I wrote this originally as a talk I was going to give at an all-staff meeting. I think it would have killed, but it came to me in the 11th hour and changing what I already submitted wasn’t feasible. I’m posting it here instead, because I want to get it out there.
I’d like to tell you about my job, but first I want to show you something.
This is Michael. He’s on a game show from the 80s called Press Your Luck and he’s about to do something that’s never been done before. He’s going to win and he’s going to win very, very big. While we watch the clip there’s something I want you to listen for — the crowd. Let’s watch.
Amazing right? Unbelievable. That was the most money ever won on Press Your Luck. Michael’s episode spanned two nights because he was completely unstoppable.
Did you hear that crowd? They were losing it. Every time he waved his hand they got louder, and louder, and more entertained by the absolute spectacle of 80s’ game show wonder happening before them. In 20 minutes Michael went from an absolute nobody to a bonafide folk hero. The best part? The part that gives me the most hope? It was all a lie. Yeah, it was a total lie. You see, everyone thought the selection of the squares was random. It wasn’t. Michael found a pattern. The producers knew the sequences weren’t random, but they never thought someone would take the time to learn all of the combinations and, even if they did, what are the odds that such a person could get themselves on the show? 10,000 to 1? 1,000,000 to 1? To them, it was an absolute impossibility.
After it came out that Michael had gamed the system, the producers considered not giving him his winnings. Eventually they did, and in future episodes the patterns were randomized. But, that’s not important. What’s important is that, for a few glorious moments of programming, Michael Larson gave people a sense of joy. A joy that was unexpected. He gave them something to talk about in their homes and at work the next day. A moment of television history that would travel well beyond the 20 minutes he spent taking money from lazy producers all the way here to this room today.
I want to show you something else.
Our jobs — the thing we do here — our institutional mission to bring people joy through science does not end once the building closes, and it does not end once you go home. It lives with our guests and it travels. For some of them, it will travel with them for the rest of their lives. My part in this mission is to keep that joy alive online wherever and whenever I can. Now, I’d like to show you how I do it…