A statement made by my Science teacher.

[Rod]

Originally posted by Peter:
That's very flattering, thank you!

Touché!

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"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod Corkin

[spaceray]

Originally posted by Chris:
Um...no. Did she give any reasons for why she thinks that?

Why do you assume the teacher is a she?

[Sorrano]

Originally posted by apple_core_04:
First of all, my teacher is a male, not a female. I'm sorry that I didn't mention that in my first statement. I don't know why he said it. He thinks that he knows everthing anyway. Haha. He's a good teacher though.
~*~*~*~*~apple~*~*~*~*~

All too often teachers have to be "experts" in every field. I would assume the teacher read one or two anecdotes that display Beethoven in a less than favorable circumstance and reasoned from those readings that Beethoven was a lunatic.

[Peter]

Originally posted by Sorrano:

All too often teachers have to be "experts" in every field. I would assume the teacher read one or two anecdotes that display Beethoven in a less than favorable circumstance and reasoned from those readings that Beethoven was a lunatic.

Maybe but hardly 'scientific' - teachers have an enormous responsibilty and many of these students who probably know nothing about Beethoven (and probably never will) simply believe the guy was a nutcase. We have had other examples here of 'teachers' telling their students B was black, gay or both! Most of all it is curious as to why he was mentioned at all in a science lesson!


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'Man know thyself'

[This message has been edited by Peter (edited September 22, 2002).]

[Forlorna]

Your science teacher knows little or nothing about the arts--especially music. Otherwise he would not have said something like that. Yes, Beethoven was possibly schizo-affective. He suffered from intense mood swings and was extremely paranoid, especially in his later years. He was also a genius who gave the world its greatest music. Your teacher probably listens to muzak and likes it.
I have a fabulous book entitled "Touched With Fire" by Kay Redfield Jamieson that delves into the strange link between bipolar disorder and artistic genius. The author doesn't say that all people who suffer from bipolar disorder are good artists--it's just that an inordinately high number of the worlds greatest writers and composers suffered from this dangerous illness.

[Saggiact]

I am quite interested in this discussion. You're all right -- this science teacher probably should not have made this comment. It is absolutely untrue and probably does alter the impressionable opinions of many young students. We should all be revelling in the brilliance and genius of this man, not "spreading rumors" that he was a lunatic.

However, perhaps we shouldn't be too hard on this teacher. Maybe it was a comment taken out of context. Maybe this teacher is prone to exaggeration. Whatever the reason, let's realize what it inspired one student to do -- to look up the answer. Good for you Prilla, you had a question about something, you chose to question authority, and now you've sparked a fascinating discussion and made a lot of people really think.

Maybe it's better that the name Beethoven is mentioned in science class than not mentioned at all. We all know that many schools are being forced to cut back on teaching the arts, so it's quite possible the name Beethoven is foreign to many students. At least his name is mentioned at all. Sure, his legacy wasn't exactly represented in the most respectful and accurate way, but at least it was mentioned.

[Chris]

Bump to account for time bug.

[Sorrano]

Originally posted by John Rasmussen:
It's interesting you should say that. Many scientists have also played musical instruments. My father was a physicist who also played violin. He died when I was young, but my mother has told me that, when he was at Oak Ridge during World War II, there was a complete orchestra among the scientific staff! Hmmm--What's the connection?

Among composers I know of, Camille Saint-Saens and Alexander Borodin were also scientists: Borodin was also a chemist, and Saint-Saens made advances in several scientific fields. Remember Leonardo da Vinci also.

Don't forget that Einstein was a violinist, too. Perhaps if you think of music in terms of mathematics you might see some connection here.

[apple_core_04]

Thanks you guys! I'm so excited to be apart of this forum. Actually, I do see a connection in the art of music and mathematics. I play the flute, the french horn, the mellophone and the trumpet in my school band and Math and Science are my two favorite subjects in school. Right now I'm in my English class in which I am doing a biography over L.V. Beethoven.

[Rod]

Originally posted by apple_core_04:
Thanks you guys! I'm so excited to be apart of this forum. Actually, I do see a connection in the art of music and mathematics. I play the flute, the french horn, the mellophone and the trumpet in my school band and Math and Science are my two favorite subjects in school. Right now I'm in my English class in which I am doing a biography over L.V. Beethoven.

I know a few doctors who are good amateur pianists. Perhaps there is a connection with music and the medical arts, other than that all the docs came from middle class backgrounds!

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"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod Corkin