I live comfortably in a world of creativity. Not only do I ponder, explore, discuss and write about this ever-evolving subject, but I also create fantasy. THE WORLD OF GLIMPSE is my domain. I feel at home in this imagined world which gives me the opportunity to explore through humor, fantastical characters and places, many of the realities of our own lives today.
John M. Anderson, is a paleobotanist living in South Africa whose work has been recognized by many, including Nelson Mandela, Kofi Annan, The Dalai Lama, and Sir Peter Crane. His life’s work and that of Heidi Anderson (Holmes) which centers around fossil assemblages promoting biodiversity and stemming the Sixth Extinction, includes their monographic series, widely recognized as unique in the field that might well prove to reflect the moment of greatest plant diversity through geological time. Sir Peter Crane, director of Kew Gardens wrote, “I am not aware of any set of fossil assemblages that has been collected with such intensity, uniformity of approach and such care…”.
John and I converse. I have created – imagined, really, the flora of THE WORLD OF GLIMPSE with its Wandering-Rootabouts – capricious, nomadic plants that root and uproot at a whim — and all other manner of vegivariation. John and Heidi, however, have diligently, with the the utmost scientific discipline, recorded the fossil flora of the Late Triassic Molteno Formation–deposited at the time of the origin of the dinosaurs and mammals–in the Karoo Basin of South Africa. Yet we have found commonalities and areas for discourse:
THE SCIENTIST AND THE FANTASIST
John Anderson of MoltenoLand & Ellen Palestrant of GlimpseLand: A Conversation.
ELLEN’S INVITATION TO JOHN:
From “THE WALRUS AND THE CARPENTER” by Lewis Carroll:
“The time has come,” the Walrus said,
“To talk of many things:
Of shoes–and ships–and sealing-wax–
Of cabbages–and kings–
And why the sea is boiling hot–
And whether pigs have wings”
JOHN’S REPLY TO ELLEN:
This will be fun!
Synnovation between the Arts and Sciences!
Between right and left hemispheres!
Between GlimpseLand and MoltenoLand!
Big fun, yet serious!
Let our wonderings take fertile root.
However hidden (as in Glimpse) or exposed (as in Molteno),
let them address current reality.
We’re on the edge of melting the Antarctic,
home of the Penguins.
We’re on the edge of boiling the sea,
home of the whales.
Only the dinosaurs with wings
made it through the 5th extinction (65 million years ago);
Who’ll make it through the 6th Extinction (flaring out of control today);
neither Walruses nor Kings!
For your grandkids and for mine!
Let’s synnovate
With love
John
ELLEN’S REPLY TO JOHN:
Yes, John, I agree. With all the imminent dangers we face today … and “to-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow”– my apologies, Macbeth and to you, too, William Shakespeare — which no longer “creeps in this petty pace from day to day” but advances with increasing velocity, we need to think creatively and synnovate collaboratively for both the sake of our planet and for the sake of our future generations.
In awe of the remarkable work you do,
Ellen
What an incredible universal dialogue, it is breath taking. Stimulating! Ellen Palestrant and John Anderson are remarkable language catalysts for each other and for their fortunate readers. The World of Glimpse is a book of great beauty and imaginative thought. A scientist and a fantasist in conversation–I love the idea!
Dede Harris
Narrative Artist and Welder
Thank you for entering our conversation, Dede, and for your thoughtful input. It is so important for people to connect and communicate across seemingly disparate disciplines. Commonalities abound. If only more people would focus on these commonalities instead of on perceived differences and work collaboratively on the many problems we face today, we could leave our world in better shape for future generations. Surely that is the least we can do.
Picasso and Braques’ development of cubism between 1905 and 1912 involved the “defeat of time” as it was then known. Using imagination, they found a way to see all sides of an object simultaneously, leading to new understanding of time and space. Amazingly, some of Einstein’s work during those same years was changing our perception of space and time in similar ways. So, perhaps we should be looking more closely at contemporary art to help us recognize new perceptions that also apply to science, and may even hold answers for our current challenges of global warming, over population, etc. John and Ellen, what are you currently reading and seeing in science and the arts (including music)? Any parallels? Can one help us understand the other?
Einstein and Picasso, two huge characters; relativity and cubism, two stunning explorations into untouched territory! What a way to open a new century, a century filled with endless Glimpses and endless Droomas!
Lisa – thank you for joining in the conversation and for your example of Picasso and Braque each developing cubism not only because of the aesthetic challenge of their individual artistic quest, but to contribute, also, to the then current “defeat of time” exploration which included Einstein’s work on time and space. Thank you for that example. Connecting even seemingly disparate disciplines is important, and certainly today, where technology, disconnected from other realities, but marching inexorably on to an uncertain future, gives us not only important, positive opportunities of all kinds, but also, along with it, comes sinister environmental, social and political implications, some of which might have been avoided if the technological, scientific, social, political, and artistic communities had been involved in prior conversations. Yes, many artists of all kinds, try to capture through their art, literature and music (and its transcendental connection to the life-force of the universe) the awesome beauty of our planet. I do see a role for science and the arts in addressing the current challenges we face re global warming because, generally, both have an appreciation of something much greater than themselves – our universe – and both require courageous imaginative leaps – the potent and exhilarating “what-ifs” that propel individual and collaborative explorations of possibilities. What books am I reading at present? Two books concurrently – COLLIDING WORLDS: HOW CUTTING-EDGE SCIENCE IS REDIFINING CONTEMPORARY ART by Arthur I. Miller who explores the connections between art and science and David Eagleman’s INCOGNITO: THE SECRET LIVES OF THE BRAIN. Eagleman’s work on the vastness of our own inner space – potential – the complexities of “something beyond us” fascinates me. What are you reading?
Ellen, such a good point about the “what if’s”. That ability to imagine what doesn’t yet exist (while seeing how it could exist based on what we know so far) is a trait that scientists and artists have in common. I am reading Time Reborn by Lee Smolin.
Two people who are brilliant at thinking creatively and communicating collaboratively!
Ideas such as this take us from the ugly and sad of so many things in the world today to the joyous, imaginative, positive revelations that they open up to us.
Bravo!
Thank you, Pat. You are right in that we certainly need to celebrate all that is beautiful and positive in our lives and in our world as an antidote to the ugliness of thought (and action) with which we are confronted today.