SEPT. 24, 2021
Truly creative works of science and art produce unexpected and surprising results—just like the punch line of a good joke that generates an unfamiliar twist on a familiar idea. Surprise stimulates curiosity, which triggers a search to reveal the mystery of things unknown.
SEPT 08, 2019
The iconic phrase “a shot heard ‘round the world” signifies an exceptional event. Seurat’s masterpiece La Grande Jatte, painted with many thousand dots of color, came as a shot to the art world—a shot fired by the imagination of the artist and inspired by the color theories of a scientist.
SEPT 08, 2018
Critics of art and philosophers of science and have long wrestled with the question of what elevates a piece of art or a set of experiments to masterpiece status. Masterpieces of art and science are like hooks that capture our imagination.
SEPT 08, 2017
Unlike artists who get their thrills by creating puzzles that stimulate the imagination, scientists get their kicks by solving puzzles that advance biomedical research.
NOV. 22, 2016
Scientific awards afford a special opportunity to enlighten the general public on how scientific discoveries arise. Like a Francis Bacon triptych, a prizeworthy scientific discovery has its greatest impact in capturing the public’s imagination when the story of its origin can be traced to its fundamental roots and told in an engaging way
SEPT. 8, 2015
For more than a century, historians of science have been pondering which is more important in the creative process: knowledge or imagination. The most original scientists (and artists) in our day discover newness by blending existing knowledge with imaginative thinking.
SEPT. 9, 2014
Lasker Jury Chair Joseph Goldstein writes about the essence of creativity making parallels between art and science. He begins by quoting Oscar Wilde, who has famously proclaimed that the most creative individuals are those who have taught their minds to misbehave.
SEPT. 8, 2013
What do a sculpture in Trafalgar Square and Lasker Awards have in common?
SEPT. 9, 2012
Explosive revelations or slowly forming ideas — how do paradigm shifts in science happen? Jury Chair Joseph Goldstein discusses these questions by looking at art pieces that explore the birth of great ideas.
AUG. 10, 2011
Scientists who receive Lasker Awards and Nobel Prizes share many things in common with poker superstars, both of whom take risks and gamble for high stakes.
