Alan Lightman

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    When the Heavens Stopped Being Perfect

    The advent of the telescope punctured our ideals about the nighttime sky.

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    My Personal Hero: Alan Lightman on William Gerace

    Several years ago, I attended a Buddhist retreat in which I was introduced to the idea of the “retinue,” a constellation of influential and supportive people whom one imagines in an enveloping cloud as one meditates. Mentors. I took the concept one step further and decided to create an actual photo montage that I could […]

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    Is Life Special Just Because It’s Rare?

    Vitalism in the age of modern science.

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    My Own Personal Nothingness

    From a childhood hallucination to the halls of theoretical physics.