Exploring the evolving relationship between art and science, this issue delves into the rise of collaborations influenced by the posthuman cyborg, Bio Art, and the increasing importance of multidisciplinarity in academia. It addresses the complexities introduced by contemporary ethical, political, aesthetic, and poetic considerations, particularly in response to environmental challenges and climate change. The discussions highlight how these intersections are redefining both fields in today's context.
For the past fifteen years, acclaimed science writer Margaret Wertheim has been collecting the works of "outsider physicists," many without formal training and all convinced that they have found true alternative theories of the universe. Jim Carter, the Einstein of outsiders, has developed his own complete theory of matter and energy and gravity that he demonstrates with experiments in his backyard,-with garbage cans and a disco fog machine he makes smoke rings to test his ideas about atoms. Captivated by the imaginative power of his theories and his resolutely DIY attitude, Wertheim has been following Carter's progress for the past decade.Centuries ago, natural philosophers puzzled out the laws of nature using the tools of observation and experimentation. Today, theoretical physics has become mathematically inscrutable, accessible only to an elite few. In rejecting this abstraction, outsider theorists insist that nature speaks a language we can all understand. Through a profoundly human profile of Jim Carter, Wertheim's exploration of the bizarre world of fringe physics challenges our conception of what science is, how it works, and who it is for.
Hat sich der Mensch eine Welt der Geradlinigkeit errichtet? Die ihn umgebende Natur wird im Gegenteil von geschwungenen und gekräuselten, von unregelmäßigen und organischen Formen bestimmt. Margaret Wertheim knüpft bei der Fertigung von gehäkelten Korallenstrukturen an hyperbolische Modelle an. Salatpflanzen, Seetang, Seeschnecken und Plattwürmer sind natürliche Beispiele einer hyperbolischen Geometrie. Beim Häkeln lässt sich die Grundidee des Modells durch Erhöhung der Maschenzahl in jeder Reihe realisieren. Unweigerlich beginnt die Fläche sich zu kräuseln und Wellen zu schlagen. Mit Einführungen in ausgewählte Häkelmodelle. Text: Margaret Wertheim
A spirited look at the relationship between physics and religion―and the implications for both sexes. Here is a fresh, astute social and cultural history of physics, from ancient Greece to our own time. From its inception, Margaret Wertheim shows, physics has been an overwhelmingly male-dominated activity; she argues that gender inequity in physics is a result of the religious origins of the enterprise.Pythagoras' Trousers is a highly original history of one of science's most powerful disciplines. It is also a passionate argument for the need to involve both women and men in the process of shaping the technologies from the next generation of physicists.
Margaret Wertheim delves into the intersection of spirituality and cyberspace, arguing that the digital realm has evolved into a sanctuary for profound spiritual longing. She posits that modern technology serves as a metaphysical escape from the discontent of materialism, allowing for a collective experience that transcends physical limitations. This exploration highlights a return to a dualistic worldview, contrasting the tangible physical world with an ethereal space governed by thoughts and emotions, reminiscent of medieval philosophical concepts.
