Symmetry and Aesthetics in Introductory Physics: Bringing the sense of Wonder back into Physics Education Jatila van der Veen Presented at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics 25 April 2008 1
The development of the course was supported by NASA grant #20070268 and the Planck Surveyor Mission For further information, please visit www.ccs.ucsb.edu/course_sites/symmetry 2
"Science and art are not separate from each other. They assist us in observing nature. With the help of science we can discover the routines of nature. Through art we can describe the emotions of nature. ~ T.D. Lee, Nobel Laureate, Physics Einstein - Mona Lisa by A.Tamir Art & Science are one face, one totality. http://www.bgu.ac.il/museum/one_face.html 3
The Bridges Organization Mathematical Connections in Art, Music, and Science http://www.bridgesmathart.org/ Science and the Arts at City University of New York Graduate Center Brian Schwartz, P.I. http://web.gc.cuny.edu/sciart/ Design and the Elastic Mind, current exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art, New York Physics and Astronomy Art Group at the University of Sheffield www.shef.ac.uk/physics/art-group/index.html 4
The Allosphere at UCSB: A Multidimensional Research and Performance Laboratory The Media Lab at MIT: Research and Graduate Arts and Technology Center 5
This seminar series is all about communicating physics to the public, but WHO IS THE PUBLIC? * The public = non-physicists. * Beginning students = non-physicists. Beginning students = important members of the public, from whose ranks will come future politicians, voters, as well as FUTURE PHYSICISTS and FUTURE TEACHERS OF PHYSICS. 6
From an Interview with Brian Green in The Morning News, 4-15-2008: BG: Science is usually portrayed in the media, in popularization, as something that tickles the mind. Something that is really weird and wonderful and cognitively very expansive. All that s true, but what that misses is that science also touches the heart. It also is a visceral, internal experience that really RB: Many people don t seem to see it that way. Is it a function of marketing or a cultural taboo or something else that it isn t seen the way you describe? BG: That s a big part of it. Certainly when science is taught in schools, it s taught as a very cut and dried subject. 7
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Motivating Question for Aesthetic Physics Education Q: How can we bring the sense of aesthetics and creativity, which are important in the practice of physics, into the teaching and learning of physics at the introductory college level, without sacrificing the mathematical rigor which is necessary for proper understanding of the practice of physics? In addition: How can we attract and retain a more diverse population without artificially targeting girls? (a soap box moment) 9
Three design features of an Aesthetic Physics curriculum 1) Contemporary viewpoint: Noether before Newton 2) Aesthetic ideology: Art is a way of looking at everything, including math 3) Interdisciplinary Strategies: Literature, writing, discussing, drawing, composing, problem solving, and creative physics-art projects 10
Newton before Noether diagram inspired by article and lecture by Professor David Gross 11
Start with simple examples:, Fibonacci numbers, symmetry operations, fractals, - then move onto artistic exploration of fundamental physics that has shaped contemporary thought. 12
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A few examples of physics-through-art assignments from CCS-120: 1. After reading Einstein s article Physics and Reality, draw your visualization of how he describes the process of doing science. 2. After studying symmetry operations, come up with your own demonstration of symmetry expressed in art or music. 3. Select a part of Feynman s Chapter 42 on Curved Spacetime that you found most interesting or confusing, and draw your understanding of what he is trying to explain. 4. Draw the world line of an author through an article. 5. Final Project: Create a Physics Work of Art which expresses one or more of the concepts you found most interesting in this class, explain how your work expresses/explores the physics, and write a short paper explaining the physics and/or math behind your project. 15
#1. First year physics majors, CCS, Winter 2007 visualizations of an article by Einstein entitled Physics and Reality Doing the visual representation felt very natural to me. I tend to visualize concepts in my mind as part of the process of understanding and thinking about them. It was quite natural. I think of calculus, differentials, and many other things visually 16
#2 : Symmetry in diatoms and the Sestina, first year biology major, 2008 #3. Proper time, from Feynman, Chapter 42, first year biology major, 2008 17
#4. Symmetry and the Search for Beauty in Mod. Physics, A. Zee drawn by third year art major and fourth year geophysics major, 2007 Einstein, Picasso, A. Miller Drawn by first year physics major and first year literature major, 2007 18
#5. Sample final projects: Physics works of Art (a) Golden spiral book (2007) (b) Fibonacci-metered poem about relativity (2007) (c) Spacetime deformation art installation (2007) Next page: Symmetry and the Unreasonable Power of Mathematics (2008) c a b 19
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WHAT IS YOUR FORMULA? YOUR EQUATION? YOUR ALGORITHM? Exhibit of Equations at the Serpentine Gallery, London, fall 2007 http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/serpentine07/serpentine07_index.html Participatory activity: Working with a partner or two, take ~10-15 minutes to come up with a visualization of your favorite equation in art, movement, rhythm, or poetry, and then share this with the rest of us! 22
Very Positive Reactions of Students to this approach! Students gave rave reviews of the course on the evaluations I wish that this class would continue and I could continue to study the maths and science in such an integrated way. I got the sense that one must be passionate to produce meaningful work not just as artist, but also as physicist! The amount of discussion was amazing. Along with the breadth of material. It has been a great and enlightening (dare I say it). In addition: The very real cultural boundaries between artists and scientists, which we initially encountered among the students in this class, may provide important insights towards overcoming the persistent gender bias and lack of diversity in physics. 23
Audiences who would benefit from this method 24
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