1

PhysicsImaginationRetreat:ExploringtheRoleofImaginationintheWorkofScientists

June29-July1,2016KingsCollege,UniversityofCambridge,UK

Participants:

DrPhilipBall,Sciencewriter

SirMichaelBerry,UniversityofBristolProfMikeCates,UniversityofCambridgeProfMelissaFranklin,HarvardUniversity

ProfHerbertHuppert,UniversityofCambridge(Physicsretreatcoordinator)ElizabethHyde,ImaginationInstitute(ResearchSpecialist)

DrScottBarryKaufman,ImaginationInstitute(ScientificDirector,leadfacilitator)ProfJonKeating,UniversityofBristol

ProfNaomiLeonard,PrincetonUniversityProfTomMcLeish,DurhamUniversity

ProfJohnPendry,ImperialCollegeLondonProfMartinRees,Universityof Cambridge

DrRosieRobison,AngliaRuskinUniversity(leadreportauthor)ProfMartinSeligman,ImaginationInstitute(ExecutiveDirector)

DrAshleyZauderer,JohnTempletonFoundation

RetreatalsosupportedbyVictoriaSchwartz(ImaginationInstitute,EventsCoordinator)

Reportpreparedby:DrRosieRobison

“Ifyoucan’timaginesomethingmarvellous,youarenotgoingtofindit.Thebarriertodiscoveringwhatcanbedoneisactuallyimagination.”ProfF.DuncanHaldane,oneoftherecipientsofthe2016NobelPrizeinPhysics

Reportedon4Oct2016,SixO’ClockNews,BBCRadio4

2

Highlights

• Physiciststakequestionsaboutimaginationseriously.

• Imaginationmayinvolveaskingquestionswhicharenew,connectpreviouslyunconnected

ideas,leadtointerestingsolutionsorstimulatethinking,andarealsotimely.

• Otherformsofimaginationhowevermaynotcenteronaskingnewquestions,forexample

involvingpracticalproblemsolving,orreformulatingtheworkofothersinbetterways.

• Theactof‘doing’physicsinvolvesconjuringupmentalimages(orimaginings)–whichvary

considerablybyresearcher.

• Imaginationisnotsolelyatraitoftheindividual,itmaybeaproductofgroupinteractionsor

widerscientificculture.

• Imaginationinphysics(asinallareas)isbothconstrainedandenabledbythemethodsand

languagesituses;thisprovesbothchallengingandexhilarating.

• Anumberoftensionswereidentifiedinthepursuitofimaginativeenquiry,forexample

betweenfreedomfromtradition,andin-depthworkingknowledge.

• Seniorphysicistsseethemselvesasplayingakeyroleinstimulatingtheimaginationsofthe

nextgenerationofresearchers.

3

Contents

Highlights p2

Contents p3

1. Introduction p4

2. Findingsanddiscussion:sixkeythemes p4

2.1 Imagination:allaboutaskingtherightquestions? P6

2.2 Physicists’imaginings p8

2.3 Imaginationinscienceasagroupendeavour p11

2.4 Imaginationinphysics p13

2.5 Developingimaginationinphysics p17

2.6 Interactionsattheretreat:physiciststalkingaboutimagination p21

3. Conclusions p23

Appendix:backgroundandmethods p28

4

1. Introduction

This report details findings from a two-day event in which a dozen senior theoretical,

experimentalandmathematicalphysicistsdiscussedtheroleof‘imagination’inscientificwork,and

inparticularinphysics.Theeventtookplaceover29June–1July2016,inthehistoricsurroundings

ofKingsCollegeat theUniversityofCambridge (UK)andwasdevisedandcoordinatedby theUS-

basedImaginationInstitute.

Therichqualitativedatagatheredfromtwodaysofin-depthconversationswiththisgroup

of highly successful physicists offer a rare window into physicists’ own perceptions of the

imaginationprocess, includinghow itactually 'feels' to them.Theyvoiced theirunderstandingsof

thesocialandpsychologicaldimensionsofboththeireverydayworkandthoserarermomentswhich

(when lookingbackoveracareer)were felt tohave involvedprofound imaginationor inspiration.

Throughgrapplingwiththenotionsofcreativityandimagination,theconversationsalsoofferinsight

into how a group of senior scientists relate to each other, and how they explain complicated

conceptstobothotherexperts(butwhoareperhapsoutsideoftheirownfield)andnon-experts.

Thebulkofthereportwhichfollowsdescribesanddiscussessixkeythemeswhichemerged:

imaginationas thepracticeofaskingquestions; individualexperiencesof imagination; imagination

as a group process; ways to foster imagination; imagination in physics; and interactions at the

retreat.Aconclusionssectionthendrawstogetherthreadsfromacrossthesixthemes.Attheendof

thereport,inanAppendix,briefdetailsaregivenonthebackgroundtotheretreat,howitwasset-

up,andhowdatawasgatheredandanalysedforthisreport.

2. Findingsanddiscussion:sixkeythemes

Thissectionisdividedintosixsubsections,illustratedwithquotesfromparticipants.First,in

subsection 2.1, one potential part of a definition of imagination that developed during group

discussionsisraised.Thiscentredaroundaskinghighqualityquestionswhichhadvariousattributes,

5

includingnovelty,connectingpreviouslyunconnectedideas,andleadingtonewwaysofthinking

anddoinginphysics.

Next, attendees were directly asked at several points to relate their own personal

experiences,thustherewasastrongfocusontheindividualexperienceofimagination.Oneavenue

of discussionwithin this, which the participants showed particular interest in, was exploration of

whatwentoninsidetheheadsofotherresearcherswhentheywere‘doing’physics,oractivelyusing

theirimagination.Subsection2.2outlinesfindingshere.

However,onanotherlevel,imaginationwasalsotalkedaboutbyattendees(bothimplicitly

and explicitly) as a product of group interactions and collaboration. Going further, the wider

landscape of science (or indeed society) was seen to play a role in imagination. Subsection 2.3

focussesonthesociallevelofimaginationinphysics,andsuggestslimitationsofsolelylookingatthe

phenomenononanindividuallevel.

Next,thisretreatfocussedonphysics.Itisthereforeofinteresttotrytodrawoutwhat

aspectsofimaginationmightbeparticulartothepracticeofdoingphysics,andmightdifferfrom

otheracademicdisciplines,orentirelyotherfieldsofworkorlife.Subsection2.4isdedicatedtothis.

Asoneof the Imagination Institute’sexplicitareasof interest (explained toparticipantsat

thestartof the retreat), someof the ideas fordevelopingand fostering imaginationexpressedby

participantsaredetailedinsubsection2.5.Thesearedividedintothoserelatingtodevelopingone’s

own imagination,andthoserelatingtodevelopingthe imaginationofothers, forexample inone’s

roleasaneducator.

In subsection2.6, the retreat itself is explored inmoredetail, howparticipants related to

each other and explained concepts to each other as well as the non-experts present. Here,

reflections are given on participants’ views on the better measurement and encouragement of

imaginationinphysics.

6

2.1 Imagination:allaboutaskingtherightquestions?

Rather than simply using imagination to solve given problems, amore critical part of the

imagination process (within research at least) was seen by participants as asking, and pursuing,

interestingquestions; theartofquestioning is discussed in this subsection.A core sentimentwas

illustratedwellbytheadvicethatProfTomMcLeish(ProfessorofPhysicsatDurhamUniversityand

Director of the Durham Centre for Soft Matter Research) gives to newly enrolled PhDs in his

department:“I'vegotsomeverybadnewsforyouwhichisthatthisfinelyhonedskill[offindingthe

rightanswer]willfromhenceforthbealmostuselesstoyou.Almost-notquite-butalmostuseless.

