Physics for Poets

People often depict scientists as eggheads without an appreciation for art or nature.

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. It was produced by Lu Olkowski for Studio 360. Click here to listen.