Consilience is a concept often used by biologist E.O. Wilson, to convey the notion of a “jumping together” of knowledge. This term encompasses the ability to create a coherent and interconnected common groundwork of explanation across disciplines. The most interesting challenge to consilient explanation, Wilson argues, is the transit from science to the creative arts.
Arguably the best scientists approach their work with the same emotions and imagination as the most creative artists in history. In the Renaissance there was very little distinction between science and the arts. Leonardo da Vinci, in modern terms, is considered a proto-scientist largely because of the extraordinary artistic imagination he was able to bring to the natural world. His creative dualism lead to innumerable original scientific discoveries that, according to da Vinci, would not have been possible without first being able to pictorialize the world around him. Over the last few centuries science has traveled further and further away from humanities and has since faded from the days of the original Enlightenment.
Throughout my degree in Wildlife Biology we were constantly told that if you don’t get published in a scientific journal that you were “not a good scientist” and your work could be considered futile. If we wanted to be successful within the scientific community, (which is to pursue publication) our writing needed to be void of emotion, perspective, or a human voice of any kind. This thought was extremely unsettling to me as a young scientist. I find the more I learn about science and the complex beauty of the natural world the more I am inspired creatively. Photography has been my bridge between two worlds. In my experience photography can be used to influence a more diverse group of people than other traditional means of scientific communication and encourage a better understanding of scientific discourse across multiple disciplines.Photography has the power to spread the love and understanding of nature around the world, no matter race, ethnicity, gender, or creeed, everyone enjoys a good picture.
This trip to Greenland would be an amazing opportunity to learn more about this planet we call home and share the exeperience with the rest of the world through photography.
Thank you for your consideration,
Tami Tacklind
