1. |
Musica Universalis
03:09
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The connection between science and music has a long and fascinating history. MUSICA UNIVERSALIS is a philosophical concept that regards proportions in the movements of celestial bodies – the Sun, Moon, and planets – as a form of music.
The theory originated in Ancient Greece and was a tenet of Pythagoras, and was later developed by 16th-century astronomer Johannes Kepler. Kepler did not believe this "music" to be audible, but felt that it could nevertheless be heard by the soul.
“The theory of relativity occurred to me by intuition, and music was the driving force behind that intuition. My discovery was the result of musical perception.” - Albert Einstein
“We are slowed down sound and light waves, a walking bundle of frequencies tuned into the cosmos. We are souls dressed up in sacred biochemical garments and our bodies are the instruments through which our souls play their music.” - Albert Einstein
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2. |
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Beauty needs a certain amount of emptiness to be appreciated. The space between the notes allows them to resonate, reverberate, and reach their full measure of expression. Without this space, noise and cacophony would result
“Music is the space between the notes.”
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3. |
Spacetime Gravity
03:10
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The general theory of relativity proposed by Albert Einstein in 1915 describes GRAVITY, not as a force, but as the curvature of SPACETIME. Spacetime is the three dimensions of space – length, width and height – combined with the fourth dimension – time.
Einstein was the first person to realize that the laws of physics work in a universe where space and time are merged together.
Gravity is the reason things with mass or energy are attracted to each other. It is why apples fall toward the ground and planets orbit stars.
Gravity keeps all of the planets in orbit around the sun.
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4. |
Imagination
03:33
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Music is a universal means of expression that allows people to tap directly into their imaginations and express their thoughts and feelings.
The structures that we find pleasing in music reflect something about the way we hear our own thoughts playing inside our head. Musicians translate some of the patterns in our minds into the order of music.
From the depths of a black hole to the heights of a soaring violin, music and the universe are two of our clearest expressions of the limitless of our IMAGINATION.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." - Albert Einstein
"Time travel used to be thought of as just science fiction, but Einstein's general theory of relativity allows for the possibility that we could warp space-time so much that you could go off in a rocket and return before you set out." - Stephen Hawking
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5. |
DETERMINISM?
02:59
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Determinism is the view that every physical event is completely caused by prior events together with the laws of nature. Every event has a cause that makes it happen in the one and only way that it could have happened.
The entire history of the universe is already settled. Every event that has ever occurred was already predetermined before it occurred. Everything you have ever done — every choice you have ever made — was already predetermined before our solar system even existed.
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6. |
FREE WILL
03:25
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"Man first of all exists, encounters himself, surges up in the world—and defines himself afterwards. Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does. Freedom is what you do with what's been done to you.”
- Jean-Paul Sartre
A person can choose to act in a different way, and to be a good person instead of a cruel person.
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7. |
Quantum Computing
03:34
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Artificial intelligence is likely to become supercharged by QUANTUM COMPUTING. It is a partnership that could change the world.
Quantum computing, an entirely new way of processing information, when combined with AI, has the potential to bring about a new computing revolution. Instead of processing information in terms of ones and zeros—called bits — quantum computers use qubits which can represent a 1 and a 0 simultaneously.
Conventional computers use BITS which is similar to playing one note at a time, whereas quantum computers use QUIBITS which is like playing several notes together. With enough qubits, quantum computers could theoretically be millions of times faster than the fastest computers of today.
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8. |
OSTINATO
02:57
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OSTINATO is a continually repeated musical phrase or rhythm. The term OSTINATO is from the Italian word for stubborn. It is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats. An ostinato repeats itself to such a degree that it’s very existence starts to disappear into the background.
Leonardo da Vinci had a motto - “Ostinato Rigore”, which means constant rigor - a stubborn, relentless and persevering work ethic. Once he started working on a project he would not let it rest until he had completed it.
“Details make perfection, and perfection is not a detail.”
“In time and with water, everything changes”
“Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence.”
― Leonardo Da Vinci
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9. |
Quantum Beats
02:57
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How migratory birds sense magnetic fields is a long standing mystery in biology. Listening to QUANTUM BEATS could reveal how a migratory bird's compass works. Researchers have isolated a molecule within the eyes of birds that might act as a compass using quantum mechanics.
