By Kim Johnston – A ‘Science & Humour’ Project (SCOM6006, 2025)

Fiction can create hypothetical worlds which explain complex scientific theories (Negrete, 2002). Literary fiction that includes climate change encourages the reader to imagine its impacts (Rong, 2023). My creative piece SCOM6006 submitted was designed to encourage the audience’s imagination. This can trigger an emotional response leading to action (Rong, 2023). This is why a book chapter was chosen for the creative project.

Several authors have written travel journals to communicate science. Douglas Adams wrote Last Chance to See as a comedy to raise awareness about endangered species (Adams & Carwardine, 2011). Before writing On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin wrote The Voyage of the Beagle – a travel adventure that includes history, biology and geology (Darwin, 1859; Darwin, 1909). More so, The Martian is a fictional log of a NASA astronaut. The book is based on the best available scientific information at the time. It uses the story to explain complex scientific principles from the Martian environment to long distance space travel (Weir, 2014). The success of these books has demonstrated the ability of literature to communicate science and raise awareness of important political issues (Tacer, 2023).

Melting ice has been used as a metaphor for environmental destruction by a diverse range of artists (Hemkendreis & Jürgens, 2024). In pop culture, the animated Ice Age movies use humour to engage the  audience while taking the negative impacts of climate change seriously (Holliday et al., 2023). Getting the balance between entertainment and conveying an accurate message is critical when communicating climate science (Kaltenbacher & Drews, 2020). Research of science communication that uses humour to promote action on climate change showed that it had a positive effect for awareness of the issue but a mixed effect for perception, learning and behavioural change (Kaltenbacher & Drews, 2020). In these contexts, humour has been connected to stimulate interest in knowledge and research, to increased attention and lowering stress levels (Savage et al., 2017). A study at Loma Linda University, California, for example, uses a humorous intervention to compare the learning ability of adults in a controlled experiment. There was a significant increase in leaning ability in the group with the humorous intervention compared to the control group (Bains et al., 2014). Another study compared the ability to learn science using a list of fact or a narrative story. Both groups were tested twice to compare short term and medium term memory (Negrete, 2002). The group that was given the list of facts performed slightly better on the short term memory test but no better and sometimes worse on the medium term memory test. The results show that literary stories are an effective form of science communication (Negrete, 2002).

For image credits and contexts, see report

My story uses a combination of irony, farcical situations and schadenfreude to engage the reader. This style of humour is supported by the incongruity theory (Meyer, 2000).  Incongruous fiction does not have to be humours it can also be tragic (Dadlez & Lüthi, 2018). A mixture of tragedy and comedy is used with a series of warning signs. The first two signs show increasing danger, the last one breaks the pattern. This surprise is unexpected and breaks the natural order, creating humour (Meyer, 2000). On page 14, a conversation between the main character and a child is used to explain the climate of Antarctica. Tension is created by the children arguing with the adult.  This is relieved through the children’s innocent interpretation of the science.

“Does that mean Antarctica is a superhero?”

Creating tension followed by release is an effective comic devise (Gadsby, 2022). The situational humour also has elements of schadenfreude, where readers are invited to laugh at the misfortune of the main character. This is turned around as the main character uses the children’s analogy as a metaphor for explaining the importance of the polar vortex. Climate science is also communicated on page 5 through a description of blue ice. Images are also used to show the natural beauty of the landscape reinforcing the message that the land, ocean and air are connected. Humour is used on page 7 with a description of mountains that are so tall that snow does not want to fall on them. These descriptions of the Antarctic environment are based on scientific research (Walton, 2013). There is also speculation about what might be possible in the future. On page 11, now extinct animals are brought back to life. This is done for comic purposes in line with the incongruity theory (Meyer, 2000). A huge leap in technology would be required to bring back a thylacine, let alone a velociraptor raptor (Ashley & Don, 2002). However, referring to species recently pushed to extinction by humans  reminds the reader that while we may one day have the power to bring some animals back, we were also responsible for their demise (Bienvenue & Chare, 2022).

Travel journals have been used in science communication for over one hundred years. The fusion of this style with incongruous humour and images increases the effectiveness of the science communicated. A book chapter was chosen for the creative project as the written word can engage the imagination of audiences, empowering them to act.