Event 2: The Cardiac Dance. The Spirals of Life

On October 9^th, 2013 I went to listen to Dr. Buckberg discuss a new way of understanding and learning about the heart and how it lead to his groundbreaking surgical procedure to combat CHF. 

While the South Campus in me was excited to learn some cardiology, Dr. Buckberg discussed an interesting concept which resonated with me. He complained to us how the scientific field is slow to recognize new ideas which rock the foundations of a previously understood concept. Similar paradigm shifts were discussed in Week 1 in the Ken Robinson Ted Talk and how Americans refuse to change the educational paradigm from the archaic roots from which they came.

Like the Ted Talk, Dr. Buckberg discusses how foundational changes need to occur in our education but people at this point in time are too stubborn to change their previous way of thinking. This concept reminds me of a video I saw of Dr. Chris Emdin and his Genius  B.A.T.T.L.E.S (Bringing Attention to Transforming Teaching, Learning, and Engagement in Science) initiative. A short summary of what this initiative is all about can be found below.

Dr. Emdin is attempting to change how we teach our courses and tailoring it to specific environments. While the standard academic practices are able to reach the average kid, it still misses a significant portion of the population. By incorporating art (hip hop music in this case), he is able to create tangible, exciting examples for his students to learn from. Here, he remixes the art of hip hop with science to engage students of the Brooklyn area. Dr. Buckberg also utilizes art in his presentation. He utilizes The Cardiac Dance to show us how the heart truly contracts and not the classical way which has been proven incorrect.

These two individuals show us the potential of bridging the gap between two cultures. We can see art’s importance in explaining concepts and allowing others to perceive things in new ways.  Through intertwining art and science into education,  we can ease the transition of paradigm shifts in knowledge and help continue to better society.