But what really will make you a successful researcher or not is whether you can formulate the

creative question or not.” It is at postgraduate (typically PhD) levelwhenoneneeds tomake this

switchinfocusfromproblem(orquestion)solvingtoproblem(orquestion)finding.Indiscussionat

dinneronthefirstevening,thisdifferentiationwasalsomadeinreferencetostudentssolvinggiven

‘problems’setasexercisesinassignments,andindependentlyrecognisingunanticipated‘problems’

or ‘questions’which can arise from anywhere, at any time. As explained by ProfMelissa Franklin

(MallinckrodtProfessorofPhysics,HarvardUniversity)“Experimentalistswanttoknowifthestudent

hassolvedaproblem,and[ifso]whattype”(fromfieldnotesatdinneronthefirstnight).

Sowhatisa‘creative’or‘imaginative’question?Classifyingaquestionasparticularly

imaginative or, as Prof Herbert Huppert (Emeritus Professor, Theoretical Geophysics & Director,

Institute for Theoretical Geophysics, University of Cambridge) put it, “The right” one, may be

impossibleoutofcontext.Itwilldependinlargepartontheexistingbodyofknowledgewhichhas

come before, and thus what is novel (and/or not already known to be wrong) as explained by

Franklin:“Thepointisthey[peoplewhosendunsolicitedemailstoleadingphysicistsabouttheirown

theories] don’t know physics, so they can’t know that their idea is ruled out already”. Further,

differentaudiencesmayview the samequestionaseither creative,orobvious, inpartdue to the

history of the development in that area andwhether the idea is ‘new to them’. Prof Jon Keating

(HenryOvertonWillsProfessorofMathematics&Chair,HeilbronnInstituteforMathematical

7

Research, University of Bristol) who like several participants works with communities across

different branches of physics, explained that “Quantum information theor[ists] view this [the

question of the role of slight disorder in sequences of quantum gates] as a highly creative and

insightful question;whereasmy friends in condensedmatterphysics think it’s themostblindingly-

obviousquestion”.

Bringinginsightsfromonefield(wheretheymaybe‘obvious’)intoanother(wheretheyare

not)mayexemplifyaparticularcharacteristicoftheimaginativeidea.ProfNaomiLeonard(EdwinS.

Wilsey Professor ofMechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University) expanded on

thisexperienceof“Makingconnections”betweendifferentfields,concepts,orphenomena,andthat

this often led toparticularlymemorablemomentsof inspirationor imagination1:“Youhave these

kindof ‘geewhiz’moments… you feel like yourbrainhas stretched… I think ‘OhmyGod. This is

connectedtothat’.”Keatingalsospokeaboutconstantly,deliberately,tryingtomakeconnections:“I

haveatubemap,Ihaveamapthatconnectspoints,thosepointsaretheproblems[Iamfocussing

onsolving].WhenIhearsomethingnew,I’mconstantlythinking:doesthiscreateanewlink?”

Ofcourse,anadditional‘metric’bywhichtomeasurewhetheraquestionisimaginativeor

notonlycomeslater(possiblyyearslater),andisrelatedtowhetheritledtoaninterestingsolution

(or perhaps, further interesting questions). Here the interest the researcher themselves has in a

questionwillplayarole,inordertoprovidethemotivationtopursueit.Huppertspokeofhowthis

meansratingtheimaginativenessofaquestionmustbesubjective:“They[goodstudents]hadtheir

ownideas.SometimesIdidn'tthinktheyweremoreinteresting,butbecausetheythoughttheywere,

thentheywere.”Choosingwellbetweenthemultitudeofdifferentpossiblequestionstopursuein

moredepthwasmentioned inpassing,andwas seenas tiedupwithbuildinga successful career.

Here, a certain degree of overt calculationmay be undertaken, as explained by ProfMartin Rees

(Fellow,TrinityCollege&EmeritusProfessor,CosmologyandAstrophysics,UniversityofCambridge):

“Youhavetomultiplytheimportanceoftheproblembytheprobabilitythatyouwillmakeabigdent

1Thesemomentsofinspiration(termed‘claritons’byProfMichaelBerry)arediscussedfurtherinaninsightfularticlebyattendeeBall:Ball,P.(2016).Insearchofclaritons.PhysicsWorld,29(10),30.

8

intoit,andmaximisethatproduct”,althoughitwasnotclearhowdeliberatelyanyofthe

participantshaddonethis.

Itwasalsonotedthat imaginativequestionsmightnotsolelyarisethrough‘thinking’,they

couldequallybestimulatedby“Usingskilltowardssomething”asdescribedbyLeonard,suchasthe

active‘doing’(orattempting)ofanexperiment.Theimportanceofotherpeopleinstimulatingnew

questionsisalsodiscussedlaterinthisreport.

In summary: asking questions was seen as a key part of the imaginative process, and

imaginative questions were seen to be those which: (i) were new; (ii) made (new) connections

betweenideasorareas;and(iii)ledtointerestingorusefulanswers.

2.2 Physicists’imaginings

As highlighted in the introduction, participants showed a great deal of curiosity in and

fascinationwithon inside theheadsofphysicists (including themselves)when theywere forming,

ruminating upon, or struggling with, an idea as part of their work. In this subsection, there is a

discussionofhowparticipantsdescribed that it felt to themwhen in themidstof imagining. This

seemedtobesomethingparticipantshadreflectedontosomeextentpreviously,butperhapshad

not discussed often with others – Prof John Pendry (Chair in Theoretical Solid State Physics at

ImperialCollegeLondon)askedthosepresent,“Doyoureplayyourinventioninyourhead?”Hereit

wasimpliedthattheaestheticsofaninsightfulideabroughtanenjoymentonemightwanttorelive.

There was variety in the mental representations used, and people switched between different

modeswhenconsideringdifferentproblems,oratdifferenttimes.Inthefollowingparagraphs,these

aredescribed.

Participantsmentionedhowtheywouldoftenvisualiseeitherstationaryormovingpictures.

McLeishgaveaverydetaileddescriptionofhowvisualimaginationhadbeeninvolvedinamoment

ofinspiration:“IheardaseriesoflecturesonproteinphysicsbyRobijnBruinsmawho’sawonderful

Dutchtheoreticalphysicist…andIfellintoasortofsemi-reverieandfoundmyselfimaginingvery

9

visually,veryconcretely,apolymer folding intoaprotein…sohere’sabigwobblyproteinand it’s

wobblingbecauseofBrownianmotion…andthenIsawthisothermoleculestickingtothesideand

realisedthatasitstuck,itwouldstiffen…thecalminginfluenceofbindingsomethingtothissideof

theproteinwouldaffectwhetherotherplacesarefluctuatingwiththewavesofmotionsogreatlyor

not…thereforethere’ssomeinformationattheseotherplacesontheproteinnowthatthefirstsite

is occupied … this is phonon carrier waves.” In this story Tom also deliberately pointed out “The

differencebetweenmymentalpictureofaproteinandamolecularbiologist’spicture”duetohaving

“Grownup”indifferentareas.Thisdifferentperspectivehadhelpedcontributetohisinsight.Healso

wentontoexpandonthestoryforthegrouppresent,byusingananalogyofstickingbiscuitsonto

jelly,acomparisonwhichwasbothsurprisingandsurprisinglymemorable.2

Othermodesof imaginationwere alsomentioned. ProfMikeCates (LucasianProfessorof

Mathematics & Royal Society Research Professor, University of Cambridge) explained that

imaginationcouldinvolveverbalisinginone’shead:“Sometimesyouseethingsby…havingadebate

with yourself.” Several participants talked about their techniques for imagining mathematical

constructs.Forexample,asdescribedbyPendry, it isverycommontorelatemathematicalobjects

tophysicalrepresentations:“Ifyoucantranslate[yourequation/matrixetc.]intosomethingwhichis

visual,reformulateit,youhavealotofmachineryuptherewhichwillhelp.”Keatingspokeofdoing

thisformathematicaloperations:“It’sablackbox.It’samachine.Iputsomethingintothismachine

andsomeinformationcomesout.Itendtoconstructsequencesofequationsthatway.”

