Going into the unknown in science and art

Conférence publique de Uri Alon (Weizmann Institute of Science).

Scientists must grope into the undefined place beyond the known. So must improvisation theater actors walking onto the stage with no idea what will happen next. Improvisation theater developed practices that help groups of actors create a new scene on the spot, by focusing on mutual support: saying yes to each others ideas and bypassing the inner critic that spoils our spontaneity. I'll describe how as a scientist by day and improvisation actor by night, I learned from theater how to do better science. The concepts are universal and can apply to unexpected situations across disciplines.