Migrating birds also use celestial cues to navigate, much like sailors used the sun and stars to guide them. But unlike humans, birds also detect the magnetic field generated by the Earth's molten core and use it to determine their position and direction.
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10. |
Cosmic Hum
03:40
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Gravitational waves, which were predicted by Albert Einstein over a century ago as ripples in the fabric of spacetime, have now been observed at low frequencies, creating a cosmic background hum.
These gravitational waves oscillate over long periods, stretching and compressing everything in the universe.
“If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.“ - Nikola Tesla
“Be alone - that is the secret of invention; be alone - that is when ideas are born.” - Nikola Tesla
“What one man calls God, another calls the Laws Of Physics.”
- Nikola Tesla
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11. |
Quantum Entanglement
02:56
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In the same way that we feel a bond with a person we love on the other side of the world, the property of one particle can affect another particle, regardless of distance.
One of the most astonishing conclusions of quantum physics is that a particle can be in two places at the same time, until we measure either its position or velocity.
When two particles become entangled, they remain connected even when separated by vast distances. In the same way that an orchestra emerges from individual musicians, entanglement arises from the connection between particles.
QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT is the phenomenon that occurs when a duet of particles interact in such a way that the state of each particle cannot be described independent of the other.
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12. |
Cosmic Inflation
03:21
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Music played a crucial role in the shaping of Einstein’s most important scientific discoveries.
Mozart was Einstein’s favorite composer. He said, “Mozart's music is so pure and beautiful that I see it as a reflection of the inner beauty of the universe. Mozart appeared not to “create” his music, but discovered it ready made."
Einstein sought a similar purity, economy and harmoniousness of vision for his theories.
Music inspired and guided him; it stimulated parts of his brain that could not be accessed through sitting at his desk. It gave him a sense of patterns, feelings, hunches, intuitions – all manner of sensual information that could be described as ways of thinking that don’t involve words.
"Life without playing music is inconceivable for me. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music ... I get most joy in life out of music." - Albert Einstein
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13. |
CHAOS THEORY
03:03
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Chaos theory predicts that while the laws of physics are deterministic, there are events and patterns in nature that never exactly repeat because extremely small differences in starting conditions can lead to widely differing outcomes.
The butterfly effect, an underlying principle of chaos, describes how a small change in one state of a system can result in large differences in a later state. A butterfly flapping its wings in Texas can cause a tornado in Brazil!.
A SMALL CHANGE CAN BE THE CAUSE OF LARGER CONSEQUENCES.
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14. |
SONIFICATIONS
03:39
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Sonification is the process of translating data into sound.
In 2020, the NASA Chandra X-ray Center began the first program to “sonify” astronomical data from exploded stars, black holes, and clusters of stars. They use data from telescopes and translate it into corresponding frequencies that can be heard by the human ear.
I have taken several of these "sonifications" as source material for this piece. You can hear the original NASA sonifications here:
https://www.nasa.gov/audio-and-ringtones/
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15. |
Genomics
02:43
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The Covid-19 vaccine depends on our genome. The arrival of the genome era has revolutionized vaccine development.
The Human Genome Project was an international project with the goal of identifying, mapping and sequencing all of the genes of the human genome. It started in 1990 and was completed in 2003 and remains the world's largest collaborative biological project. It is one of the greatest scientific feats in history.
GENOMICS has already begun to change the practice of medicine. It is helping us understand what makes each of us different and what makes us the same. Genomics is transforming how we study, diagnose and treat cancer. It is illuminating human and family origins at a level not previously possible.
“To him who devotes his life to science, nothing can give more happiness than increasing the number of discoveries, but his cup of joy is full when the results of his studies immediately find practical applications.” — Louis Pasteur
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Steve Shapiro Oakland, California
Steve Shapiro has composed music for hundreds of radio and TV commercials, documentary films, infomercials and other TV programs. He was the music director at Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, which produced hundreds of award-winning educational films and recordings. He has a BA in Music from Brown University and an MA in Music from the Manhattan School of Music. ... more
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