Ian harris

I believe in my dream to promote science education and critical thinking to the masses through comedy and entertainment.

What started this dream?
I have been a comedian for 24 years. I took 5 years off when my daughter was born to be off the road and not be gone for her first years. I realized that she never knew me as a comedian, just as a fight trainer and voice over actor, but I still identified as a comedian. She went with me to an open mic and it was amazing! I realized how much I really missed it. Comedy was my dream as a kid and I had abandoned it, though for the right reasons, it was time to go back. I decided to get back into comedy, but not full time, just on my own time for my own enjoyment. I no longer needed it for a living, so I started just talking about what I love to talk about: religion, science, critical thinking, beliefs, skepticism, etc. I am fascinated by what people believe and why people believe things that are not supported by facts.  I decided to write a new hour with all the points I would like my daughter to see at some point, to understand me, to know what her Dad was about, etc. then  put a video. It evolved into my first T.V. hour special, "Critical & Thinking".
​
What motivates you to follow this dream?
Look around at the world. I just re-read Carl Sagan's "Demon Haunted World" which was published in 1996, 20 years ago and it was eerie how he named the same issues we are dealing with today, climate change, pollution, deforestation, religious zealotry, etc and pointed out that the last scientifically literate president was most likely Thomas Jefferson and how rarely if ever do we have congress people who even understand the basics of the arguments they are passing legislation on. Plus 20 years ago they got rid of the committee that helped congress understand the science. Furthermore, the generals public probably has even less understanding, yet is voting! Knowing what the facts are and how to determine what is real and what is not backed by sufficient evidence is even more important these days with all the misinformation on the internet.  I want my daughter to live in a better world than we live in.

What are your goals?
It is my job to make people laugh. That is my number one goal, but if I can get people thinking, researching and wondering through my comedy I will. When people laugh they let their defenses down and consider new ideas. It is not an argument, it is a show for entertainment, but comedians are often considered modern day philosophers. We have a public forum or stage that reaches thousands and has the potential to reach millions. Comedy is about pointing out the absurd and laughing at society and ourselves. I like to point out the absurdity of the things we believe and how the evidence either supports something else or at least does not support that belief in a way that makes the audience laugh at themselves, look at the subject from a new and simpler angle. I always get people coming up to me after shows either telling me that I changed their minds on something, got them thinking enough to research further or arguing with me about why I am wrong… either way the gears are turning and if you truly seek the facts, they are out their and facts are not subject to opinion. These questions and problems had real answers. Some of them have answers already and others don't, but the the best way we have to find the true answers is through honest, unbiased scientific investigation.

What would you like people to know and where can we find you?
I am on social media Twitter/Facebook @comediocre (for both). I have several YouTube channels but most of my modern comedy lives on /ApocalypseComedyShow. But if you really want to see what I am about please watch my first T.V. special "Critical & Thinking" available on Hulu, iTunes, Amazon and most other VOD formats. I just finished taping my 2nd hour special "ExtraOrdinary" and we are in the process of finishing it and negotiating where it will end up (Netflix, Amazon, Showtime, Starz, Seeso, etc)… so look for that in 2017!
​
UPDATE: Ian's special drops Dec 12th. Amazon, AmazonPrime, iTunes, GooglePlay and most VOD sites.

​​The Dreamer Blog features two people each week in pursuit of their dreams, large or small everyone has a dream that deserves support. Douglas Geller, the author of this blog is also the author of the book The Dreamer; you can learn more about The Dreamer and purchase it at: http://amzn.to/2j7W79P

---