Hosted by EIC Mikael Angelo Francisco, Ask Theory shines the spotlight on Pinoy scientific brilliance, in a fun and entertaining “kwentuhan” format. Each episode of Ask Theory features a Pinoy scientist from one of the various scientific disciplines. In a very casual conversation, guests explain what they do in simple terms, as well as share their fascinating stories: how they got into science, the challenges they face, what motivates them to pursue their fields, what future scientists from the Philippines can look forward to, and so much more.
Episode 20: Sumusunod Ba Talaga Sa Science Ang Science Fiction?
Before I began my science communication journey in 2013, I was a pop culture writer. For a time, my focus was solely on writing news, reviews, and thought pieces about books, comics, TV shows, and movies. And while I eventually realized that writing about science was what I really wanted to do, I look back at those years fondly, finding comfort in the fact that we’ve come a long way from looking at geeky interests as “kids’ stuff” and a “waste of time.” Besides, I never really left pop culture behind. Why would I, when it’s such a great tool for popularizing science?
Our guest on today’s show is Dr. Ronald Allan Cruz, an Assistant Professor of Biology at Ateneo de Manila University. A biologist, science writer, and speculative fiction author, he marries his two passions — science and pop culture — in order to effectively popularize and communicate science to the public, whether through his published works or via his YouTube channel.
We talked about incorporating pop culture into science communication, a fundamental rule of science that people tend to neglect, the science behind films like Interstellar, Contagion, and Jurassic Park, science fiction tropes that are likely to happen in real life, why it’s not bad to “overthink” science fiction, and more.
Listen to Ask Theory Episode 020: Sumusunod Ba Talaga Sa Science Ang Science Fiction? here:
Check out Dr. Ron’s YouTube channel, PopScicle, here.
(Full transcript to follow; watch this page for updates)
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