The Science of Poetry
Maria Montessori, an Italian physician, educator, and innovator once proclaimed, “We especially need imagination in science. It is not all mathematics nor all logic, but it is somewhat beauty and poetry.” Through that very quote, Montessori was able to answer the burning question of why scientists need to read poetry.
To expand, let us first consider the following definitions derived from an everyday Google search:
po·et·ry
ˈpōətrē/
noun
1. literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings.
1. literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings.
sci·ence
ˈsīəns/
noun
1. the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.
1. the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.
With respect to both of these definitions, Google Dictionary failed to identify arguably the most defining characteristic of both these studies: the practice of understanding a concept by being curious and exploring. Though seemingly unrelated fields, such essence of poetry and science have become intertwined in a remarkable way.
To best appreciate the connections between poetry and science as Montessori explained, let us look through the lense of a fundamental topic in chemistry: resonance… with a twist. Technically speaking, resonance is a way of describing delocalized electrons within certain molecules where the bonding cannot be expressed by one single structure. That relationship is symbolized by a double-sided arrow (↔). Observe that in the diagram below, two resonance structures of nitrogen dioxide are shown; both molecules are in fact nitrogen dioxide though they have an opposing outward appearance.
For our purposes, allow the concept of resonance signify the connection between two visually different, but significantly identical things or ideas.
In that light, ponder the following chemical equations of poetry and science:
1. Curiosity is vital to writing poetry ↔ Curiosity is vital to designing a scientific experiment
2. Reviewing/editing a poem ↔ Reviewing/editing a scientific paper
3. Sharing ideas through poems ↔ Sharing ideas through a scientific paper
4. Experimenting with words and phrases at a wood desk ↔ Experimenting with chemicals and cells at a laboratory bench
5. Exploring and reflecting upon a personal experience or emotion ↔ Exploring and reflecting upon a scientific idea or report
The above are only a few of the many ways in which the art of poetry and science are deeply rooted by the same fundamental principals. Within science, and conversely within poetry, is a desire to understand a space as we are able to know it. From a scientists perspective, in order to accomplish the goal at hand, they must be willing to think outside-of-the-box in a rather poetic manner, critique their work, and further accept failure should it arise. The poet must similarly have an open point of view, edit their pieces, and acknowledge their mistakes.
With the latter in mind, like science, poetry often requires one to view something from one or more perspectives. I argue that like any other activity, from politics to painting, in order to advance one’s own practice, they must delve into others that consist of the same basic recipe but perhaps result in a different product. Proved by the metaphor of chemical equations, the same is true in the case of scientists reading poems to then reflect upon in their own studies. Thus, it is imperative that scientists train their mind to see the world and its intricacies from multiple, and often unusual, viewpoints, as are explored through poetry.
At this point, I challenge you - poet, scientist, reader - to add onto the list of chemical equations to further illuminate why scientists need to and benefit from exploring poetry.
Posted By: Samantha Churovich
Sources Used:
Great post! I like how you translated the similarities into a chemical equation format. I also like how you incorporated a quote from Montessori and the Google definitions of science and poetry, it was a great way to start the comparison.
ReplyDeleteI truly enjoyed your illustration of the relationship between poetry and science with resonant structures. Adding onto your metaphor, compounds like your example are continously shifting back and forth between the various structures to achieve stability. Perhaps this is indicative of how science needs the artistic nature of poetry and poetry needs a greater understanding of the world from science to become "more stable". Additionally, this suggests the flexible line between science and poetry. Anyways, this post got me really pondering about this comparison great work
ReplyDeleteYou've convinced me! This is a very persuasive post, and it's also both creative and logical (like science and poetry...though sometimes the logic of poetry isn't the kind of rational logic we associate with science; then again, Robert N's post pointed out the importance of intuition in both science and poetry; maybe poems whose logic is non-rational can still be said to be intuitive.) I like the way your diagram for resonance is a palindrome. Great post, Samantha.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I love the Maria Montessori quotation you begin with!
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