible and understandable.

Science communicator Timandra Harkness

“I would argue that art is the communication of an idea and it’s all very well having the science but if you can’t communicate it properly then it is useless,” said the Australian co-host of The DesignSpark Podcast, which explores modern tech from a comedy perspective.