The Collegian Weekly: Supreme success for uncertain CCA
Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: Opinion
A liberal arts education encompasses more than the humanities. Dr. Sundahl may joke about his "colleagues in the soft sciences," but we suspect even he knows that science is indispensable.
As Professor of Physics Jim Peters said yesterday: "If you want to be an educated person, you can't have holes in your knowledge."
Apparently, Hillsdale College students sense this, too, from the number of them stacking Phillips Auditorium for the quantum physics Center for Constructive Alternatives this week. Though a Collegian article last week reported that barely more than half the regular number of students registered for this CCA, it seems students are still interested enough to spend several hours listening en masse to physics lectures in extra seats piled against the auditorium's back wall or upstairs through live video in the Ethan Allen Room.
Hurrah to the physics department for hurriedly coordinating an on-campus lecture series boasting speakers in the top of their field. Rarely do we have such a concentration of brilliance on campus at once. Thanks to the speakers for visiting Hillsdale, especially to those like Benjamin Schumacher of Kenyon College, who stayed an extra day to answer questions before about 40 students during their regular physics class.
These events speak well of science on campus. Now not only is biology one of the top three majors, science-related topics have become more frequent in conversation. Good thing - some of us were getting sick of thinking about predestination versus free will or whether homeschooling will save America
Science majors have already shown they are happy and willing to join the liberal arts conversation on campus, first by being here, by matriculating at a school which, odd among its peers, forces even science students to take English, social science and history classes.
Humanities majors could respond more in kind by signing up for the CCA instead of merely attending the lectures, complaining less about Hillsdale's core science requirement (you almost have to try to fail Science 101), or just opening conversation about things like string theory or the science behind the Big Bang instead of the theology and why a bullet travels faster in space.
Could things have been better? Always. One speech, in particular, was incomprehensible to most of the audience because of its math content. CCA hostesses should be careful not to cut off a speaker as he answers a question. But perhaps, this week most of all, we learned not only does the unpredictable happen, but that unpredictability may be the pattern, so to speak, of the universe. Mistakes are random; let's not pretend they are a rule.
Overall, the physics CCA materialized what Professor of Physics Ken Hayes said yesterday was his and the physics department's fondest dream: that people with little science experience would learn and enjoy quantum physics. Active advertisement from the department brought high school kids from Indiana, students from Albion College, community members and prospective students from as far as Denver, Colo., for just that.
Timothy Caspar, director of seminars for the CCA office, opened the lectures on Sunday sounding vaguely apologetic for hosting a strong science CCA at Hillsdale. His introduction seemed to say the need for physics lectures is not as self evident as the need for C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien lectures. This is not true. Perhaps next time, instead of treating science like an unknown species crumpled in the back corner of a cage, we will be bold enough to shake it by the ears, open its mouth and stick a thermometer down its throat, testing it like we do with literature and philosophy.
It's science, after all; is it not strengthened by scrutiny?
Hillsdale College Collegian, 2007
As Professor of Physics Jim Peters said yesterday: "If you want to be an educated person, you can't have holes in your knowledge."
Apparently, Hillsdale College students sense this, too, from the number of them stacking Phillips Auditorium for the quantum physics Center for Constructive Alternatives this week. Though a Collegian article last week reported that barely more than half the regular number of students registered for this CCA, it seems students are still interested enough to spend several hours listening en masse to physics lectures in extra seats piled against the auditorium's back wall or upstairs through live video in the Ethan Allen Room.
Hurrah to the physics department for hurriedly coordinating an on-campus lecture series boasting speakers in the top of their field. Rarely do we have such a concentration of brilliance on campus at once. Thanks to the speakers for visiting Hillsdale, especially to those like Benjamin Schumacher of Kenyon College, who stayed an extra day to answer questions before about 40 students during their regular physics class.
These events speak well of science on campus. Now not only is biology one of the top three majors, science-related topics have become more frequent in conversation. Good thing - some of us were getting sick of thinking about predestination versus free will or whether homeschooling will save America
Science majors have already shown they are happy and willing to join the liberal arts conversation on campus, first by being here, by matriculating at a school which, odd among its peers, forces even science students to take English, social science and history classes.
Humanities majors could respond more in kind by signing up for the CCA instead of merely attending the lectures, complaining less about Hillsdale's core science requirement (you almost have to try to fail Science 101), or just opening conversation about things like string theory or the science behind the Big Bang instead of the theology and why a bullet travels faster in space.
Could things have been better? Always. One speech, in particular, was incomprehensible to most of the audience because of its math content. CCA hostesses should be careful not to cut off a speaker as he answers a question. But perhaps, this week most of all, we learned not only does the unpredictable happen, but that unpredictability may be the pattern, so to speak, of the universe. Mistakes are random; let's not pretend they are a rule.
Overall, the physics CCA materialized what Professor of Physics Ken Hayes said yesterday was his and the physics department's fondest dream: that people with little science experience would learn and enjoy quantum physics. Active advertisement from the department brought high school kids from Indiana, students from Albion College, community members and prospective students from as far as Denver, Colo., for just that.
Timothy Caspar, director of seminars for the CCA office, opened the lectures on Sunday sounding vaguely apologetic for hosting a strong science CCA at Hillsdale. His introduction seemed to say the need for physics lectures is not as self evident as the need for C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien lectures. This is not true. Perhaps next time, instead of treating science like an unknown species crumpled in the back corner of a cage, we will be bold enough to shake it by the ears, open its mouth and stick a thermometer down its throat, testing it like we do with literature and philosophy.
It's science, after all; is it not strengthened by scrutiny?
Hillsdale College Collegian, 2007
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