I'll come clean. I was terrible at Science at school – bottom of the class, maybe scrape a pass kind of student. At that time, you tended to be categorized as an 'arty' or 'sciencey' type and the overlap between the two areas was minimal – I was definitely in the former camp and it took me a long time to get over. There's no question that things have moved on since then; broadcasters like Brian Cox have opened up science to people who may not totally 'get' physics and chemistry and the International Baccalaureate encourages a wider study of both the Arts and Sciences in tandem before specializing at too young an age.
Much as I love astronomy, I start to struggle if someone asks me to explain the science of black holes or how parallax is used to measure the distance of remote stars (I do try!). Yet, despite these shortcomings, I still think of myself as someone fascinated by science. The more I delve into it, the more I see the common ground between the scientific world and the creative world. For a start, science throws up so much aesthetic beauty that it's hard not to be affected on a level that is deeper than the purely scientific. Have a look at these pictures from the Astronomy Photographer Of The Year 2013 if you want to feel moved and inspired. http://tinyurl.com/nhjjbhe
Michael Collins saw that his experiences as an astronaut reached way beyond purely scientific discovery and, I think, was uniquely successful in expressing this in writing. I find it exciting when the worlds of Art and Science overlap in this way and are not confined to mutually exclusive boxes. Surely this is the way forward – both worlds will be richer for exploring and celebrating the connection, not ignoring it.
