Physicists Find Answers Thru Improv
Wall Street Journal, September 4, 2008
by Alexandra Alter
Two Protons Walk Into a Black Hole, And Other Jokes Physicists Tell
Scientists Considering Weighty Matters In Switzerland Need a Little Comic Relief
MEYRIN, Switzerland — One recent Saturday morning, physicists here shot the first beam of subatomic matter into the most powerful particle accelerator ever built. The machine — a 17-mile circular tunnel that sits 330 feet underground along the Franco-Swiss border — is designed to smash protons together at nearly the speed of light. It will allow physicists to search for undiscovered particles, extra dimensions of space, dark matter and perhaps even microscopic black holes.
In a nearby auditorium, another groundbreaking experiment was under way: improvisational-comedy boot camp. Twenty-five researchers stood in a circle and awkwardly eyed one another. One of them told a physics joke — which was funnier if you’re familiar with bosons and hadrons, types of subatomic particles. On cue, they tossed an imaginary red ball around the room. That led to chaos as they contorted their bodies to form letters of the alphabet and collapsed onto the floor giggling.
Now, the physicists are seeking new ways to tackle obstacles and to explain the project to the public. To hone their communications and trouble-shooting skills, some took the unusual step of hiring an improvisational-comedy coach.
Maybe, they say, learning to improvise will help them think creatively about some of the toughest questions of physics, such as why gravity is so much weaker than the other fundamental forces, and why 95% of the universe seems to be missing.
![[Bob Stanek]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/HC-GM621_Stanek_NS_20080903210447.gif)
Bob Stanek
“Improv has got to be more difficult than doing physics. You have to think in milliseconds,” said Bob Stanek, a particle physicist who is leading CERN’s improv-comedy experiment. A short, wiry 59-year-old Chicago native with a white beard and round, gold-rimmed glasses, Mr. Stanek said he figured improv would help the physicists react quickly if something goes wrong. “When you’re discussing things that go on here on a daily basis — why your detector doesn’t work, why your machine isn’t collecting data — you have to know how to respond in a quick manner,” he said.
Mr. Stanek brought in Charna Halpern, an improv-comedy guru from Chicago whose roster of star students includes comedians Tina Fey, Mike Myers and Stephen Colbert. Since launching her Chicago theater in 1981, Ms. Halpern has trained executives and managers at companies such as BP and Abbott Laboratories. Ms. Halpern, 56, plans to return to CERN in October, when the physicists are scheduled to put on their first public performance. “The smarter you are, the better you are at this. That’s why physicists will be funny,” said Ms. Halpern, director of the iO theaters in Chicago and Los Angeles.
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