Let’s get it out: I like the circus. Not the clowns (never funny), nor the dancing bears or other heartbreaking animal acts (luckily, those are all banned), but when it comes to knife throwers, tightrope walkers, trapeze acts or acrobats that defy gravity, I’m a very grateful audience. I really go all in, feeling the tension of the almost plunge into the depth or the knife just barely missing the exposed throat. I’m on the tip of my chair, holding my breath, although I’m perfectly aware that it’s all an act. But still, you never know, it could go wrong…

But to be honest, that is about as much tension as I can stand. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m no thrill seeker. I can’t watch horror movies, I don’t do rollercoasters and I always prefer the blue slope over a black one. However, when it comes to science, there is no limit to the thrills I can take. Intellectual jump scares, high climbs, sharp curves or steep descents are exactly what I enjoy most about being a science journalist. After all, in the mind, there is no limit to what we can do.

’When it comes to science, there is no limit to the thrills I can take’

At the same time, it is exactly the fact that there are limits, which makes it truly stimulating to ponder those far-reaching questions. Because it takes real creativity to imagine completely new worlds and possibilities ánd match those visions with the real constraints of our real world with all its obstructing complexities. That takes a balancing act which no circus performance can match. Just think of navigating between optimism and realism, between imagination and feasibility, between result oriented and curiosity driven and, last but not least, between focus and freedom.

And although I, so far, have never thought of scientists as circus artists, I think that those involved in ARC CBBC would be well equipped for such a career. Talking to some of them and reading the stories prepared by our pool of skilled and well-informed freelancers, gave me the impression of being in the audience and watching a great show in which mind-boggling ideas, pragmatic choices, creative solutions and critical analyses are juggled around like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Welcome to this circus of science. Let the show begin!