Novel Thoughts
| Created: | 2015-06-03 09:41 |
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| Institution: | Office of External Affairs and Communications |
| Description: | ‘Novel Thoughts’ is a series exploring the literary reading habits of eight Cambridge scientists. From illustrated children’s books to Thomas Hardy, from Star Wars to Middlemarch, we find out what fiction has meant to each of the scientists and peek inside the covers of the books that have played a major role in their lives. ‘Novel Thoughts’ was inspired by research at St Andrew’s University by Dr Sarah Dillon (now a lecturer in the Faculty of English at Cambridge) who interviewed 20 scientists for the ‘What Scientists Read’ project. She found that reading fiction can help scientists to see the bigger picture and be reminded of the complex richness of human experience. Novels can show the real stories behind the science, or trigger a desire in a young reader to change lives through scientific discovery. They can open up new worlds, or encourage a different approach to familiar tasks.
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Media items
This collection contains 8 media items.
Media items
Novel Thoughts #1: Paul Coxon on Jan Wahl's SOS Bobmobile
As a child, Dr Paul Coxon from Cambridge’s Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, was fascinated by the madcap inventions of the boy hero in Jan Wahl’s SOS Bobmobile ...
Collection: Novel Thoughts
Institution: Office of External Affairs and Communications
Created: Wed 3 Jun 2015
Novel Thoughts #2: Clare Bryant on AS Byatt’s Possession
Professor Clare Bryant from Cambridge’s Department of Veterinary Medicine explains how reading AS Byatt’s Possession at a crucial point in her early career reminded her of the...
Collection: Novel Thoughts
Institution: Office of External Affairs and Communications
Created: Wed 3 Jun 2015
Novel Thoughts #3: Karen Yu on George Lucas' Star Wars
Karen Yu’s growing love of science as a young girl was galvanised by reading the novelisation of the Star Wars movies (Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker by George...
Collection: Novel Thoughts
Institution: Office of External Affairs and Communications
Created: Wed 3 Jun 2015
Novel Thoughts #4: Simon Redfern on Chinghiz Aitmatov's Jamila
As a mineral scientist, Professor Simon Redfern from Cambridge’s Department of Earth Sciences travels widely, and likes his visits to be about more than just the rocks. A recent...
Collection: Novel Thoughts
Institution: Office of External Affairs and Communications
Created: Wed 3 Jun 2015
Novel Thoughts #5: Juliet Foster on Susan Fromberg Schaeffer's The Madness of a Seduced Woman
Dr Juliet Foster’s ongoing fascination with the portrayal of mental illness in literature was triggered by reading The Madness of a Seduced Woman by Susan Fromberg Schaeffer....
Collection: Novel Thoughts
Institution: Office of External Affairs and Communications
Created: Wed 3 Jun 2015
Novel Thoughts #6: Guy Pearson on Thomas Hardy’s Under the Greenwood Tree
A PhD student in cell biology at the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Guy Pearson draws a link between the pursuit of Fancy Day in Thomas Hardy’s Under the Greenwood Tree...
Collection: Novel Thoughts
Institution: Office of External Affairs and Communications
Created: Wed 3 Jun 2015
Novel Thoughts #7: Carol Brayne on Charles Dickens and George Eliot
Having decided to become a doctor at the age of 10, Professor Carol Brayne’s love of the novels of Charles Dickens and George Eliot fired up her determination to tackle social...
Collection: Novel Thoughts
Institution: Office of External Affairs and Communications
Created: Wed 3 Jun 2015
Novel Thoughts #8: Amy Milton on Hubert Selby’s Requiem for a Dream
Dr Amy Milton from Cambridge’s Department of Psychology relates how Requiem for a Dream, Hubert Selby’s bleak portrayal of drug addiction, motivated her to dedicate her academic...
Collection: Novel Thoughts
Institution: Office of External Affairs and Communications
Created: Wed 3 Jun 2015