Date: August 5, 2010
Title: The Soul of Astronomy
Podcaster: Brendan Casey
Description: In a day and age where astronomical observations and data flow at nearly the speed of light revealing new bits and pieces to the puzzle we call the universe, it is so easy to get lost in the numbers. Yet, by allowing ourselves to reflect on what it all means with our ‘right brain’, something very different is revealed.
Bio: Brendan Casey has been a science instructor for nearly twenty years, but most of his experience is with early teens. Teaching physical science to adolescents during the day, and astronomy to undergrads at night, he somehow found time to do a podcast in between.
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Transcript:
My name is Brendan Casey, and I’d like to share with you how I found something that had been lost for a long time.
Looking for some part time work, I had taken a night job at a local arts college. They needed more science courses and I wanted the work. In the beginning it seemed pretty clear what needed to be done. I would cover the usual intro to astronomy concepts, the students would have various projects to understand H-R diagrams, solar system formation, etc. , and life would continue with everyone a bit richer for the experience.
“Not a single one of these students will become an astronomer” I thought I was being given an ultimatum for a moment by my supervisor. “,but they all need to be inspired by astronomy” she continued. There was no talk of needing to be able to calculate problems using Kepler’s Laws, but there was a need to understand an ellipse and to be able to see its place in nature. There was no talk of Wien’s law, but I still had to show how helpful it could be in analyzing light. And in the course of trying to unveil the workings on astronomy without the numbers, I discovered one of the drawbacks for those of us who work in the field of science. Yet, at the same time, I rediscovered the soul of astronomy.
As the culminating project in the astronomy 101 course the students had to use what knowledge they had gained to create a new future mission that would expand our knowledge of astronomy. It had to have a reasonable scientific goal, appropriate instrumentation, they had to describe the societal benefits, and so on.
She stood in front of me with cut off jean shorts and a fresh smile typical of undergrads taking their general education science requirements. Her goal was to become a graphic designer, not an astronomer, and so the smile was a mix of nervousness and excitement at presenting her final project. She presented what she had talking about why we must once again return to Mars, about the benefits of planetary exploration, and she went through a litany of instrumentation that her future probe must carry. All of it was deftly displayed through the beautiful computer drafted images of this fictional probe that she had designed. Oh, it was a fantastic presentation, but me, the instructor, was curious as to whether she really knew what she talked about. Does she really understand the reality of what she’s describing? In essence What really pushed my thought process was, ‘ Does she really know the numbers.’
I asked politely at the end of her presentation as to why she decided to include the mass spectrometer for her fictional space probe. I expected her to falter, thinking that maybe she had picked this piece of equipment out of some desperation, or perhaps in an attempt to sound more sophisticated. She calmly returned to the power point slide which displayed her concept probe and focused on a small visible light spectrum, looked it over one more time, and then spent the next two or three minutes clarifying to me and everyone in the room the function and value of such a device.
I sat back in satisfaction and a little bit of guilt. Here I was thinking that I had caught a student bluffing, but what I found was that she really knew her stuff, she knew the numbers! … and to think, it was all because of my class! It’s one of those “YES” moments for a science teacher …which was soon to be squashed. Not squashed because of some display of incompetence by some student or by me finally seeing some previously undiscovered deficiency in my teaching, but squashed because of the spin that was presented by the next student, a culinary major of all people.
My diligent future chef stepped up after my graphic designer. He was ready to deliver what looked to be a painful experience judging by his facial expression. It wasn’t that he wasn’t prepared; in fact he was one of the hardest working students in my class. I assumed the look was because it was clear that English was his second language and it was a barrier that he fought everyday to overcome.
His mission involved the exploration of the Jovian Moons. His was another student search for extraterrestrial life in our solar system. Nervously he began with the technical specifications of his mission, but before long he broke from his planned track and his techy-talk gave way to an inspirational hodge-podge speech that had begun to re-awaken something that I had long forgotten.
