Writers join scientists for creative conversation
23 July 2008
Medical Research Council scientists and fiction writers came together in an extraordinary discussion to explore the sources of their ideas and their passion for discovery.
The discussion revealed that, far from being two distinct cultures, literature and science are bound by the common thread of creativity.
The 10 July event, organised by the MRC in partnership with English PEN – the writers’ organisation – was a panel debate at the Royal Geographical Society, called ‘Creative Energy’.
Professor Sir Aaron Klug, Nobel prize-winning scientist from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, and Dr Sheena McCormack, senior HIV researcher at the MRC Clinical Trials Unit in London, shared the stage with poet Ruth Padel and world-renowned novelist Ian McEwan.
The panel, chaired by Siân Ede, Arts Director of the Gulkenkian Foundation, spoke of their shared search for inspiration, ideas that appear in sudden flashes and the hard work in pursuing them. Ian McEwan, who won the 1998 Booker prize, branded creativity as “persistence, tolerance of drudgery, a big dose of luck, a capacity for associative thinking, playfulness, ambition and ruthlessness.”
A fiery discussion with the audience of 120 people – a rare combination of half scientists, half writers – brought up a range of topics from the possible threat of patenting to the question of whether responsibility plays a role in creativity.
Listen to the podcast of ‘Creative Energy’
The creative spark
Sir Aaron, winner of the 1982 Nobel prize for chemistry for his work on proteins that interact with DNA, described his moment of genius. “It did come in a flash of the imagination. The imagination is key to much of our work in science.”
Sir Aaron used drawing – another art form – to inspire his science, introducing the idea of metaphor. Ruth Padel, who is the chair of the UK Poetry Society and the great great grand daughter of Charles Darwin, said: “You suddenly see one thing in terms of another thing and that releases all sorts of echoes and resonances and frees you to go forward.”
All spoke of honing ideas, which is like “freeing the image from the stone”, said Ruth. But the course is not often smooth – there are barriers, problems to solve and always a risk of failure. Dr Sheena McCormack said: “My job is to be the ‘can-do’ person.”
Determination leads to results, which are often unexpected. Sir Aaron’s microscopic virus work – the idea of constructing a 3D structure from a series of 2D images – became widely applied as the basis of a type of X-ray scanning. “The direct route to a solution often comes from outfield,” he said. “Every now and again, it’s really quite a pleasure to have something that people actually use.”
Listen to the podcast of ‘Creative Energy’
For further information on the event and the ideas behind it, contact Laura Nelson: laura.nelson@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk
