Voices From The Community
Science in seconds
Story by Laura Ly/Illustration by Leeay Aikawa
A new website challenges you to learn about science—from black holes to white blood cells and everything in between—in two minutes or less.
Science is typically associated with labs, textbooks, and technical jargon. But a new website, Science in Seconds, aims to change that perception by taking science out of the lab with short, easy to understand blog posts and videos. The site has a simple but ambitious motto: “Know Everything.” This is not the jargon-heavy science you’ll find in journals and textbooks; it’s science with personality—tongue-in-cheek, sometimes irreverent, but always fun.
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| L to R: Brittany Trogen, Torah Kachur, Rheanna Sand |
Science in Seconds was conceived in 2009 by Brittany Trogen, Rheanna Sand, and Torah Kachur while they were students at the University of Alberta, bonding over a shared interest in science communications. The site went live in 2010 and now receives several thousand hits and views per week. The three scientists also write, host, and produce all content.
With all the available distractions on the internet, people typically only spend short amounts of time on any particular site. Science in Seconds caters to the short attention span of its audience with short blog posts and two minute videos—a small time commitment that people can easily fit into their busy lives. Trogen describes the site as a “gateway drug to science”: “You can have a quick little taste of science, and it’ll make you want to come back for more because you’ll be hooked after one hit.”
The site translates high-level, technical science into a format that all levels and types of audiences can understand and appreciate. However, the site is careful not to oversimplify or dumb down the concepts. It provides a “concentrated” dose of science—brief but comprehensive. The ideal audience is people who are interested in science and who want to learn more. “Who needs the knowledge? Maybe it’s young people who are in school and want to learn more about their lessons. Maybe it’s someone that enjoys seeing science videos. We want to reach a broad audience,” explains Sand.
The site reaches that broad audience by providing an extensive and diverse array of subjects that could potentially interest anyone. “There is science in everything,” states Sand. Science in Seconds has proven that with a wide range of topics including artificial intelligence, dinosaurs, Ghostbusters, Febreze, CSI, bomb-sensing plants, and even a video on cow flatulence. When it comes to topics, anything goes—as long as it has a basis in research and evidence. All topics are extensively researched, and all presented information is verified by scientific papers.
Science communications can sometimes be dull and sterile, which can prevent people from being interested in, or reading about, science. Science in Seconds infuses all content with pop culture references and jokes—a unique element that helps to prevent audience boredom and makes the site more accessible. “I think jargon and technical material can turn people away, but humour really helps interest people who aren’t naturally inclined to read the material you’re presenting to them,” explains Trogen.
“I think we’re bred as scientists to be humourless. You rarely, if ever, joke in a scientific paper,” says Sand. However, she learned how effective humour can be in science while being a teaching assistant (TA). “I was really stiff while teaching, and my mentor suggested I bring humour into my lessons. I felt more relaxed once I did, and the students’ marks and my evaluations were better because students enjoyed being in class with a funny TA. That’s when I learned that science and humour can go far together,” relates Sand.
Another unique characteristic of the website is that all the hosts and writers are women. Men typically outnumber women in science, particularly in science communications. Male communicators such as David Suzuki, Bill Nye, and Jay Ingram are recognizable names and faces; in contrast, female science communicators aren’t as well known. “If the site can influence women to go into science or help communicate science, that would make me really happy,” says Sand.
Trogen hopes that Science in Seconds ultimately becomes a large treasury for science. With hundreds of blog posts and almost a hundred videos, the site is slowly getting there. “We want the site to be a repository where people can look up any kind of scientific concept, and we’ll have a quick blog post or video explaining it,” says Trogen. “The number of topics that we’d like to address is so vast; we’ll never run dry of ideas.”
“We want to scour for topics that people aren’t talking about. We don’t want to be another echo in the science chamber, we want to be unique,” adds Sand.