His presentation wasn’t the best I’d heard as far as clarity is concerned, but as for depth, he outshined them all. His language barrier really didn’t seem to stop him as he began to describe the formation of planets and their satellites composition in terms that he knew so well. He talked about how each of the moons of Jupiter were created by the special ingredients of the universe just as you would create a recipe. He declared that some of the ‘recipes’ for these moons were way off and others were almost perfect in their composition as he related to these moons and his proposed search. He talked about how in order to produce the correct dish in cooking, it required the same molecules found in our universe, but also requires the right amount of energy.
My first gut reaction was that this presentation was heading off base. He had obviously split from the game plan as he wasn’t using his power point slides and he was speaking directly to the crowd about cooking! But his passion was palpable and his insight an interesting one – and I let it ride.
Maybe I had a weird look on my face, but he again shifted back to his presentation. The next slide had a picture of Christopher Columbus, and when I saw this I knew this was going in a really different direction that I hadn’t intended…but I was intrigued at this point. He began to talk about why space exploration was like the voyages of Christopher Columbus’. He spoke about expanding our ideas of what the universe is, the boundaries of conditions for life, and our place in it. But he went on to talk about all of the residual discoveries that contribute to technology to provide for a better society. By the time that he was done I had kind of dropped off putting my marks on the scoring rubric and realized that this student had reminded me of something that had been lost in the numbers of graduate school. What he had revealed was the fundamental reduction of what astronomy really is.
Astronomy is a deeply evocative subject, and the inspiration of a million ideas, both fictional and real. It is probably the oldest of the natural sciences and when ancient man had peered up into the sky in an attempt to make sense of his universe he gave it a frame work, are we so different? The observations of old are nearly nothing compared to what we have today, but the efforts and focus are still the same. What is our connection to our universe? Who are we and what is our place?
When I think of the many probes mankind has sent in search of answers I think of Pioneers, and Vikings, Spirit, Opportunity, Phoenix, Voyager, and those more specifically named for adventurers, like Magellan. I think about what these inspirational names mean and from where they were derived, I don’t think of the statistics behind them. I think of the courage and the uncertainty that the pioneers faced as they crossed the plains of North America, or of the way Vikings scoured the seas; even how a robot roving the surface of Mars could truly embody the spirit of our quest to find our place in the universe. It’s an uncertainty much deeper than those in our daily lives, and a courage that rarely completely emerges. It’s a basic human function and what drives us.
In my classes some students try to make sense of the uncertainty by viewing it through a lens that makes sense to them. They try to connect to our universe in ways that are meaningful to them. I have experienced this journey as they relate what they learn to pop-culture images of aliens who do all sorts of friendly or nasty things, or their concerns over 2012. I’ve had a student ask me to review his song on supernovae. He was inspired to compose it for his rock band. Another student asked my opinion on the nature of the spirit and if demons really existed. Another student stated “Hey Brendan, I was reading the last few chapters of the book on cosmology and it was like reading the Bible.” One of my students commented at the end of one quarter. It’s not necessarily a connection that I ever drew, but interesting nonetheless.
A lot of science instructors, myself included, would scoff at a lot of this ideas as unimportant diversions, but I don’t anymore. Not a single one of these students will ever be an astronomer, comes back to mind, but they all just want to know how they fit in. These are all wonderful attempts by students, by human beings, to connect to their universe because of astronomy. It is the fundamental questions of astronomy that draws us toward contemplation and understanding, and one step closer to this grand mystery.
When you put it all together is says to me that our understanding of the mysteries of our universe are accessed in so many ways, and science being only one. We often shun the right brain’s interpretation and how it perceives the universe, but to me that’s misguided. Our place in the universe is not about numbers alone. To my students, I thank you for reawakening me to the realization that reality is more than just facts and figures.
Chances are that if you are listening to this than you’re an astronomy enthusiast. I’d like to pose a challenge for you the next time you look up into the sky. Let go of the equations, the structures, stellar classes, and distances. Just try to remember the mystery and feel the universe. Know that you are a part of it and let that fuel your science and we’ll all be better for it.
Albert Einstein once remarked, “the most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.”
Thank you.
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With regards,
Nancy Atkinson, Astrosphere New Media , http://365daysofastronomy.org
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365 Days of Astronomy
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