‘Jaws’ portrayed sharks as monsters, but it also inspired a generation of shark scientists

Human fear of sharks has deep roots. Written works and art from the ancient world contain references to sharks preying on sailors as early as the eighth century B.C.E.

Relayed back to land, stories about shark encounters have been embellished and amplified. Together with the fact that from time to time – very rarely – sharks bite humans, people have been primed for centuries to imagine terrifying situations at sea.

In 1974, Peter Benchley’s bestselling novel “Jaws” fanned this fear into a wildfire that spread around the world.