One of the things I wanted to talk about this week is using comedy to communicate science! It's a major passion of mine, and it's pretty fun too. 
Einstein famously said that if you can't explain something simply, you don't understand it well enough. But I think it goes further- to me, making something funny is one of the highest levels of understanding.
That's why I started #BrightClub in Ireland: a variety night where half the acts are comedians, and half are academic researchers using comedy to explain their work.
Comedy is about finding surprises, and acknowledging the bizarre and sometimes incomprehensible nature of the world we live in. Kind of like science, in my view, so why not bring them together?
Researchers who take part in #BrightClub get trained on how to find the funny in their work (without making fun of it, an important distinction!). Half these people are academics from science, social science & humanities, and the rest are comedians!
It's great to see research coming together with comedy, for the public who fund it! We run regular nights in Dublin (@BrightClubDub) and Galway (@brightclubgal) but have also been to Cork, Limerick, Sligo, Athlone, & Monaghan.
We're also able to put lots of our #BrightClub talks online thanks to support from @scienceirel: youtube.com/channel/UCRIrb…
Why are we doing this? To empower researchers, inform and engage the public, and contribute to cultural and societal change. In a fun way.
(I'd be remiss if I didn't mention here that the #BrightClub format was pioneered by @steve_x in the UK, who has been very supportive and sometimes comes to do gigs with us!)
Comedy changes how people think about the world we live in, about complex ideas, and about each other. When you listen to a joke, you are waiting for the punchline - you're literally waiting to change your mind.
If you want to know more about why comedy is such a powerful tool for change, I gave a @TEDxTUM talk about it which I'm pretty proud of:
Or if you'd like more info, there's always brightclub.ie! I really love running #BrightClub and am grateful for all our supporters and team members. It's really rewarding to see people changing how they think about research. #ScienceWeek
