Font choice matters; they change the impact and meaning of your message. You may not be as aware as your audience but that doesn’t change the impact. The particular choice that you make is important; do not simply accept the default. Font choices matter.
Don McMillan is a standup comedian who uses Powerpoint as a major part of his act. Check out his YouTube channel but in particular this little snippet.
For a slightly more niche view on matters fontographic, check out Elle Cordova showcasing the “fonts” hanging out and chatting.
It matters. It matters a lot. It has a subconscious but direct and significant influence on the impact of your message. Consider a shop and the sign above a door. Is this expensive? Does it speak of quality? Or is it cheap and throwaway? Think of clothes for a formal event. Simple and restrained or overly flamboyant and extreme? Or, the same as everyone else. These are intended messages affected by choice. None is right or wrong, but the intent is clear. Font choice matters for the same reason.
Yes, font choice matters in a scientific setting as well. It is ridiculous to believe that science is all about the data. Font choice matters. The God Particle announcement was sidetracked by the nature of the presentation. There is no important scientific meeting where one would intimate to the audience that the topic is a joke or childish or from a comic. Font choice also affects cognitive processing with Serif fonts, such as Times New Roman being harder to read on screens, especially at distance and when of small size. That’s not opinion, that’s perceptual science.
You want your message to be taken seriously, to be easily understood and to have a chosen impact. Choose a font that achieves these goals. Do not simply accept the default or pick something “ironic”. Font choice matters.