by Tom Gauld (Canongate)
This week, we have a jumbo dose of Tom Gauld, who has been producing weekly cartoons for 快猫短视频 for the past few years.
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鈥淚 like being the funny guy in the midst of a thoughtful magazine,鈥� he says. Seeing Gauld鈥檚 cartoons before the rest of the world is a perk of working for 快猫短视频. They tackle a huge variety of scientific topics and always make everyone laugh and smile. His new book, Department of Mind-Blowing Theories, was published this month and draws together some of his best work.
How does Gauld come up with his ideas? 鈥淚 always carry a sketchbook 鈥� one in my pocket, and one in my bag,鈥� he says. He tries to catch ideas as they emerge, so that each week 鈥淚鈥檓 not starting from nowhere鈥�.
Take the Department of Experimental Geometry cartoon. 鈥淭hat was a case of the joke fitting the image,鈥� says Gauld. 鈥淚鈥檝e always liked weird mathematical drawing and knew it would be a good basis for a 箩辞办别.鈥�
Science wasn鈥檛 always a natural topic for Gauld, as he hadn鈥檛 studied the subject since secondary school. 鈥淲hen I got the job, I started educating myself. I subscribed to lots of science podcasts and began reading the magazine thoroughly,鈥� he says.
Gauld鈥檚 cartoons are also a big hit on social media, where they are regularly shared and commented on.
快猫短视频s are often the butt of the joke in his work, but they also seem to enjoy the cartoons. Gauld says several scientists have asked for his permission to include one of his cartoons in a presentation or a paper.
So why do they like them? 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 because I have a respect for their work. I make fun of it in a careful way, like teasing a friend,鈥� he says.
That teasing serves a purpose. , cartoonist and scientist Jason McDermott said: 鈥淭here are divides between scientific fields and between scientists and the general public. Comics can help bridge these divides by making a hard concept or complicated subject more approachable.鈥�
Gauld, with his uncanny ability to humanise scientists and their fields, achieves this every week. Take his cartoon about 鈥渓iterally blowing minds鈥� (bottom far-left). Gauld tells me it was inspired by a tour guide at a stately home who warned him that the next room was 鈥渓iterally mind-blowing鈥�.
The joke is ultimately about language, but it also fits into the world of research, says Gauld. 鈥淵ou should try to be clear in science.鈥� Of course, it works so well because science is often filled with bewildering terminology.
So what is next for Gauld? He has quantum mechanics in his sights. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 my dream 鈥� to draw a really good quantum mechanics 箩辞办别.鈥�
