A newly released survey of more than 500 scientific conference presentations over a two-year period set out to determine whether scientists are having fun — fun in and of itself, even though it may not be the most productive use of time. The results were similar to what you would expect. Two-thirds of attempts at humor garnered polite laughter or blunt silence, and only 9% were successful enough to make most of the room laugh. Not surprisingly, the biggest laughs came from technical issues like slide malfunctions and microphone cuts. (Nothing brings an audience together faster than watching someone else do something wrong.)
Anyone who has ever attended a conference on any topic anywhere knows that scientists do not have a monopoly on bombing. It’s difficult to bring out humor in front of an unprepared audience. Even SNL calls its opening segment a “cold open.” The first laugh is the hardest to get because the audience hasn’t laughed at anything yet.
About 40% of the conversations avoided humor entirely, which was safe but would probably make the afternoon much longer. Science shows that more interesting things make conversations less memorable. “Despite the incredibly rich and interesting content at conferences, it can be difficult to stay engaged. And being engaged means being awake,” one physician-scientist told Nature. The study also spoke with one of the study’s eight(!) co-authors.
