Light and Quantum Mind with Arthur Zajonc, Ph.D.

Program Description

Dr. Zajonc explores the history of light and the attempts to unravel its mysteries in this fascinating dialogue. Frequently citing examples from the great German poet, Goethe, Zajonc believes “every artist schools the way they see.” With quantum physics breaking down all classical notions of how the world is put together, Zajonc moves on to the question, “Do we see the world fully, or is there a part of it that’s still invisible?” Dr. Zajonc has incorporated into his research this struggle to bridge the vital connection between the outer light of nature and our inner spiritual light, stressing the relationship between human experience and scientific exploration.

Senior program director of the Fetzer Institute and former professor of physics at Amherst College, his research in the experimental foundations of quantum optics has taken him to institutions and universities around the world. Zajonc is author of Catching the Light: The Entwined History of Light & Mind (Oxford University Press, 1995). To learn more about the work of Arthur Zajonc to go www.arthurzajonc.org

Topics Explored in this Dialogue:

• Why you may feel nervous or anxious under fluorescent lights
• How light affects your mood and sense of well-being
• The types of light and the amounts you need in your life
• What the visually-impaired teach us about seeing
• Color therapy for physically and mentally-challenged children
• The use and potential of color and light as tools to heal
• Secrets of the Gothic cathedrals
• The possibility of invisible worlds
• Possible future directions on scientific studies of light
• How the artist trains his “inner eyes”

Program Number: 2597              Host: Mark Walstrom                  Interview Date: 4/25/1996