11 May 2017

Science meets comedy

From Our Changing World, 9:05 pm on 11 May 2017
Funny man and scientist Tim Muller

Funny man and scientist Tim Muller Photo: Supplied

Tim Muller is a scientist by day and a comedian by night.

His upcoming show at the NZ International Comedy Festival, Laugh now, Google latertackles climate change, alternative facts and the limits of human knowledge.

"What do we know, and not just that but how do we know what we know, and even beyond that, how do we know that we know what we know? You can take it even further – who do we know that knows how we know what we know?"

Comedy can help bridge ideological divides which are getting more entrenched, he says.

"If you can understand something as a joke, you can communicate things in a much more non-threatening way that maybe has more of a chance – if you do it well – of actually changing minds or bringing people from different camps together."

On the Large Hadron Collider:

"I'm part-Swiss, so I'm quite into it from that perspective. It's not a competition, but it's a little more impressive than the Woodville tunnel."

On nitrogen:

"I'm all in favour of nitrogen gas in the atmosphere. I think the world would be a lot more flammable without that."

On antibiotic resistance:

"It's definitely something I worry about, but unfortunately I'm not the right person to ask how to fix it, other than finish that course of antibiotics the doctor gave you and don't ask for them for the flu."

Tim Muller performs Laugh now, Google later in Auckland on 12,13,19 and 20 May.

He promises to elect fact-checkers from the audience to ensure he doesn’t wander into the realm of alternative facts.

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