爱因斯坦的革命

你将学到什么

课程概况

阿尔伯特•爱因斯坦已经成为当代科学的标杆任务。这次的课题通过了对他科学的、文化的、哲学的以及政治轨道的展现，目的在于追踪20世纪及21世纪在物理学界具有改变性的人物。阿尔伯特•爱因斯坦的与相对论的接触，量子力学，纳粹主义，核武器，哲学，艺术和科学，以及对在广阔的历史进程中去研究物理意味着什么等问题的提出。

在这个课程中，参与者将会接触十七个课题，每个课题提供综合的科学（而不是基础知识）和相关的文化背景。某些周会考查物理学的概念，其他周会看一些电影片段或研究从相对论上摘录下来的现代主义的诗。或者我们还有可能看到爱因斯坦对哲学的根源和推论的研究。另外的时间里，我们将会被历史和政治问题所充实，比如建筑，漏失和核武器的扩散等等。

具有代表性的是，在一个课题中（是有关一个小时的材料）将有机会写出自己简短的随笔，多种多样可以选择的问题支持你对科学的理解，另外将会有持续一周的团体辩论活动和另外一个集体对20世纪20年代德国艺术品原理的注释。哈佛大学继续研究科学，可以通过在HX课程中作为在线学习者注册，你也可以参与研究学习。

Albert Einstein has become the icon of modern science. Following his scientific, cultural, philosophical, and political trajectory, this course aims to track the changing role of physics in the 20th and 21st centuries. This history course addresses Einstein’s engagement with relativity, quantum mechanics, Nazism, nuclear weapons, philosophy, the arts, and technology, and raises basic questions about what it means to understand physics in its broader history.

Participants in the course will follow seventeen lessons, each of which will present a mix of science (no prerequisites!) and the broader, relevant cultural surround. Some weeks will examine the physics concepts, while others will see excerpts of films or discuss modernist poetry that took off from relativity. Or we might be looking at the philosophical roots and philosophical consequences of Einstein’s works. At other times we will be fully engaged with historical and political questions: the building, dropping, and proliferation of nuclear weapons, for example.

Typically, in a lesson (about an hour of streamed material), there will be opportunities for individual mini-essay writing, some multiple choice questions to bolster your understanding of the science, and a group activity which might one week be a debate and another a collective commentary on elements of an artwork from 1920s Weimar Germany.

常见问题

Will this be a good fit for someone interested in the history of science?
Absolutely.

Will this be a good fit for someone interested in physics?
Yes. While the math and equations are not reviewed in detail, relevant physics concepts and their history will be explored.

Will this be a good fit for someone interested in art?
Yes. Many will be surprised at how great the influence of science and scientists on art is.

Will this be a good fit for someone interested in philosophy?
Yes. The connections and influences between science and philosophy are deep and bidirectional. These influences are explored at some length.

Will this be a good fit for someone interested in Einstein?
Absolutely. While not every moment of the course is focused on Einstein, the overall course traces the development of Einstein’s thought, his inspirations, and how he influenced the world around him.

Will I be required to buy a textbook for this course?
No.

Will I be required to do math?
This course is focused on concepts. To work with these concepts, some basic algebra will be helpful. Some questions are calculation based. However, there is no advanced math (calculus) required or covered.