Beauty and Science

On July 14, 1930, Albert Einstein and Rabindranath Tagore, two Nobel laureates, had one of the greatest philosophical discussions ever recorded. I am a huge fan of both men...Einstein for his obvious scientific contributions to humanity and his place in our shared history, and Tagore, as a brown man in British South Asia whose poetry, philosophy, art, and literature heavily influenced the West (plus he renounced his knighthood as a big fuck you to the Brits...and his beard is absolutely epic!)

Anyway, I am thinking about the Einstein/Tagore conversation, because it happens to have occurred on this day 90 years ago, and I am currently spending my evenings with my family on a secluded stretch of one of the most beautiful coastlines in the Pacific Northwest...it reminded me of their discussion about beauty, science, religion, and humanity. Tagore argues that beauty and science are only constructs of the human mind and are meaningless without us...Einstein believes in fundamental truths that exist regardless of humankind.

Is this place beautiful because we are here to see it? Would it be beautiful if we didn't exist to experience it as such? I don't know. But I am completely calm and relaxed here...I love this place, and my daughter agrees with Einstein. That's good enough for me.

I hope you all take some time to contemplate something beautiful in your life this week.