Alan Lightman mixes science and the supernatural

TOPH TUCKER '08

On November 6, author and theoretical physicist Alan Lightman spoke at the Harvard Book Store. He was there to promote his new novel, Ghost, a tale of a banker who loses his job and is forced to take up a temporary job at a mortuary. When he sees something inexplicable one day, he is forced to confront the supernatural. Mr. Lightman read select passages from the book before taking questions and speaking about his inspiration and beliefs.

Alan Lightman brings a unique approach to the subject because of his background. In 1989, Lightman became the first professor at MIT to receive a joint appointment in both the sciences and humanities. As a scientist, he has made a number of important contributions to the field of astrophysics, including research on accretion disks, stellar dynamics, and relativistic plasmas. Today, however, he focuses primarily on his writing. When asked whether he misses science, he replied, “Oh, I miss it terribly,” but that “science is a young person’s game. After your 30s you’re past your peak as a scientist.”He contrasted this to writing, where experience is invaluable: “Any number of romances I have are not going to help me as a theoretical physicist.”

Lightman’s most famous work is his 1992 novel Einstein’s Dreams, which explores unconventional perceptions of time in the hypothetical context of Einstein’s visions. Ghost, while similar in that it mixes science with a more fantastic element, is very different in the concepts it explores. “I think people have a fascination with death,” he said. “In a funeral home, the boundary between death and living is vivid.” Lightman went on to speak in more general terms: “A lot of religious belief,” he said, “is supernatural. It’s in a being that can violate the laws of nature.” Lightman cited some fascinating statistics: according to one poll, 82 out of 100 people believe in miracles, and 83 out of 100 believe that something lives on after death.

Several attendees brought up the question of the inherent conflict between science and religion. “There are certain types of [belief] that are incompatible with science, but many gray areas,” he said. “A large fraction of scientists believe in God, but miracles are not allowed for almost all scientists.” Miracles, Lightman said, go against the most basic tenets of science—that there are underlying rules to the universe, and that those rules must be obeyed. “But,” he continued, “you can still believe in a god who got the universe started, and then stopped intervening.” Asked about arguing over the existence of something that could theoretically make itself undetectable, Lightman admitted that “a scientist can talk about the existence of God, but only as an ordinary citizen. It… lies outside the realm of science. Anything is possible. I’m not going to argue about that.”

Mr. Lightman acknowledged that science and religion have a lot in common—for one, that they are the two dominant forces that have shaped civilization. Furthermore, Lightman contended that both scientists and believers in the supernatural ultimately rely on faith—faith that nothing can dodge cause and effect, or faith that something can. The motivation behind both sides of the argument is the same: “the desire to have more control over the world. To me, that is the greatest irony.”

To hear someone like Mr. Lightman is enthralling—indeed, I found the question and answer segment to be far more interesting than the excerpts from Ghost. (Of course, it’s not a fair comparison, given that the excerpts were out-of-context, and that a book is naturally a more long-form medium.) He does not just deal in black and white, but looks at things from myriad new and unexpected perspectives. He is no fanatic; he approaches both sides of the debate logically and with a cool head. He does not fall into traditional all-or-nothing stereotypes, and is all the more persuasive for it.

Alan Lightman is a great physicist, a skilled writer, and a fascinating speaker. If his track record is any indication, Ghost—when given the time it deserves—will be another fascinating read.

Image from:
http://www.mit.edu/~humanistic/faculty/lightman.html

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Justin Timberlake: Future Sex and Love Sounds

SARA MARSH '09

On August 10, 2007 traffic was backed up all through Boston. Reason being that Justin Timberlake was about to perform in front of a sold out audience at the TD Banknorth Garden. The Garden is located down by North station, and besides concerts, the Bruins and the Celtics play their home games there. The audience was full of mainly teenage girls, twenty-year olds, and mothers accompanying their younger daughters. The teenage girls were interested in taking pictures of the stage and Justin, whereas the twenty somethings were more interested in the alcoholic beverages for sale. The few men among the crowd were attached to their girlfriends with looks of embarrassment across their faces. This was not a testosterone filled experience. The energy level was high as everyone was anxiously waiting to see Justin perform.

The stage design was fabulous. People in all areas could see the entire stage. There was a revolving circle in the center, so when playing the piano or guitar, the performer wouldn’t be facing one angle. The stage was in the middle of the arena, with people seated stadium style surrounding it. On both sides of the stage off the center walkway, there were instruments for the live band to perform. White drapes hung from giant metal bars and were used as screens throughout the concert. Instead of pure videos on the screen, there was an interesting special effect allowing the performers to look like as if they were 3-D drawings.

The opening band for Timberlake was Good Charlotte, a pop-punk band, from Maryland. They are well know for their song “Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous” that was all over the radio in the early 2000’s. Just recently their newest album, Good Morning Revival hit number 7 on the Billboard charts. The room felt scilent just minutes before Good Charlotte took the stage. The band had a good set and there was a vibe going throughout their performance, however there was not enough enthusiasm in the crowd, and their music didn’t fit the scene of people going to see Timberlake. Within the short time between when Good Charlotte had finished and when Justin came on, more and more people were starting to fill out the empty seats.

Justin opened the concert with his song “Future Sex Love Sounds” and the crowd went wild. Girls were crying and screaming as Justin broke into one of his many complicated dance routines. The moves were sexual, and amusing to watch. Each fast paced song had choreography that Justin and his dancers preformed to. He sang everything from his ballads, to his pop/dance songs. He even preformed an N’Sync song, following with various top-selling songs from his Justified album, released in 2004. Along with singing, the multi-talented star danced and played instruments to a majority of his music. He even gave a toast to the fans and personally talked about his experience in coming to Boston. The toast was a nice touch and got the crowd riled up.

Half way through the concert Timbaland, a popular producer to the famous and successful musicians, performed the half-time performance. Timbaland’s act consisted of the crowd yelling along to popular songs while he d-jayed his beats. His work was amusing and boosted the energy level. After Timbaland finished his performance, Justin came back out to sing his last songs. Many people started rushing out of the stadium thinking that the concert was over in attempt to beat the rush of screaming pre-teens. However, Timberlake surprised the crowd and played a series of ballads on the piano.

The concert was amazing and a great experience. Timberlake is a talented performer and knows how to work the crowd, and perhaps he deserves more credit than his boy band reputation has given him. His dancing, singing, and instrumental abilities are real crowd pleasers. No wonder all his concerts on his Future Sex Love Sounds Tour were sold out!
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