writing

> if not god, then what?
> fables for a young skeptic
> the thinker's toolbox
> the glass bead game
> fight dogma, not religion
> neural rhythmicity...

teaching

> beauty and the brain
> cyborg millennium
> einstein's universe

about

> resume / cv

Embracing Einstein's Universe

Last taught: 2007-8, Portland State University and Westview HS

Course Description

Using the deeply thoughtful, imaginative, and rigorous style of thinking that made Einstein such a celebrated figure, this course introduces students to many applications of intellectual endeavor. In addition to core discussions of the central ideas of modern physics (relativity and quantum mechanics) we understand the Einsteinian revolution by placing these developments into a cultural context. For example, we discuss many works of literature, art, and music written during Einstein's lifetime. We also discuss the social and ethical consequences of scientific discovery, and the philosophical underpinnings of worldview. Students will do exercises in applying these lessons to a wide range of real-life problems and contemporary issues.

Fall semester

We begin with an introduction into the nature of scientific inquiry and move through a prehistory covering Empedocles, Pythagoras, and Aristotle. We begin to focus on astronomy as a model for physics, covering Galileo and associated scientists in detail. This leads to Kepler and then the Newtonian revolution, and finally Einstein's theory of special relativity. As the semester nears an end, we diverge from physics to discuss Darwin and the social perversions of natural selection which led to justifications for imperialism. This foreshadows Einstein's role in the development of nuclear weapons -- just a few of the links between science and other fields.

Spring semester

Picking up physics again, we discuss the early discoveries of atomic structure and move into modern physics with explorations of astronomy and cosmology, ultimately leading to a necessarily cursory examination of general relativity. As the timeline for Einstein's work draws to a close, we connect to quantum mechanics, and tie -- perhaps only allegorically -- some of the philosophical notions of uncertainty to other trends in art and the humanities.

Selected readings

• Beckett, Samuel. Waiting for Godot (Grove Press)
• Brecht, Bertolt. Galileo (Grove Weidenfeld)
• Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness (Dover Thrift Editions)
• Darwin, Charles. Origin of Species
• Hughes, Langston. The Langston Hughes Reader
• Hurston, Zora Neale. The Complete Stories (Harper Perennial Modern Classics)
• Lightman, Alan. Einstein’s Dreams (Warner Books)
• Loewen, James W. Lies My Teacher Told Me (Touchstone)
• McIntosh, Peggy. White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
• Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis (Bantam Books)
• Kuhn, Thomas S. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
• Pearson, Karl. The Scope and Importance to the State of the Science of National Eugenics
• Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein.
• Stoppard, Tom. Arcadia (Faber and Faber)
• Sumner, William Graham. Social Darwinism: Selected Essays
• Tompkins, Jane. Indians: Textualism, Morality, and the Problem of History
• Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse-Five (Laurel)
• Weisenthal, Simon. The Sunflower (Schocken Books)

idea sketchbook

> colorblind
> probabilistic law
> general relativity
> hybrid cars