Noteverything,ofcourse,canbeheldatonetimeinoneperson’svisualimagination–some

thingsaretoo‘big’orcomplex.Franklinaskedcolleagues,“Whatwouldbetheequationthatdoesn’t

fit in your head?”Writing things down in conjunction with mental work is common practice in

physics,not simply to record ideasbut tohave them.Catesexplained,“Ineedapieceofpaper in

front of me and I’m pushing symbols around on the page … so there’s this interaction between

processinginyourheadandmovingsymbolsaround.”Anincreasinglyimportantpartofphysicswork

2Tomhaswrittenupafulleraccountofthisexperienceforanupcomingbook-ThePoetryandMusicofScience(workingtitle).

10

isheldbycomputers,whichcantakeoversomepartsofour‘imaginings’–providingvisualisations

for us, for example. Rees gave this example, “If I give you the algorithm for theMandelbrot set,

althoughthatiseasilycomputable,nohumanbeingcouldinstantlybringthattotheirmind’seye”.

Therewasarecognitionthatonemaymakemoreprogresswhenonefindsatopicwhich,as

Reesputit,“Issuitedtoyourparticularstyleofthinking”.This isundoubtedlyaniterativeprocess;

althoughadegreeofinnatepreferencemustplayapart,one’sstyleofthinkingisalsoshapedbythe

fieldoneisin,andonetrainsoneself(activelyorsubconsciously)throughobservationofthenorms

of that field.SirMichaelBerry (MelvilleWillsProfessorofPhysics [Emeritus],UniversityofBristol)

explained,“Iwasn’talwaysavisualthinker…Iencounteredpeople-senior,olderscientistsandthey

alwaysdrewpictures…ittooktimebeforethatbecamenaturaltome.”

Arelatedtopicofconversationwasonsubconsciousworkingsofthebrain.Thereweremany

storiesofhowideashadcomeeither inparticipants’sleep(afterworkingonaproblemallday/for

severalmonths),whennotdirectly focussingontheobject inquestion (suchas in theshower),or

even – as describedbyBerry – eight years after first considering a problem,with little seemingly

goingoninbetween."IwasonatraininJanuary1985inGermany,anditwassocoldthattherewas

ice inside thewindows. Ihadsome insightabout theconnectionbetweenquantummechanicsand

chaosandwasworkingthisout,[when]suddenlyitpoppedintomyheadthatthisisallrelevantto

theRiemannZeta function. I remembertheexactmoment ithappened.Ofcourse, Iwasprepared,

becauseIhadreadanarticleaboutit8yearsbefore,butIhadn’tthoughtaboutitsince."

Sometimes this sudden leap in knowledge seems to come, and participants hypothesised

abouthowthisisperhapslinkedwithunconsciousworkings,anditwasonlyoncetheleaphadbeen

madethat itbecameconscious.McLeishdescribedhowthiscanmeanonemaylivewithacertain

amountoffrustrationbeforeabreakthrough:“Ithinkwhatisreallyfascinatinghereiswhatisgoing

onintheunconscious…thinkingofaproblem,‘gettingnowhere’andsometimes…theunconscious

isactuallydoingbetterthanourconsciousthinking”.

11

2.3 Imaginationinscienceasagroupendeavour

One’sclosecolleagues,researchgroup,department,university,andthe‘sciencecommunity’

atlarge–theseallplayaroleinbothstimulatingphysicists’imagination,andindeeddefiningwhat

countsas ‘imaginative’. Keating’sexperience is that:“[Science] isa teamgame. It’s very rare that

peoplearecreativeincompleteisolation.Andwehaveuniversitiesforaverygoodreason.Wearea

community,andweworkbetterasacommunity.” Indeed,the importanceofone-on-oneorgroup

interactions,aswellaswhatonehasreadandseenpresentedbyothers,waswhysomequestioned

the idea of measuring imagination as a trait of an individual at all. As Franklin put it: “Doing it

[measuringimagination]ontheindividualleveldoesn’treallymakeanysense…you’regonnahave

thehugeerrorbars. Imean,EdPurcellwhodidthefirstNMR[NuclearMagneticResonance],…an

incrediblycreativephysicist,mightnothavedoneanyofthatstuff ifBobPoundhadn’tbeeninthe

office next door, and Norman Ramsey hadn’t been down the hall … thinking about this as an

individualcharacteristicisjustcompletelyold-fashioned.”

Similarlytothisanecdote,severalparticipantsspokeofsignificantothersintheirownworkinglifewhohadplayedanimportantroleindevelopingtheirideas.Berrytoldthegrouphow,

“Thingsgobackandforthandideasgetsparkedwhichneitherofyouhaveindividually”.Inthisway,

dialogue couldpotentiallybecomemore than the sumof itsparts. Sometimes these relationships

haddevelopedanddeepenedoverlongtimeperiods.McLeishspokeofaclosecolleaguewithwhom

he has “Quite an extraordinary psychological connection with ideas. Once, he even dreamed the

samepicturethatsolvedanequationthesamenight”.3McLeishalsospokeofhowmuchofscientific

endeavour is based on human relationships, and thus that the Royal Society4 motto –Nullius in

Verba–oftentranslatedas‘takenoone’swordforit’wouldbebettertranslatedas‘don’tswallow

tradition’.Asheexplained,“Scientistshavetotakeeachother’swordforthingsallthetime.Ifweall

3Thisepisode–relatedtofindingtheEulercharacteristicofaphase-separatedbinarymixturedefinedatasetoflatticepointsinthreedimensions–isalsodiscussedinmoredetailinBall’sarticle(seefootnote1).4TheRoyalSociety,foundedin1660,istheUK’snationalacademyofscience.

12

mistrustedeachothertotheextentthatwehadtodoeveryoneelse’sexperimentsandcalculations,

itwouldn’twork”.

Intalkingmorebroadlyabouttheroleofthewidersciencecommunity,onediscussionatthe

retreatcentredonhowonedistinguishesbetween‘crank’scienceandhighlycreativescience,which

couldalsobehighlyunconventional.Thisdistinctionwasdescribedasbeinghardertoexplaintoan

outsider than onemight think, even when it might seem ‘perfectly obvious’ to those within the

relevantpartof thesciencecommunity. In fact,whenonetries todrawa linebetweencrankand

creative,muchcomesbacktotheconsensusviewofthewidercommunity.Thus,partofdefiningan

idea as ‘imaginative’, rather than oddball, has to dowith its reception by others, whichwill also

involvethepasthistoryofthefieldandexistingbodyofknowledge.

Recognition from the wider community is, in addition, rather dependent on timing, and

whateveryoneelsehappenstobeconcentratingonatthetime.AsBerryexplained:“Therehastobe

apopulationofone’scolleagueswhocouldalmosthavedonethesamethingbutdidn’tquite,andso

they immediately understand it.”Whether an area is sufficiently ‘fashionable’ or topical to have

other researchers’ (or indeed funders’ or politicians’) attention may affect whether an idea is

perceived as imaginative (that is, addressing an interesting and relevant question) or not, and

whetherthatideagetspursuedordropped.Inasimilarway,DrAshleyZauderer(AssistantDirector,

Mathematical and Physical Sciences, John Templeton Foundation) talked about the “Role [that]

serendipityandnewtechnologyplays indiscoveries”asbeingsignificant.Onecould,thereforeadd

‘timely’ to the list of qualities that an imaginative question might have. Further, through the

frameworks bywhich scientists understand ‘how science is learnt/done’ (e.g. lectures, success in

examinations, publications, procurement of funding), one can also see how scientific culturemay

systematicallyfavour(andthereforereproduce)certaintypesofimaginationoverothers.

