This year has seen a surge of collaboration between physics and art, with Superposition in London, Morphogenesis in Bristol currently running (linked to pic), and CERN's in-house alliance of scientists and creatives. The Institute of Physics wants to expand horizons and broaden the scope of science in the public mind. Some scientists are asking, "At what cost?"
The petit filous of challenging equations needing to be tamed in the wake of Higgs, the storm of excitement surrounding Dark Matter, and the whole issue of quantum field theory venturing into new territory leaves many a little nervous. With reason, perhaps. The Universe expands.
The petit filous of challenging equations needing to be tamed in the wake of Higgs, the storm of excitement surrounding Dark Matter, and the whole issue of quantum field theory venturing into new territory leaves many a little nervous. With reason, perhaps. The Universe expands.
While universal expansion continues unabated, and Dark Matter is heralded as the unseen culprit which keeps it moving, we have a lot of catching up to do. Popular scientists like Frank Close and John Gribbin brought the basis of quantum theory into public view with their marvellous array of books, but now we're up against a new kind of wall that is difficult to climb, because it isn't really there.
To the unscientific mind, unfettered by formulas and the chainmail of constraints, the new landscape looks very exciting. No wonder so many artisans are keen to join the ranks of intrepid explorers searching the cosmos for inspiration! Physicists, however, are uncertain. On the one hand, it seems ludicrous that Dark Matter should prove so elusive when clearly it's there and equally clearly, it makes up most of what is. On the other hand, it seems that any possible significant breakthrough will be achieved through unorthodox means. Traditionally, scientists are not keen on the unorthodox. All the great groundbreakers, from Newton to Feynman, came up against stiff opposition for their ideas. How are the creatives going to fare when everyone's back is to the wall, awaiting the onslaught of a Theory That Makes Sense?
There is a legion of young scientists out there with minds unchained by old values, but one suspects they are being herded into the shed of constants even as we speak of them. General Relativity has it that E equals M+C squared, and this most famous of all equations puts a stranglehold on what may have to be realised - that energy and matter are not necessarily equivalent, and they don't necessarily have to marry the speed of light (the 'C' in Einstein's notorious formula).
Science is in two minds. One train of thought wants desperately to keep treading the traditional tracks in searching for new truths. Another wants to open itself to a different way of thinking, an instinctive approach to a problem new to us, but nothing new to the Universe from which it came. We only have to hark back to history to remind ourselves that the Dark Ages was a time of great knowledge, almost all of which has been destroyed, when alchemists were treading boards between science and philosophy and intuition was a welcome addition to the quiver of arrows hunting for answers.
Let's prepare new ground with a new approach. Let's trust our gut, knowing as we do that the outdated methods of working through quandaries have spent their reserves and have no more fertility left to give. We are all party to this journey, and we all have much to gain. There is also a lot to lose, if we continue to be swayed by commercial illusions and plentiful shekels of silver. Time itself is bending with the space that circles round it. Time for us to bend to its will, and stop baulking at the shining light of darknesses we cannot see.
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