How jazz boosts my creativity in physics

Stephon Alexander 00:08 He was the one that really impressed somebody, the importance of intuition. He said intuition is the lifeblood of a good physicist, of a great physicist. David Payne 00:18 This is Creativity in Science , a series brought to you by Nature Careers . Stephon Alexander 00:24 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. David Payne 00:42 …a podcast about how science and creativity go hand in hand. And about how one can nurture the other. Stephon Alexander 00:52 …and it turned out to really work for me. It really helped me become a more creative physicist, to think about ideas that I ordinarily would not have thought of. David Payne 01:02 This time, a physicist who skillfully weaves his passion for jazz Improvisation with his understanding and teaching of complex ideas. Stephon Alexander 01:20 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. Yeah, how I got interested in music started way back when I was eight years old. My family immigrated to the Bronx, New York. …