She blinded me with science?

by Geoff Hart

Previously published as: Hart, G.J. 2005. She blinded me with science. the Exchange 12(1):6. http://www.stcsig.org/sc/newsletter/html/2005-1.htm#songs

Readers of a certain age may recall Thomas Dolby's 1983 pop hit She blinded me with science with fond nostalgia. Older readers with a penchant for Gilbert and Sullivan may have been inspired by Tom Lehrer's brilliant parody of Modern Major General, The Elements Song. But any reader who might be tempted to believe that there's nothing so unmusical a subject as science should point their Web browsers to the "Math And Science Song Information, Viewable Everywhere" (MASSIVE) database, maintained by Greg Crowther of the University of Washington. Search by title, performer, writer, or even keyword—though oddly enough for a scientifically oriented site, not by using Boolean operators in your keywords—and see what turns up in the list of more than 1800 songs!

Many of these songs come with a sample MP3 file or other audio format for your listening pleasure. Better still, have a look at the companion MASSIVE Radio site for streaming audio to help you through your latest engineering report.

For readers who belie the stereotype of the artless scientist, there's even a Science Songwriters Association where you can met and mingle with other aurally inspired science geeks.

My essays on scientific communication have now been collected in the following book:

Hart, G. 2011. Exchanges: 10 years of essays on scientific communication. Diaskeuasis Publishing, Pointe-Claire, Que. Printed version, 242 p.; eBook in PDF format, 327 p.