Ifgroupprocessesandthewiderlandscapeplaysuchacriticalrole,aretherewaysonemightinfluencethesetocreateconditionsformoreimaginativephysics?Manyparticipants,in

tandemwiththeiractiveresearchcareers,heldseniorpositionswithindepartmentsoruniversities;

13

at an institutional level, areas specifically designed formeeting and discussing (for example,with

coffeeandplaces todraw)wereseenascritical,aswellas theethosaroundseminars.Atamore

fundamental,andlongerterm,leveltherearequestionsaboutcompetitiveprocessessuchashiring

and funding competitions, and how thesemightwork to encourage, or inhibit, imaginative ideas.

Finally, itwas noted byDr Philip Ball (sciencewriter) thatmany different types of individuals are

neededto“Makethegroupwork”andthusselectingstudentsorstaffonimaginationalonemaybe

counterproductive.

2.4 Imaginationinphysics

“Physicswaswhereyoucouldthinkaboutsomethingthatwasmorephilosophical than

mathematical…andhaveachanceofbeingright.” ProfMikeCates

“IfsomeoneasksmeinthedayatwhatmomentamIdoingphysics,Ihavenoidea.”

ProfMelissaFranklin

Although no part of physics is unique to physics alone (overlapping as it does with

mathematics, engineering, philosophy, and many other areas), the combination of different

elementsbuildsauniquecontextandtradition.TheImaginationInstitutedescribesimaginationasa

“criticallyimportantcapacity”5,butintentionallydidnotpre-defineimaginationfortheparticipants

ofthisretreat.Indeed,theseriesofretreatsareinpartaimedatexploringthevarietyinperspectives

acrossdifferent fields. Inthissubsection,severalelementswhichmayhelpmakeuptheparticular

formof imagination inphysics arediscussed:useofmathematics; heuristics (mental shortcuts) in

physics; experiment and theory; andhow some tools ofmodernphysicsmight foster imagination

throughopenness.

Mathsplaya very central rolewithinalmost all ofphysics, and thus formedan important

topicofconversationthroughoutthetwodays.Theboundariesimposedbyworkingwithin

5Asdescribedintheinvitationstotheretreat.

14

mathematical laws provided considerable challenge in directing imagination towards meaningful

results,asCatesexplained:“Ifyoucouldjustcompletelyunconstrainyourimagination…youwould

nevergetanywherelikethat.Thefactisyouhavetoimagine…yourwaythroughamazeandthat

isn’t easy.” As well as being challenging, these constraints were in fact what made the work

enjoyableinmanyways.Severalparticipantswereattractedtophysics/mathsatschool(morethan

some other subjects) because from understanding a very few rules or methods, quite complex

problemscouldbesolved,orasCatesputit,“Asmallamountofknowledgegetsyouanenormous

way”.Interestingly,thisuseofaspecialistlanguage/notationalsoaffectsthewaygroupinteractions

work in physics, as bywriting equations on a blackboard, one is able to argue (sometimes quite

aggressively)withoutnecessarilytakingcriticismspersonally;asBallsaid,communalwritingspaces

provide a “Mechanism bywhich you can bypass the social niceties, because it's ‘out there’”.This

need to have shared writing space in order to work productively together was described as

somewhatuniquetomathsandphysics.

Theimportantroleofresultsprovableviamathematicsleadstooneofthetensionsexperiencedwhenstriving for imaginative ideas inphysics. Imagination requires freedom,but this

freedommustbe temperedby the rigoursof thesubject,and inphysics thisoftencomesback to

maths. In order to think differently (creatively, imaginatively) it may be necessary to throw out

(possiblyonlymomentarily),orquestion fundamentally,whathascomebefore.However, there is

thenanimportant‘editing’stage,anditisherethatone’sexpertise,anddepthofknowledge,isso

vital.ThesetwostagesofimaginationweredescribedbyPendryasfollows:“It’satwo-stepprocess,

isn’tit?Youhavetogothroughtheimaginingandthenafteryou’vedonethat,yougothroughthe

editorialprocessandsaywell…isthisreallyright?”.Or,asputmorecolourfullybyCates:“Youhave

tohaveawayofundoingthevalvesandlettingyourbrainrunriot,butthenyoualsohavetohave

theself-censorshiptonotpublishcrap.”Thedepthofknowledge inaparticularareaneededtodo

the‘self-censorship’onlycomesfromyearsofrepeated,frequentattentionwhichishighlyvaluedin

anacademiccareer.Pendryfeltthat,“Creativityis,Iamsure,hardwork”.Thuscreativitywasnot

15

seen to be simply about freeing oneself. The deep, active, knowledge needed (which involves

constant questioning) is qualitatively different from the knowledge which comes through

memorising,withtoomuchofafocusonthelatterseenasawayofstiflingimagination.

Asecond,related,themewasthatoftheparticularmentalshortcuts(heuristics)developed

as a practising physicist. Over time, andwith experience, one develops heuristics in any field. In

physics, this can mean that certain equations come to feel “Hard-wired in” (as put by Berry).

Notation(mainlymathematicalnotation)wasseenhereaskey.Forexample,Catesexplained,“Good

notation … allows you to develop a heuristic which involves an informal manipulation of these

symbolicthingsinyourhead”.Indeed,thiswasaptlyillustratedwiththefollowingpersonalanecdote

fromBerry: “I remember oncewe had a lecture… and [the lecturer] deliberately used completely

unfamiliarnotation…WehavehwhichmeansPlanck’sconstant,heputq.”[Laughter]Thefactthat

themessageherewasso immediatelyunderstoodbyallshowshowdeepnotationruns.Similarly,

Keatingtalkedofhowagreatdealofcareissometimestakenovercomingupwith:“Oneveryapt

wordoroneveryaptdescription,andpeopledospendalotofcreativeenergy…‘Blackhole’conveys

so much ...”; as Prof Martin Seligman (Director of the Positive Psychology Center, Univeristy of

Pennsylvania; Executive Director, Imagination Institute) pointed out “it [a phrase like black hole]

becomeseveryone’sheuristic”.

Asone’sdepthofknowledgeincreasesandonebecomesmoreexpert,intuition(orperhaps

greaterfaithtofollowintuition)mayplaymoreofarole.Onebeginstohavemomentswhen,asBall

putit,“Youknowtheideaistrue,andtheproofwillcomelater”.Suchintuitionisfarfrominfallible

(indeed, thosewhohaveexperiencedsignificant ‘success’maybe somewhatvulnerable further in

theircareerstoplacingunduefaithintheirlaterideas)butafeelingthatthesolutionisjustaround

the corner may help in deciding what to focus attention on. Cates spoke of how this may feel:

“Something…ma[kes]youwanttocheckthatinawaythatyouprobablydon’tcheckeverything.”

