Hanging out in a brainstorm...

Based on the posts so far, the diverse research interests of our group have been so interesting to read about – psychology, politics, art, books, history, film – and I really look forward to learning more about all of your interests and approaches to research.

Last week, I listened to an interview with Marc Abrahams, founder of Improbable Research. The organization strives to celebrate and facilitate research that “makes people laugh and then think”; activities include the Ig Nobel Prizes, awarded each September, which honour the outlandish, the hilarious, and the downright bizarre in the world of research (“What is Improbable Research?”, 2013). Past winners include a team which analyzed the effects of listening to opera on mice who have received a heart transplant, and another which determined the ideal density of airborne wasabi to alert sleeping people about an emergency, such as a fire, via a wasabi alarm (“The Winners”, 1991-2013). Strange and creative, the awards have incited my excitement in research!

I enjoyed listening and reading about Improbable Research and the Ig Nobel Prizes precisely because of the participants’ joyous attitudes towards research, and the way the event connects researchers from a range of disciplines, including chemistry, education, economics, literature, and more. In the first chapter of Salsa Dancing Into The Social Sciences, Kristin Luker examines her early experiences in research (an act of “mastering …within a narrow set of parameters”) and compares the process  with what she observes as a more contemporary practice of integrating various fields of study in projects (2008, p. 13). I find the interdisciplinary approach she describes to be both thrilling and daunting – there are no limits! Which is exactly the problem – how to go from an infinity of engaging topics to specifics. The exercise Luker proposes at the end is the perfect advice, because in the act of writing down many ideas and thoughts, I find it is easier to slowly tailor and refine each concept. Although I have not reached a more detailed plan yet, I will continue to work in this preliminary stage. I welcome your thoughts and ideas about how to balance focusing on a specific area of study, while also being open-minded, and engaged researcher who considers various facets of a given topic.

References

Luker, Kristin. (2008). Salsa Dancing Into The Social Sciences. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

What is Improbable Research? (2013). Retrieved September 19, 2013, from   http://www.improbable.com/about/

Winners of the Ig Nobel Prize (2013). Retrieved September 19, 2013, from http://www.improbable.com/ig/winners/