Metamorphosis: Where Science, Art, and Curiosity Converge
This session brings together three unique perspectives on transformation — in nature, creativity, and science. From the biological and cultural meanings of metamorphosis, through the serendipitous collaborations between artists and scientists, to the playful exploration of truth and discovery through science education, the talks reveal how change and curiosity drive both art and science to reimagine the world around us.
Thursday | Nov 13 | 21:30
Location: Auditorium, Museum of Natural History
Metamorphosis
Prof. Oren Harman
To emerge a butterfly, a caterpillar dissolves inside its chrysalis and builds a brand new brain, wings, and legs. But butterflies aren’t alone. A stunning three-quarters of all animal species undergo dramatic metamorphoses. Why must creatures go through massive destruction and remodeling to become who they are? This scientific question has preoccupied humans for millennia. It has been accompanied by an abiding fascination with the theme of metamorphosis in philosophy, literature, music and the arts. Looking at the long cultural history of metamorphosis alongside the gradual scientific unravelling of the mystery teaches us how what we wish to think of ourselves and how we come to see the world around us remain hopelessly intertwined, yet again highlighting the fascinating relationship between science and art.
About
Oren Harman is a senior research fellow at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute and teaches at the Graduate Program in Science, Technology and Society at Bar Ilan university. His books include Evolutions: Fifteen Myths That Explain Our World, and The Price of Altruism, which won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and was nominated for a Pulitzer prize. His most recent book is Metamorphosis: A Natural and Human History. Oren's children's book Who Stole Darwin's Notebooks? was chosen for inclusion in schools nationally, and he is working on a picture book series for 3-5 year-olds on metamorphosis. Oren established and co-directs the "Science and Creativity Hub.
Art–science collaborations: Generators of new ideas and serendipitous events
Prof. Yasmin Meroz & Liat Segal
An increasing number of collaborative projects between artists and scientists raises the question regarding their value, particularly when considering the redirection of resources. Here we provide a personal account of our collaborative efforts, as an artist and a scientist. We propose that one of the most significant outcomes is something that cannot be planned for in advance: serendipitous events. Such events lead to fresh perspectives and imaginative ideas, the fairy dust underlying many great works of art and science. The unexpected nature of these desired outcomes requires from us a leap of faith on the one hand, and a deep trust in our ‘partner in crime’ on the other.
About
Yasmin Meroz is a researcher at the Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University. Her research focuses on uncovering the physical principles underlying computation and behavior in plants-complex systems without a brain or nervous system. In her lab, she combines experiments with theory, weaving together ideas from physics, biology, and engineering.
Liat Segal is a contemporary media artist who integrates art, science, and technology. In her work, Segal harnesses technologies and data as raw materials and reflects on human existence in an era of technological acceleration. She holds master’s degrees in computer science and biology from Tel Aviv University, as well as a master’s degree from Minerva University in San Francisco, specializing in artificial intelligence and complex systems. Her works have been exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide on Earth and in outer space.
Curiosity at the tip of the antenna
Prof. Ofer Feinerman
Curiosity at the tip of the antenna
In an era of ‘alternative facts,’ it’s easy to get lost and hard to find solid ground. This creates a clear educational need: to develop the skills to distinguish the essential from the trivial and to identify truth within the constant flow of information. In this talk, I will present The Culinary Guide for Anteaters, a children’s comic book featuring dozens of ‘active science’ activities about the common ants of Israel. The book invites wonder and curiosity, offering paths of exploration rather than ready-made answers. Through simple yet enlightening experiments, readers practice observation, question formulation, experimental design and execution, documentation, drawing conclusions, ingenuity, and scientific thinking, strengthening their confidence in their own ability to uncover truth from reality.
About
Ofer Feinerman is a physicist who has been studying cooperation in biological systems for many years. He heads a laboratory that investigates the behavior of ants in the Department of Physics of Complex Systems at the Weizmann Institute of Science.