Aesthetics at episteme 2016

The scientist does not study nature because it is useful; he studies it because he delights in it, and he delights in it because it is beautiful — Henri Poincaré

Caring about the Beauty in Science Dr. Punya Mishra, Sarah F. Keenan, Rohit Mehta, Dr. Danah Henriksen

My work always tried to unite the true with the beautiful; but when I had to choose one or the other, I usually chose the beautiful 
 — Herman Weyl

A well-constructed theory is in some respects undoubtedly an artistic production — Ernst Ruthorford

My work always tried to unite the true with the beautiful; but when I had to choose one or the other, I usually chose the beautiful 
 — Herman Weyl

A person who cannot appreciate the beauty in a piece of art, or in a piece of science, does not understand it any more than if they cannot appreciate its intellectual content — Root-Bernstein

Boltzman reads Maxwell’s work on the dynamical theory of gases The variations of the velocities are, at first, developed majestically: then from one side enter the equations of state: and from the other side, the equations of motion in a central field. Ever higher soars the chaos of formulae. Suddenly we hear, as from kettle drums, the four beats “Put N = 5.” The evil spirit V (relative velocity of molecules) vanishes: and, even as in music a hitherto dominating figure in the bass is suddenly silenced, that which had seemed insuperable has been overcome as if by a stroke of magic…One result after another follows in quick succession till at last, as the unexpected climax, we arrive at the conditions for thermal equilibrium together with the expressions for the transport coefficients. The curtain then falls!

Fields medal 2014

Artur Avila

Manjul Bhargava

Martin Hairer

Maryam Mirzakhani

For mathematicians, mathematics—like music, poetry, or painting—is a creative art. All these arts involve—and indeed require—a certain creative fire.

They all strive to express truths that cannot be expressed in ordinary everyday language. And they all strive towards beauty — Manjul Bhargava

Not just science and math‌

The stage of discovery was entirely sensual and mathematics was only necessary to be able to communicate with other people – Cyril Stanley

Code can go “beyond the purely practical; like equations in physics or mathematics, code can aspire to elegance” — Chandra

As usual there are (at least) two sides to the story

I am aware of the usefulness of science to society and of the benefits society derives from it…

Indeed, I would feel that an appreciation of the arts in a conscious, disciplined way might help one to do science better.

It is, indeed an incredible fact that what the human mind, at its deepest and most profound, perceives as beautiful finds its realization in external nature.… What is intelligible is also beautiful ―Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar

The instrumental v.s. The Aesthetic

The instrumental Competitive)ability) Social)justice) ScientiďŹ c)literacy)

Not surprisingly‌

The end result! learners see… …)A)disconnect)with)learning)) …)Struggle)with)content) …)See)science)as)being)dull) Firestein, 2012; King, 2012 ; Millar, 1991

In research A focus on learners’ thinking, conceptual change, and epistemologies, with particular attention (by both researchers and reformers) to processes of learners’ reasoning, approaches to weighing of evidence, and responsiveness to anomalous information in the formulation of ideas and positions

Not that there is anything wrong with that . . .

Why keep separate the the “personal” science from the “public” science Holton (1988)

Why deny learners the “soul jumping” feeling?

Hoffman (1990)

Easier said than done!

Including the aesthetic Some key challenges‌

The challenges It’s all subjective Where’s the data?

Lack of analytic frameworks

* Not entirely new Flannery, Girod, Wong and others have traversed this path before‌ Too lazy to include citations here 
 (Mishra, 2015, midnight before the talk)

Understanding the Aesthetic Experience

The aesthetic response as a transaction Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, but is inseparable from the flower — Bob Stake

The Dimensions of the Aesthetic Experience (Csikzentmihaly)

Perceptual Emotional Intellectual Communicative

Aesthetics & Science Girod

A sense of the sublime Intellectual Beauty Beauty in the experience Beauty as truth

Girod (2001) Framework A sense of the sublime (Awe / Fear, the infinite, the scale, large & small)

Intellectual Beauty

(The products of inquiry, theories, representations, models) 


Beauty in the experience (The process of investigation, the thrill of the chase)

Beauty as truth (Learning something new & true about the world)

Testing/Expanding Girod’s work

✓ ✓

Studying scientists at work…

Studying how scientists communicate what they do to a wider audience?

