Intuition is presented as essential to becoming a strong physicist. Improvisational music practice helps develop mental fluidity and flexibility for approaching physics problems. Ongoing improvisation supports creative thinking by enabling consideration of ideas that would not otherwise arise. A theoretical physicist also works as a jazz saxophonist and connects musical training to scientific creativity. Early classical piano lessons were continued despite dislike of practice, until a used saxophone introduced a new musical direction. The combination of passion for jazz improvisation and expertise in complex physics supports teaching and creative problem solving.
"Intuition is the lifeblood of a good physicist, of a great physicist. He was the one that really impressed somebody, the importance of intuition."
"I would not be the physicist I am today if weren't for my practice as a musician, especially as an improvisational musician. Working on my improvisation, just actually improvising as a musician, somehow makes me more fluid and flexible mentally in terms of approaching and attacking physics problems."
"It really helped me become a more creative physicist, to think about ideas that I ordinarily would not have thought of."
"Hi, I'm Stephon Alexander. I'm a theoretical physicist, and the director for the Brown University Center for Theoretical Physics and Innovation, in Providence, Rhode Island, a small, beautiful state with a lot of ocean. And I'm also a jazz saxophonist."
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