Walter Lewin’s Last Lecture in MIT Physics 2011/05/18
Posted by Zsuzsa in Fantastical, News Stories, Video.trackback
On Monday night, MIT’s largest lecture hall filled with the hum of a capacity crowd, creaking with anticipation in their wooden chairs. People young and old jockeyed for seats; the unlucky were left to stand in the aisles. As more people filtered in, the hum morphed into a buzz — until a man with wild white hair, wearing a shirt the colors of sherbet, took the stage, commanding, “Take your seats, please.”
Class had begun and I was there. A few friends shared the seats beside me as we together took up half of the front and center row of the room.
http://www.twitvid.com/embed.php?guid=JYE27&autoplay=0
Walter Lewin, MIT professor emeritus of physics, had returned to Building 26-100 — the hall where he has given more than 800 lectures — to deliver one last talk. The visit was pegged to the release of his new book, For the Love of Physics: From the End of the Rainbow to the Edge of Time — A Journey Through the Wonders of Physics (Free Press), written with Warren Goldstein. Many audience members held copies of the book, released just two weeks ago, I was one of them, for Lewin to sign.
Videos of Lewin’s lectures on MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW), YouTube and iTunes U have been viewed more than 5 million times by people all over the world — including me. I certainly would not have survived 8.01 or 8.02 back many years ago, or more recently 8.03, without the helpful digital teachings of Prof Lewin himself.
(I’m in the front row, left side of this picture in the red shirt/black jacket!! Win! :)
During his Monday evening lecture, Lewin recreated some of his most popular demonstrations, including a famous experiment showing that a pendulum’s period remains constant regardless of mass. Lewin, 75, confessed that it had been 12 years since the last time he performed the stunt — a tricky exercise requiring him to cling to a five-meter pendulum while operating a stopwatch.
Lewin held on, swinging back and forth as the audience counted the number of swings. It has been many years since he performed this stunt, “Can’t you guys count a little faster?” he shouted to the audience as he clenched to hold on, showcasing what a painful stunt the pendulum demonstration is, especially with added years.
At 10, Lewin dropped to the floor, spent, to whoops and hollers from the crowd. According to the timer, the pendulum’s period was the same with or without Lewin aboard. Triumphant, he shouted, “I told you! Physics works!”
The MIT News article describes Lewin as an ambassador of physics. They are right. Lewin was not just another professor; even in his final lecture at MIT, twelve years after last teaching the introductory physics courses at MIT he was style able to invoke wonder and excitement about physics in his students.
It was an emotional night for all of us – especially for Prof Lewin.
On Facebook: # I cried with Walter Lewin at this final lecture at MIT. An incredible experience.
After a one-hour lecture Lewin opened up the floor to the audience. Questions ranged from why do rainbows work to what inspired you to become a teacher. I was lucky enough to ask the final question of the night.
Even in the front row, I was asked to use the microphone as the infamous Walter Lewin approached me. Between his interruption and his eccentric eyes peering into me I mustered to ask, “Professor Lewin, what advice do you have for a student aspiring to be a physicist?”
His gaze was so powerful and full of emotion as he looked into me and said, “You have to love it. You have to really, really love it and be excited about physics.” I felt the love as he spoke to me. My friend Dhaval, seated next to me, told me later in a phone conversation, “OMG Zsuzsa, thank you so much for dragging me from my room to the lecture. That man was incredible – he touched my soul!”
My phone was chiming off the hook that night with friends texting me and sending me emails, congratulating me on my question and thanking me for giving him the opportunity to share his love in a more personal way.
He then shared that with the thousands of people who watch his videos, he gets over 25emails a day. He shared that the most common question he receives is about how he does his dashed lines – check it out. :)
Oh Walter, you beast.
Lighting the way with technology, art and design, one star at a time.
So the question remains…How DOES he do those lines?