Another theme which generated discussion was the differences between experimental

physicsandtheoreticalphysics.Althoughofcoursenotblackandwhite,thisdichotomywas

16

described as somewhat particular to the field. Many physicists (including workshop attendees)

certainlycrosstheboundaries,buttheredidseemtoberecognitionofdifferencesbetweenthetwo

‘cultures’includinghowimaginationwasviewed.Forexample,whenselectinggraduatestudentsto

takeon,experimentalistsmayparticularlyvalueimaginationusedin‘doing’whereastheoristsmay

valuethatusedin‘thinking’.Indeed,askingquestions–asdescribedindetailearlier–isnotallthere

is to imagination.When considering themore practical side of physics (for example, experiment

design), imagination might look quite different, and involve the solving of numerous (small and

large, ad hoc and systematic) problems to just get something to work. Franklin, one of the few

dedicatedexperimentalistsattheeventexplainedthat:“Thereisalotofimaginationthatgoesinto

howyoudotheexperimentwhichisnot[answeringthequestionwhichstimulatedtheexperimentin

the first place]. I don't think it's actually divorced at all.” A complaint was made that, through

perhaps an over-emphasis on hands-off education, sometimes students ended up thinking that

physics is theory and equations, but that this is not in fact the case. There was also interesting

discussionofthedifferentpsychologiesofexperimentersandtheorists,forexampleregardingtheir

attachmenttoparticularideas.Reesprovidedinterestinginsightshere:“Ifyouareanexperimenter,

youhaveafargreaterinvestmentinyourworkthanatheorist…tobemotivatedtoputthateffortin

[yearsandyearsdevelopingatechniqueorpieceofequipment],you’vegottoperhapshaveaslightly

exaggeratedperspectiveonhowimportanttheresult’sgoingtobe.”

Finally, fromwithin the field, participants did feel that overall, physicswasmore open to

imaginationandnewideas,andmaybeless“Combative”(asHuppertput it)thansomedisciplines.

One particular way this was exemplifiedwas the, nowwidespread, use of the arXiv.6 This online

repositoryallowsphysiciststosharetheirpapers(andthustheirideas)atveryearlystages,andvery

quickly respondtodevelopments in the field.Asoneexample,givenbyBall:“Thisblip thatCERN7

had…alittlebumpintheirdata,hadwhat,200paperswithinacoupleofweeksspeculatingonwhat

6Pronounced‘archive’:https://arxiv.org/7CERN,theEuropeanOrganizationforNuclearResearchbasedinGeneva,runsthelargestparticlephysicslaboratoryintheworldwhichincludestheLargeHadronCollider.

17

thatmightbe?Thatwouldneverhappen inanother field.Everyonewould sitback forayearvery

cautiously.”Ofcourse,onecanviewthisprolificoutputaseithercollaborativeorhighlycompetitive,

butitservestoillustratehowtheparticularhistoricaltrajectoryofafield(themovetowardsusing

certain tools rather thanothers),andhow itswork is structured,may fundamentally impactupon

thepossibilitiesforimagination.

2.5 Developingimaginationinphysics

Thereareanumberofwiderinfluencesonimaginationwhichmaybeoutoftheindividual’s

control,and/ortakearatherlongtimetoevolve.However,thegroupsuggestedtherewerethings

individuals could try todevelop theirown imagination,or thatof their studentsandpeers, in the

shorterterm.McLeishsawthisasavaluablepotentialoutputfromtheretreat:“Itwouldbeahuge

contributionifwecansuggesttoaspiringresearchers‘youmightliketotry…’”.Interestingly,several

of these ‘tips’ came in the formofanecdotesabouthowesteemed scientists apparentlydid their

work.Ofcourse,itishard,withinonecareer,toreallyknowwhethersuchtechniquesdidcontribute

toanincreasedimagination,butcertainlythecommonalityofexperienceofsomeofthemsuggest

attheveryleast,seniorscientistswouldhaverespectfortheattempt.

First,asalreadymentioned,hardworkanddepthofknowledgewasseenasapre-requisite

fordevelopingimaginationinphysics.HoweveradegreeofdisappointmentwasexpressedbyBallif

thiswasfoundtobethekeytoimaginativeenquiry:“Wouldn’titbeabitsadifwefoundoutthatwe

couldsolve it justbyworkinghardenough, rather thandiscover[ing]somethingextraordinary that

weneverknewabout?We’dkindofwant the second tobe the case.” Itwillbe interesting to see

whether hardwork features across all the sectors surveyed by this set of retreats, orwhether in

someareasthefreshnessofatotallyoutside(non-expert)perspectivecanbringrevolutionarynew

insights.

Asecondkey ingredientwasperseverance.Pushingtheboundariesofphysics ishard,and

caninvolvedays,weeks,months,orevenyearsoffrustrationandseeminglyslowornon-existent

18

progress. In order to keep going, oneneeds to develop the ability to keep at it, andnot give up.

Franklinexplainedfurther:“IfI’mworkingonaproblem,thenIcanusuallysolvetheproblembeforeI

loseinterest…therearemanystudentswhodon’torcan’tdothatandtheygetveryfrustrated”.One

might then ask about the techniques senior physicists use to deal with this sort of struggle;

undoubtedly there are some. As one example, perseverance can be exercised by resisting the

temptation to look at the work of others before having a go at a problem yourself. Pendry

mentionedthistechniqueinananecdoteaboutthescientistBarnesWallis:“Theideabeingifheput

thesethingsintohismind,hewouldblockhiscreativejuices.”Thisapproachisalsolikelytoalterhow

theworkofothersbecomesincorporatedintoyourownmentalmaps,asyouhavebuiltyourown

frameworks to hangnew ideas off. In contrast to perseverance though,knowingwhen to take a

breakmaybe important. After intensiveworking, breaks (fromdeliberatework on that problem)

may help the subconscious make progress. In one story, Cates recounted how John Edensor

Littlewood realised he was having his best ideas on a Monday morning, after the break of the

weekend.Apparently,heultimatelytookthistoratheranextremelevel,sothat:“Assoonashehad

agreatidea,hetooktherestofthedayoff.(Butthatdoesn’tmeanhewasn’tworking).”8

Franklinagainbroughtherexperimentalexperiencetobearwhenexplainingthat,“Therearecaseswhereyoubuildanentireacceleratorandnothing,nophysicscomeoutofit,butyoucanlearn

alot”.Thus,afocusonprocessaswellasoutcome,andlearningfromfailure,mayhelpkeepone

open to imaginative ideas. This can be hard in an output-driven culture where every project is

expectedto‘achieve’,butLeonardfeltthat“Knowingthatevenifyouroriginalideaendsupwitha

negativeresult,itmightleadtosomethingpositive”canhelpinbeingopentonewideasandlessset

backby‘failure’.AquestionposedbyFranklintothegroupwas:“Let'ssaytherewasaGod,andGod

toldyoutheanswertothequestionyouwereworkingon,wouldyoustilldotheexperiment?Would

youstilldothecalculation?”Thishighlightsfundamentalaspectsoftheidentityof‘beingascientist’:

workingtosatisfyone’sowncuriosity;theworkitselfbeingpartofthepoint,ratherthanjustthe

8ThisstorycomesfromthebookLittlewood'sMiscellany,editedbyBelaBollobas.

19

‘answer’;butalsothefactthattheformulationofthequestionisas,ifnotmore,importantthanthe

findingoftheanswer.

As alreadymentioned, constantly asking new questionswas in some senses the group’s

definitionofimagination.Imaginationproducesquestions,aswellasbeingstimulatedbythem:they

gohand-in-hand.Trainingoneselftoaskmore(andpotentiallybetter)questionswasseenaskey.As

relatedbyMcLeish“[Einstein]said,look,ifyougavemeaproblem[and]anhourtosolveit,Iwould

spendthefirst55minutes…justaskingquestionsaboutitandlookingatitfromdifferentangles.”

Whenoneidentifiesgoodquestions(byone’sown,continuallyevolving,measureof‘good’–which

maybeclosely relatedtoaquestionwhich ‘nags’atyou),keeping thosequestions inmind semi-

continually,andnotlettingthemgo,maybeimportant.Keatinginparticulardeliberatelyusesthis

technique:“[I]haveacertainsetofproblemsinmymindand…wheneverIgotoatalkorIdiscuss

withsomebodyandtheysayanythingnew…myfirstinstinctistothink‘Doesthathelpmewithany

oneoftheeightproblemsI’vegotinmyhead?’”