✓ ✓

Do excellent teachers use aesthetics in their way of looking at content?

How do we train preservice science teachers?

✓

Effects on memory & engagement?

Scientists at work

Big guns!!

Marc Davis Robert Dicke Sandra Faber Margaret Geller James Gunn Alan Guth Stephen Hawking Fred Hoyle John Huchra Andrei Linde Charles Misner Jeremiah Ostriker Don Page

James Peebles Roger PenroseMartin Rees Vera Rubin Allan Sandage Wallace Sargent Maarten Schmidt David Schramm Dennis Sciama Joseph Silk Edwin Turner GĂŠrard De Vaucouleurs Robert Wagoner Steven Weinberg

27 interviews coded (top down & bottom up)

What do cosmologists say? ✓ ✓

✓

Aesthetic factors dominate (compelling) Very few instrumental reasons (scientific literacy) Themes 4 + 1 - Curiosity (sometimes with a somewhat negative affect) - Related to struggling over problems, bothered by ideas (selection and solution)

Scientists explaining science to a wider audience

Cosmos: A personal Voyage 8.5 million viewers Biggest global audience for NGC 10+ channels and the internet 4 Primetime Emmys

Aesthetic / instrumental elements in Cosmos Transcripts of all 13 episodes, coded for themes related to aesthetic and instrumental (top down and bottom up) ✓ ✓ ✓

High degree of aesthetic factors - Sublime & intellectual beauty dominate Very few instrumental reasons Themes 4 + 1 - Curiosity / scientist as adventurer/detective/ myth-buster

What do excellent teachers do?

8 National Teacher of the Year (Winners and finalists) In-depth, semi-structured interviews ✓ ✓

Highly creative teachers Broadly spread between aesthetic and instrumental

✓

Aesthetics framing of lesson plans (music, art, dance) seeking deep and experiential learning of abstract concepts, engaged and transformative Instrumental in sharing the rationale, goals, and rewards of the profession and in making school as useful and relatable

✓

Mishra & Henriksen, 2015

How do we train preservice teachers?

9 preservice teacher In-depth, semi-structured interviews ✓

✓ ✓

3 broad categories - instrumental thinkers - aesthetic personal experience unconnected to their professional lives - aesthetic thinkers All agreed that these issues had NOT been part of their training and education Quite consistent with the 4 fold Girod framework Mishra Girod & Pugh (2002)

Aesthetic framing and effect on memory & engagement

A study of framing Lab experiment (currently underway) ✓ ✓ ✓

Aesthetic frame & Instrumental frame Followed by scientific passages Looking at extent and type of recall, engagement and interest, as well as a some motivational variables

In conclusion

Extending Girod’s Framework

The aesthetic response as a transaction 1. A sense of wonder 1. Emotional -- Reaction of sublime that inspires awe / fear.

2. Cognitive -- Reaction of curiosity (problem seeking) that inspires anticipation, and struggle for answers 2. The experience of doing science 1. The process -- the experience/process of doing science / scientific inquiry in itself as an aesthetic experience.

2. The perception -- transformation of the way of looking at the world 3. Beauty & Truth - A response to the revelation of truth.

4. Intellectual beauty - in forms and abstractions

Implications Scientific Literacy Science Education Becoming true to the real experience of doing science • • • • •

Compelling experiences Experiencing the beauty that scientists experience Feeling the wonder Solving the greatest mysteries Finding the truth

The world looks so different after learning science. For example, trees are made of air, primarily. When they are burned, they go back to air, and in the flaming heat is released the flaming heat of the sun which was bound in to convert the air into tree. [A]nd in the ash is the small remnant of the part which did not come from air, that came from the solid earth, instead. These are beautiful things, and the content of science is wonderfully full of them. They are very inspiring, and they can be used to inspire others 
 — Richard Feynman

Caveats

Work in progress Hopefully more to report when we meet next‌

To sum up‌ (Art + Science)

Understanding is a lot like sex. It's got a practical purpose, but that's not why people do it normally — Robert Oppenheimer

punyamishra.com punya@msu.edu @punyamishra