Sep 01 2008
Two Sides
One of my personal heroes is Richard Feynman. He was a brilliant thinker and a true lover of life. He had a passion for science and a passion for art.
What follows is an over-simplification to the point of gross distortion, no doubt. But it seems to me that the guy had two hemispheres to his brain and he fully used them both. The analytical-scientific and the spatial-artistic.
The caricature of the scientist as a nerd with pencils in his shirt pocket, a person who sees the world in black-and-white and speaks in a squeaky monotone, is certainly incorrect. Okay, we probably own more pencils than non-scientists. Also in conformity with the caricature may be a higher degree of smarts, and an almost alien application of it (to the intellectually terrestrial), derisively labeled “nerdy.” Contrary to the caricature, however, when you meet and actually talk to scientists, you usually discover that they tend to enjoy using their brains in many ways. As do all smart people. Art is one of those ways.
Me, I enjoying taking photographs of nature. The above pic is a palmetto frond with electromagnetic radiation streaming through it. I also enjoy film, abstract art, dance . . . . And football. Sure, I may have a nerdy side, but that’s only one side.
I discovered your blog and other writings only a couple of days ago and became an instant fan. Maybe the reminders of the beauties of Florida play a part, even though the south’s appalling heat finally drove me away forever. I share your appreciation for Feyman and his intellectual complexity.