Aswasdiscussedinsubsection2.3,scienceisrarelyacompletelysolitarypursuit(although

thosewhoaremorecollaborativeinnaturemaybemoreopentoattendinganeventsuchasthis!).

Therefore,findingothersyoucanworkwith,whomaybeatdifferentstages intheircareer,both

morejuniorandmoresenior,helpsprovidebothinspirationandmotivation.Manyparticipantsfelt

thatmentorshadplayedavery substantial role in theirowncareers, thusPendryexplained:“The

third thing [alongwith developing in-depth knowledge and learning to collaborate] I'd advise the

studenttodoistofindamentor”.

Lastly,Hupperttalkedabout:“Tak[ing]yourownroute,don'tjustfollowothersanddowhat

others are doing”. However, developing your own passions was not seen as automatic (and

thereforesomethingthat ifyoudon’thave,youneverwill). Indeed, itwaspointedoutbyLeonard

that:“Whenstudentscomeinthere’salotofnervousnessabouthowdoyouevenfindthispassion?”

Itisperhapssomethingwhichalsodevelopswithexpertise,asonegetsmore‘comfortable’inone’s

positionwithinthefield.

20

Formanyoftheideasoutlinedabove,statingtheintentionsmaybetheeasypart.Thenext

questionis‘how?’Hereoneperhapsalsoneedsimagination,inordertodeveloptechniqueswhich

willworkforoneself.Thus,havingenoughimaginationtosuccessfullyworkondevelopingone’sown

imagination isperhapsakey (if somewhatcircular) ingredient. Inaddition,onecanreadallof the

aboveadviceasrelatingto‘succeedinginphysics’ratherthansolelydevelopingone’simagination.

Onemightthereforeask,isitpossibletodoalloftheaboveandyetstillnotbeimaginative?

Thequestionoffostering,orencouraging,imaginationinotherswasalsoconsideredinsome

detail.Theparticipantsofthisretreatwerealmostallworkinginuniversities,andtheyallcertainly

played a role as educators. Participants were clearly very interested in working to develop the

imaginationsof their students, andhad given considerable thought andeffort to someversionof

this question of how to foster imagination. Here some of the key elements they recognised are

detailed.Ofcourse,muchofwhatfollowscanapplyequallytoworkingwithpeersasstudents.

Giving confidence through respectwasdescribedaspossible toachieve in threedifferent

situations. First, Ball talked of not dismissing the ‘stupid’ question: “It does seem to me that

increasinglywithin educational systems, asking a question shows you don't know the answer and

that'sdangerous.”Secondly,takingagenuineinterestinstudents’work,andbotheringtospendthe

timetodothatwasseenbyCatesasvital:“Itmakesanenormousdifferenceforthejuniorscientist…

whenseniorscientistsaregenuinely…interestedin…whattheyhavetosay”.Partofthis,Leonard

explained,wastheartofbeingabletofindsomethinginterestinginanydiscussion“Peoplewhoare

inspiring[are]thosewhocanfindsomethinginterestingaboutjustabouteverything.”Thirdly,being

(more)okwithfailurewasdiscussedbyKeating:“[Howcanwe]encouragepeopletomakethemfeel

morecomfortablewiththefailurethatcomeswithmostcreativeandimaginativeideas?”

Giving students freedom from, for example, aims and targets was a second strand of

thought.Whentalkingaboutapilot,interdisciplinaryclassshehadtaught,Leonardrelatedhow,“A

lotofstudentssaidthiswasthefirsttime,eveniftheywerefourthyearstudents,thattheyhadbeen

notgivenanobjective,notgivensomeconstraints.”Inordertoopenthingsup,itmayalsobehelpful

21

to introduceways ofdoing thingswhich are very different towhat the student has experienced

before. Franklin had tried this “I taught a class on introduction to quantummechanics in which,

without any equations, we did all of the demonstrations of physics necessary to get to quantum

mechanics.”Thisraisestheinterestingquestion:howmightimaginationberelatedtoconfusion(and

frustration)?Whendoingthings inmarkedlydifferentwaystobefore,onemaywell feelbothlost,

andunsurewhereonewillendup.Andinmostofthesecases,onedoesnotendupwithaground-

breakingnewresult.

It may also be important to recognise the context-dependent nature of other people’s

imagination,inordernottopre-judgeothers.Inaveryhonest‘confession’,Berryrecountedhowhe

hadadvisedapaststudentnottocontinueinacademiclife,becausehe“Hadn’tbeenverycreative”

during his PhD. But when that individual (contrary to his advice) moved to a different academic

group,hestarted“Doingveryoriginal,verycreativework…after[having]leftme”[chuckles].Inthis

way, having the humility to recognise that you may not be the best mentor for everyone, is

important.

Finally, you might aim to exemplify working to develop your own imagination. Berry

wonderedwhether:“Thebottomlinewithimaginationisbasicallyyoucan'treallyteachit,butyou

can exemplify it and you can try to encourage it.” In this way, explaining the tools you yourself

use/used(whilstrecognisingtheymaynotsuitall)maybehelpful.Itwillbeinterestingtosee,across

therangeofretreats,whetherothersseeimaginationasaqualitywhichcanbetaught,ornot.

2.6 Interactionsattheretreat:physiciststalkingaboutimagination

Participantsgavetheirviewsexplicitlyandimplicitlyontheideaofmeasuring imagination,

and themotivations fordoing so. Somewonderedwhethermeasuring imaginationwouldactually

help facilitate it or not. In the context of a competition-based academic system, a measure of

individual imagination (oneof thecore interestsof the Imagination Institute– i.e.an ‘Imagination

Quotient’)wasmainlydiscussedinthecontextofhiring(e.g.graduatestudentsorjuniorfaculty

22

staff) and funding decisions. The former was described by Cates as culminating in “Hav[ing] a

conversationwiththemonenoughofascientifictopicandseeifthesparksstarttofly”ratherthan

viaquantitativemeasures,perhapsinpartastheelementofgroupinteraction/fitissoimportant.In

addition, the possibility of measurement raises questions about how this might influence, for

example, students’ or job applicants’ strategies, and ultimately how people would then work to

improvetheir‘ImaginationQuotient’.Asraisedelsewhere,somewonderedwhethermeasuringthe

imagination of one individual may be missing the wider picture, and the importance of group

context.

Afurtherreflectionisthat,ultimately,thegroupwasverywillingtoengageontheissue(of

course,allhadacceptedaninvitationtodoso),andseemedtofeeldiscussionsofimaginationhad

relevance to theirwork. Relatedly, theywere very happy to engage in (andwere knowledgeable

about) discussionwhich concerned the fundamental ontological and epistemological questions of

physics:whatexistsandhowknowledgeisconstructed.

In this final section,abrief reflection isgivenonhowmembersof thegroup interactedat

theretreat.Attendeesusedanumberoftoolstodescribeorexplainphysicsconceptstoeachother.

Thepower of the anecdotewas clear, and thesewereused very often, in relation towell-known

physicsorsciencepersonalities(Einstein,Hoyle,etc). Inthiskindofconversationalsetting,science

andpastresearchisofteninvoked,withoutdetailedreferencing(howeveritmaywellbethesewere

soughtafter theevent for ideaswhichparticipantswanted to followupon).The importance,and

use, of narrative has been explored in the fields of science education and philosophy of science.

