- Playing
- Physics for Poets
- From
- Lu Olkowski
People often depict scientists as eggheads who don't appreciate beauty. Physicist Michael Salamon, who works at NASA's Universe Division, takes issue with that.
He references Walt Whitman's "When I heard the learn'd astronomer" from Leaves of Grass and argues that the poem perpetuates a myth of the scientist as a bookworm who doesn't appreciate beauty. He asserts that exactly the opposite is true: aesthetics have driven Michael's career as a scientist. And the careers of many scientists who he knows.
In this piece, Michael helps the lay listener appreciate the absolute gorgeousness of complex equations and discoveries.
First broadcast on PRI's Studio 360 on September 14, 2006.
More from Lu Olkowski
The Cutting Place
(05:03)
From: Lu Olkowski
A documentary poem about DJ Guerin, who’s 32, with 7 kids.
Just a Girl
(04:59)
From: Lu Olkowski
A documentary poem about an afternoon spent with Billie Jean Hill at the Flag Day parade in Troy, New York. Billie Jean is a 25-year-old woman with a young son, who recently ...
In the Office of Temporary Assistance
(04:00)
From: Lu Olkowski
A documentary poem about an afternoon that poet Susan B.A. Somers-Willett spent with Billie Jean Hill at the New York State Office of Temporary Assistance.
Choosers, Not Beggars
(29:09)
From: Lu Olkowski
Two men more or less allow themselves to become homeless in order to dedicate their time to writing poetry
Life In A Dream, Life On Film
(08:41)
From: Lu Olkowski
A profile of Jeremiah Zagar whose award winning documentary, "In a Dream" opens in theaters Spring 2009.
http://www.inadreammovie.com/
Grandpa
(08:47)
From: Lu Olkowski
A father and son have a contest to take the best pictures of their dying grandpa, the result is an up-close portrait of death.
Meet the Bees
(06:36)
From: Lu Olkowski
How I roped my parents into becoming characters on Creature Comforts, a claymation show on CBS. (Come on, listen to it... my parents are funny people.)
J Walter Hawkes
(05:13)
From: Lu Olkowski
Trombonist J. Walter Hawkes, who now plays with Norah Jones, almost quit music. He was going to pursue a more regular-guy path in computer programming. But then a horrible ...
Cell Tower
(06:17)
From: Lu Olkowski
Don Ingber is a cell biologist from Harvard Medical School, Children's Hospital. One day he saw a piece of modern sculpture and was inspired to make a major breakthrough in ...
I'm Not a Doctor, but I Play One at the Holiday Inn
(16:30)
From: Lu Olkowski
A former heroin addict realizes that he wants to help other addicts kick their habits. The problem is, he wants to do this using a hallucinogenic drug - Ibogaine - that is ...
Related Pieces
Piece Description
People often depict scientists as eggheads who don't appreciate beauty. Physicist Michael Salamon, who works at NASA's Universe Division, takes issue with that. He references Walt Whitman's "When I heard the learn'd astronomer" from Leaves of Grass and argues that the poem perpetuates a myth of the scientist as a bookworm who doesn't appreciate beauty. He asserts that exactly the opposite is true: aesthetics have driven Michael's career as a scientist. And the careers of many scientists who he knows. In this piece, Michael helps the lay listener appreciate the absolute gorgeousness of complex equations and discoveries. First broadcast on PRI's Studio 360 on September 14, 2006.
Broadcast History
First broadcast on PRI's Studio 360 on September 14, 2006.
Transcript
Narration: When Michael Salamon was young, a close friend of the family moved in to his home in Brooklyn Heights. This family friend had a unique combination of qualities: he was a poet who translated Federico Garc?a Lorca ? and he?d spent time in the USSR studying their early space program.
Michael: and he would sit by my bed and tell me stories about space ? and I think in some way he was the primal influence in this regard ? I always had space in my mind?
Narration: Michael was a scientifically inclined kid growing up in a literary household. His mother worked on the editorial staff at a New York publishing house - so he grew up to be very well-read - comfortable with all kinds of literature. To this day Michael thinks he?s more interested in the arts and poetry than other physicists.
He can?t remember when exactly he first read Walt Whitman?s passage ?I Heard the Le...
Read the full transcript
Musical Works
| Title | Artist | Album | Label | Year | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any Other Name | Thomas Newman | Cafe del Mar, Vol. 8. | MCA Records | 2001 | 00:00 |
| Try (Just a Little Bit Harder | Janis Joplin & The Kozmic Blues Band | Janis [Disc 2]. | Columbia Records | 1993 | 00:00 |
Of 4 purchasers of this piece...
- 3 also bought:
- 3 also bought:
- 3 also bought:
The WASPs: Women Pilots of WWII (21:43) - 3 also bought:
- 3 also bought:
