Blog #10

Part 1:

Jonah Lehrer’s main argument is that science needs the arts in order to find answers to the many questions about life and the universe. He believes that if these two cultures are combined, then we can solve these mysteries. Lehrer feels as if the arts can give science a glimpse into its blind spots, since it offers a new way to look at things with a more creative imagination. There is a certain limit to how far the understanding of science can go. Implementing the arts in this aspect will allow a new perspective to be seen and will help further their understanding of science. He states in the text that neuroscience needs a new method of figuring itself out, and that art will be able to build complex representations in order to do so. Lehrer also draws in the power that metaphor and simile has in the scientific process. Overall, he feels as if looking at science in a different perspective will allow us to unlock the secrets.

Part 2: Glossing the text

Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle– the position and the velocity of an object cannot be measured exactly, at the same time.

Reductionism– the practice of analyzing and describing a complex phenomenon in terms of phenomena that are held to represent a simpler level.

Synapse– a junction between two nerve cells. It permits a neuron to pass an electrical signal to another neuron.

Epiphenomenon– a secondary phenomenon that occurs alongside to a parallel phenomenon.

Holistic perspective– interested in engaging and developing the whole person on different levels such as emotional, physical or spiritual.

Metaphor– a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action in a way that is not literally true.

Lepidopterist– a person who studies or collects butterflies and moths.

Cubism– an early 20th century movement which brought European painting and sculpture forward toward modern day art.

Ephemeral– lasting a very short time.

Ineffable– too great or extreme to be expressed in words.

Pedagogical– discipline that deals with the theory and practice of teaching.

Part 3:

Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an artist who wrote poetry about “the mind’s self-experience in the act of thinking”. This plays an important role in Lehrer’s essay because this artist was thinking about the science of the mind before it was even a proposed concept. This is very interesting that an artist would talk about the consciousness of the mind even before that kind of science was thought of. It supports Lehrer’s point that science needs the arts, because artists have ways of viewing things in a similar yet different way of scientists. Semir Zeki, a neuroscientist, is brought up in Lehrer’s essay as well. He talks about how artists are neurologists in some way because they study the brain with methods that are unique to them. Zeki brings up an interesting point, because it shows that artists do in fact demonstrate science skills by viewing the world in a different perspective.