Interestingly,whenreadingthetranscriptduringthedataanalysis for this report, itwasalsoclear

howmuchintonationplaysaroleinconveyingunderstandingofcomplexconcepts,whichisharder

to infer simply from words on a page. It is also perhaps unsurprising that issues of everyday

relevancetoseniorphysicistswereoftenpickedupandgeneratedreadydialogue(theUK’sResearch

Excellence Framework, peer review, applying for funding etc.). As one might imagine, from the

starting point of imagination, conversation spilled over into inspiration, creativity, curiosity, and

23

generaldiscussionofhowto‘beaneffectivephysicist’.Overall,themoodwasgenerallyconstructive

and interested, with several funny moments (as Victoria Schwartz, Imagination Institute Events

Coordinator,commented:“Whoknewthatphysicistscouldbesofunny?”).Therewerearguablyhigh

levels of trust (as displayed by the sharing of personal stories) and respect, however it is worth

notingthatpeopledidnotagreeallthetime.

Finally, theorganisersof this retreatarepsychologists,whichofcourseparticipantsknew.

Thiscertainlyplayedaroleintheconversations,bothintermsofthetopicsexplicitlychosenbythe

facilitatorsandthosewhicharoseandwereseenasworthyofmorediscussion.Therewasdiscussion

ofanumberofpiecesofpsychologicalandneuroscientificresearchduringtheretreat.Asmightbe

expectedfromagroupofseniorfigureswithinhighereducation,theywereclearlyreasonablywell-

informedonarangeofscientific issues, includingwithinpsychologyandneuroscience. In linewith

thequestioningspiritof‘imagination’perhaps,participantsoftenaskedmanyquestions(“howisit

measured?”,“whatmechanismisatwork?”)ofsomeoftheconceptsinvokedinthisarea.

3. Conclusions

In this final section, the six themes above (described in subsections 2.1 to 2.6) are first

summarised, before outlining a number of ideaswhich draw together threads from across them.

Theseincludeonereasonwhyadviceondevelopingimaginationmaybehardertofollowthanitisto

state:thebalancenecessarybetweenpotentiallycompetingelements.Thereisthenareflectionon

a few of the conclusions from the retreat which were perhaps more unexpected than others. A

numberofpossible followupquestions thiswork raisesarehighlighted,beforea finalquestion is

posed:whatisimaginationfor?

Tosummarisethesixfindingssubsections:firstthecentralrolethataskingquestionsplaysin

imaginationwasdiscussed,andthreeelementsof ‘imaginative’questionswereproposed:novelty,

connections,andoutcomes(afourth,timeliness,wassuggestedlater).Secondcameadescriptionof

thevarietyofmentalimaginingsphysicistsexperiencedanddeliberatelycultivatedwhendoingtheir

24

work. Third was a discussion of how one-on-one or group interactions within the context of the

wider scientific community play their part in imagination. Fourthwas a reflection on theways in

which imagination in physics might be particular to that subject; here the role of mathematics,

heuristics,differencesbetweenexperimentalandtheoreticalwork,andnewtoolsbeingusedwere

all covered. Fifth, ways in which the group suggested imagination could be developed and

encouragedwereoutlined.Finallycameabriefexplorationofthegenerallyinterestedatmosphere

at the retreat, including discussion of the idea of measuring imagination. Key conclusions from

acrossthereportaregiveninthehighlightsonpage2.

Whentalkingofthepursuitof imagination,sometensionsandtrade-offswerementioned,

often implicitly. First, it is interesting to note that imagination was not seen to be the only skill

needed (for example, to build a successful research group in physics), thus of course it is not

necessarily sensible to be pursue imagination at the cost of all else. But in addition, there were

different elements which seemed to contribute to imaginative ideas, but whichmay be tricky to

balance. Thismay be in partwhy there is no fool proof advice to follow in order to generate an

imaginativeidea–andindeedwhythisareaissointerestingtoexplore.Themostrecurrentofthese

tensionswasmentioned inseveral relatedways: freedomversusstructure;hardwiringofexisting

knowledge (heuristics) versus breaking from tradition to imagine things differently; developing

depth of knowledge in one area versusmaking connectionswith other areas.One can imagine a

number of other trade-offs which must be negotiated and may give rise to choices for the

researcher. One examplewould be calculatingwhether to pursue the seeminglymore ‘useful’ or

more ‘creative’ question. Another, asmentioned,might be takingwork by others on trustwhilst

keeping a questioning spirit. Or indeed, fostering an ‘imaginative scientific culture’ versus

encouraging individual progression. How such trade-offs are practically negotiated by researchers

andinstitutionscouldbeaninterestingnextquestion;findingsfromthisretreatwouldsuggestthese

negotiationsdevelopandchangeovertime.

25

Further, one can see how theremay be tensions between different types of imagination

itself.Thatis,conditionswhichfavouronesortofimaginationmayinhibitanother.Itwasclearfrom

discussion that the group felt there to be many different types of imaginative person, and

imaginative activity. Such differences are seen not only in theway imagination is experiencedby

individuals(asdiscussedinsubsection2.2)butalsoinhowapparentthatimaginationistoothers.As

Berryputit:“There’sadifferencebetweenabrillianceonthesurface…andanacquiredabilityjust

tofocusexactlyrightandgetsomethingthatworks.”Huppertalsodescribedhowimaginationcan

occurondifferent timescales fordifferent researchers:“[An] extremely capable colleagueofmine

washopelessontheshorttimescaleandwhenhegaveseminars, ifyouaskedhimaquestion,he’d

makeacompletefoolofhimself.Thenextday,he’dblowyououtofthewaterbecausehe’dhadtime

tothinkabout it.”Greatervaluemaybeplacedonsometypesof imaginativeactivityoverothers;

thehighlyimaginativetechnicianwhohascontributedtonumerousexperimentsmaybelesslikely

to receive community recognition than the professor who solves a long-standing theoretical

problem.Inaddition,thereisagreatdealofimportantworkwhichdoesnotinvolvecomingupwith

entirelyoriginalideas,butratherinvolvestranslatingtheminanoriginalway,sotheycanbetterbe

understoodandusedbyothers.Forexample,asrecordedinfieldnotesfromdiscussionatdinneron

thefirstnight,thephysicistJamesClerkMaxwellwrotean“Incomprehensible”paperonhisfamous

equations describing the rules governingmagnetic and electric fields. It took another researcher,

OliverHeaviside,toreformulatetheminamoreuseableformat.Isthistypeofimaginationanyless

valuable?

Atdinneronthefirstnight,SeligmanaskedBallwhatmightbeaninterestingoutcomefromtheretreat,thathecouldimaginewantingtowriteabout.Ballrepliedthathemightwanttowrite

aboutsomethingparticularlysurprising.Whilst it is lefttothereadertodecidewhat, ifany,ofthe

findings of this report are surprising, in this paragraph ideas are raised which certainly the lead

author did not have in mind prior to the retreat. First, we observe that, interestingly, mental

visualisations(acorepartofimaginingandindeedundertakingphysics)seemedtobeprimarily

26

developed‘onthe job’withoutanyformalattention inteaching,orevenperhapsmuchdiscussion

betweencolleagues.Somehadcertainlynoticedwhatmoreseniorphysicistsseemedtodoandtried

to emulate this, thus ‘training’ themselves. It would be interesting to track this process of

development over a period of time in a research career. Secondly, imaginationwas not all about

thinking in one’s head, it was also described as being produced through using skill, and through

conversations. Perhaps this variety is unsurprising, but by trying to define imagination one will

inevitablyfocusattentiononsometypesmorethanothers.Asimaginationdependsinpartonyour

point of view (e.g.whether something is ‘obvious’ or creative) then the labelling of something as

imaginative is in some senses what makes it so. Thirdly, both ‘aha’ moments and slower burn

developmentofimaginativeideasweredescribedbyparticipants.Theformerwasperhapseasierto

pindownandtalkabout intheformofanecdotes,butbothwererecognised(aswellas instances

whenimaginativeideas‘failed’foronereasonoranother).Itisinterestingtoreflectonwhetherthis

varietyispresentinotherareas–onemightthinkthe‘Eureka’momentswouldbelessusualinthe

artworldforexample,butarethey?Finally,itwasinterestingtohearaboutthemulti-stepprocess

ofimagination.Reflectionandrefinementwasanimportantsecondstepintheimaginativeprocess,

followingthefirstseedsofanidea.

