The serious case for not taking science too seriously

Be entirely serious about science if you like. But recognize that, perhaps, your seriousness is not entirely sensible.

Dudley Herschbach, recipient of a 1986 Nobel Chemistry Prize, often delights in explaining that a sense of humor can be core to a career in science. Every scientist, he says, knows that most of the things they try will fail. Having a sense of humor about that fact can help a person better enjoy (and when necessary endure) their career.

In 1991, with help from Dudley and other scientists, I created the annual Ig Nobel Prize ceremony, which honors research so surprising that it makes people first laugh, then think. The prizes are also a sneaky way to help non-scientists become curious about science, and help scientists become curious about things outside their specialty.

During the past 35 years, many Ig Nobel prizes have dealt with chemistry. Here are some of them:

Jan Zalasiewicz explained why many scientists like to lick rocks. Subsequent to winning the prize, he has given many talks about how rock-licking was part of the birth of chemistry as a distinct profession. Rotem Naftalovich and colleagues tested whether eating Teflon [polyt

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