To understand physics, we need to tell - and hear - stories | Aeon Essays

C P Snow’s lecture ‘The Two Cultures’ argued that the divide between scientists and literary scholars is narrower than believed, both seek to understand reality.

In 1961, ‘The Phantom Tollbooth’ emerged, an allegorical story illustrating that literature and science both explore and express the structure of reality through characters.

The reconciliation between King Azaz and the Mathemagician in ‘The Phantom Tollbooth’ shows that words and numbers create a harmonious understanding through Rhyme and Reason.

Growing up in Utah, merging literary writing with particle physics was complicated by societal expectations of women pursuing education for traditional family roles rather than careers.

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