Thiswork raisesanumberofquestions,andpotential avenues for future research. In this

paragrapheight suchquestionsarehighlighted.Recognising that talkingaboutexperiences ‘in the

abstract’ isdifferent fromthe livedexperience,whatmightbe learnt fromobservingcollaborative

meetingsbetweenphysicistsin-situ?Thisretreatwasdeliberatelycarriedoutwithseniorphysicists,

whatdifferencesmighttherehavebeenwiththoseinearlyormid-career?Ashighlightedearlierin

this report,will ‘hardwork’be seenas aprerequisite to imagination in all areas?And, across the

range of retreats, will imagination be seen as a quality which can be taught, or not? When

considering physics in particular, do heuristics in the two broad areas of experimental and

theoreticalphysicsdevelopdifferently?What techniquesdo seniorphysicistsuse todealwith the

tensionswhichmust be negotiated to develop imagination, and how did they learn these?How

27

mightimaginationberelatedtoconfusion(andfrustration)?Andhowdostructuralcomponentsof

physics,suchasfundingandhiringmechanisms,impactonimagination?

Onefinalquestionwhichwasnotexplicitlyraisedis:whatis imaginationfor?Apartfroma

shortcommentatdinneronthefirstnight–ontheimaginativenessofterrorists–imaginationwas

described inoverwhelminglypositive terms.As such, itwas intertwinedwith ‘success’ throughout

conversation.Thusthemomentsmostoften(butnotalways)deemedmostimaginativewerethose

associated with coming up with ideas which felt like great achievements: ideas which took hold

morewidely,andhadthepotential torevolutionisethefield.However itwasalsorecognisedthat

sometimesitiswhenoneisnotdeliberatelyaimingfor‘success’thatimaginationcomes.Zauderer

illustratedthisasfollows:“AreallycoolstoryisVeraRubin,whodiscoveredobservationalevidence

fordarkmatter.IrememberherspeakingwhenIwasingraduateschool,andsayingshedidn’twant

tobeworkingonahottopicinahyper-competitiveenvironment.Shesaidjust‘putmeinacorner-I

wanttojustdosciencebecauseIenjoyit’,sosheworkedontheserotationcurvesofgalaxies…Inthe

process,shediscoveredobservationalevidencefordarkmatterwhichisstillahugeopenquestionin

astrophysics.”Thus,afinal ideatoreflectonmightbethepurposeofdeveloping imagination,and

indeedhowaimingovertlyformoreimaginativeideasinteractswithprogresstowardsthatgoal.

28

Appendix:backgroundandmethods

ForthoseunfamiliarwiththeImaginationInstitute’sprogrammeofwork,alittlebackground

ispresentedhere.TheImaginationInstituteisaUS-basedorganisationfoundedin2014,fundedby

theJohnTempletonFoundation,andheadedbyProfMartinSeligmanandDrScottBarryKaufman

(both of the University of Pennsylvania). The Institute is “dedicated to making progress on the

measurement,growth,andimprovementof imaginationacrossallsectorsofsociety”.9Tothisend,

theyarecurrently funding twomainstreamsofwork.Firstly, in2015 they releasednearlyUS$3m

across16differentprojectsaimedatexploringwhetherimaginationcanbemeasured,andifsohow.

These ‘Imagination Quotient grants’ are supporting the development of a range of quantitative

measuresofimagination,aswellasinterventionsaimedatfosteringimaginationofdifferentgroups.

Second,theyareexploringtheexperiencesofimaginationacrossanumberofdifferentareas(from

comedy,tospirituality,tophysics-thefocusofthisreport)andhowonemightencouragegreater

imaginationinthesefields.Tothisend,several‘ImaginationRetreats’havebeenorganised.10

InvitationofattendeeswascoordinatedbetweenImaginationInstitutestaffandthesubject-specific expert, ProfHerbertHuppert of theUniversity of Cambridge.Attendeeswere particularly

selectedonthebasisofdemonstratedcreativity,andthustherewasanemphasisonseniorfigures

fromworld-leading universities, above, for example, those earlier in their careers. In addition to

Huppert,10physiciststookpartforeitherbothdays(8ofthe10)ortheseconddayonly(2ofthe

10).OtherattendeesweretheImaginationInstitutestaffleadingtheevent(Seligmanwhowasthere

untillunchtimeonthesecondday,KaufmanandElizabethHyde),theauthorofthisreport(DrRosie

Robison), and the logistics coordinator (Victoria Schwartz) who participated in (non-recorded)

discussionsduringrefreshmentbreaksanddinners.

All participants worked at UK or US academic institutions (with the exception of Ball, an

independentsciencewriterbasedintheUK,andZauderer,adirectorattheTempletonFoundation,

9http://imagination-institute.org10Reportsfromfutureretreatswillbemadeavailable,asthisoneis,freelyontheImaginationInstitutewebsite.

29

bothwithbackgroundsinPhysics).Participants’travel,accommodationandtimewascoveredbythe

ImaginationInstitute.

Inadvanceoftheretreat,participantsweresentasubstantiallistofpreparatory‘questions

for discussion’ across a number of different areas. During the event itself, a number of these

questionswereusedasinitialprompts(whicheachparticipantwasofteninvitedinturntoanswer);

discussionwasthenallowedtoflowfairlyfreely,andmanyadditionaltopicsarosespontaneously.

Qualitative data collected included: (1) Field notes taken by the lead author during all

sessions,andalsotheeveningdinners, togetherwithreflectionsafter theevent. (Thenotes taken

duringdinnerweremuchmoresignificantonthefirstnight,whenoneconversationwasmaintained

through the group for themajority of the time); (2) Full video recordings of all the sessions (not

refreshmentbreaks),whichwerethentranscribedbyathirdpartyandsenttothereportauthors.

In the months following the retreat, participants were invited to undertake a battery of

cognitive/personalitytests,butthesedatadonotformpartofthisreport.

Ultimately, this was a piece of qualitative research undertaken with a focus-group type

methodology.Analysisundertakenforthepreparationofthisreportinvolvedseveralstages:

1. First,thewrittenfieldnoteswerere-read,andfromthis,seveninitialbroadthemes

werenoted,somewithseveralsub-themes.

2. Thefull transcriptwas loaded intothesoftwaretoolnVivowhere itwascodedfor

themes(thatis,sectionsoftextwere‘labelled’withkeywords/phrases).Notevery

piece of text was coded (however, over time more and more were, and longer

chunks). Thiswas done fairly descriptively, however at the same time ideaswere

noteddowninaseparatedocumentrelatingtoideaswhichdidn’thavespecifictext

associatedwiththem;thesewerelessdescriptiveandmoreinterpretive.Fromtwo

days’worthofconversationtherewasasubstantialamountofdata,andthiscoding

generatedinexcessof150keywords/phrases.

30

3. These key words/phrases were then revisited and merged/nested, to form a

hierarchicalstructure.Fromthis,thefivesubthemesemerged.

4. All of the quotes within each of these themes were then re-read and the most

representativequoteswerepulledout.Atthatpoint,quoteswerecutdownasfaras

possiblewhilststillretainingtheessentialidea.

5. Thesequoteswerethenusedtoinformthewritingofthesubsectionsofthisreport.

6. Following feedback from the Imagination Institute, minor revisions to the report

were made. This work included emphasising some of the themes which the

ImaginationInstituteadvisedwerelessapparentatotherretreats.

7. Participantswere contacted to check theywerehappywith theuseof thequotes

attributedtothem,priortopublicationofthefinalreport.