Alan Lightman
Son of a Movie Theater owner and a Dance Teacher. Astrophysicist that held joint faculty positions at MIT in both the Sciences and the Humanities. Atheist who sponsors theater productions of Plays involving the Culture of Science. Endlessly hungry to discover the intersection of where Science, Philosophy, and Spirituality all meet. Founded the nonprofit Harpswell, whose mission is to support emerging women leaders in Southeast Asia. Author of 8 Science books, 9 collections of Essays and Fables, 1 Memoir, and 8 Fiction books, including the otherworldly Einstein’s Dreams.
“We live in a highly polarized society. We need to try to understand each other in respectful ways. To that end, I believe that we should make room for both spiritual atheists and thinking believers.”
February 8, 2024 | 7:00pm
Golden Hoosier
As always, choose your level of participation:
Besides reading one of Lightman’s “Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine”, here are a few things to listen to, watch, practice, and/or read as we prepare to explore this polymath’s world:
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Lightman’s musings on “The Power of Mysteries” on This I Believe’s website | “I believe in the exhilaration of standing at the boundary between the known and the unknown”
Marginalian post on Alan Lightman’s perfect meditative novel of how Einstein’s thoughts on Space and Time might affect our Hearts and Souls in practical daily ways
Two of the short stories in Lightman’s book “Einstein’s Dreams”
Center for Action & Contemplation’s meditation on “The Spiritual Practice of Awe”
The Ten Most Mystifying Open Questions in Science (BigThink article)
Similarities between the Human Brian and the Cosmos (BigThink article)
Alan Lightman’s article/essay in Harper’s Magazine on The Accidental Universe
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John Cleese instagram blurb on Creativity, Play, and Alan Watts | “You can’t be spontaneous within reason”
Dr. Iain McGilchrist’s one hour interview on using Neuroscience to master your Attention | “Those who know a lot, know how little they know”
Pete Holmes comedy bit on Nothing vs. God | “If your nothing sometimes spontaneously erupts into everything…”
David Foster Wallace quick mini-clip on Everybody “Worships” | “Whatever you worship will eat you alive”
Psychotherapist Alain de Botton’s TED talk on Atheism 2.0 | “... our human need for connection, ritual, and transcendence”
Vision talking to Ulton (YouTube) | “A thing isn’t beautiful because it lasts”
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Monty Python’s “Galaxy Song” from The Meaning of Life | “Just remember that you’re standing on a planet that’s evolving…)”
Leonard Cohen’s sparse and simple song “Listen to the Hummingbird”
Another Pete Holmes short bit on “Life makes no sense!”
Quantum String Theorist Michio Kaku’s 3-minute take at Google on physics bridging the gap between Buddhism and Christianity
Sleeping At Last’s instrumental playlist “Atoms 1-15” where he notices something small and beautiful about the universe and creates a mini film score for it
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Sky Guide App | Start exploring the night sky
“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”