What's So Funny About Science?: Cartoons

by Sidney Harris

Book Overview

What's So Funny About Science?: Cartoons from American Scientist This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0913232424
• ISBN13: 9780913232422
• Release Date: January 1977
• Publisher: William Kaufmann
• Length: 120 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.

Customer Reviews

An existence proof of how many ways science is indeed funny

The answer to the question is an emphatic, "A great deal, but only in the hands of the right person." Harris is without question one of the right people. In addition to being funny, his cartoons are topical, sometimes biting and send a clear message. He lampoons scientists, people who worship science, those who exploit science for their own ends and all who have no respect for the natural structure of the planet. My favorite is the man in a suit sitting at a desk at what is a research institution. The caption reads, "I think, therefore I am paid." A close second is the first cartoon in the book, which is a modification of the famous painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. That painting shows God reaching his index finger out to Adam, who is also reaching back. In this cartoon, a microorganism is at the end of God's finger. Funny and yet so very profound.

Quite a bit, apparently.

OK, so I'm a scientist, but it's one of the few cartoonbooks that stands re-reading. And, it's not justme. One of my daughter's 7 year old soccer buddies wasflipping through and giggling through the cartoonsshe understood.It's understated humor, and it often takes a leap toget from the caption to the laugh, but every one isdifferent and fresh. The facial expressions are particularlygood.

Giggles and grins abound

Cartoonists are truly a breed apart from the rest of us. Not only must they possess a high degree of artistic ability, but they also must have a point to make. Some of the funniest things that I have ever seen have been cartoons lampooning politicians, who by definition possess more than their share of self-importance. Scientists also take themselves very seriously and therefore are legitimate targets for the cartoonists pen. Nobody does this better than Sidney Harris, and this collection is full of giggles and grins. I have posted many of these cartoons on my office wall and have seen many others do the same. Even though the cartoons are funny, they do have a serious side. Pollution and environmental degradation are serious issues and the author raises them without becoming sanctimonious or preachy. Sidney Harris is my favorite cartoonist, blending the serious with the hilarious. If you like to laugh while receiving serious messages, then you will love this book.