Harmony and the Universe

Harmony is a multifaceted concept that has profoundly connects music, mathematics, physics, philosophy, physiology, and psychology. We will explore the evolution of our understanding of harmony and its immediate application in the function of musical instruments, and employ it as a nexus to understand its role in revolutionary scientific advances in gravity, relativity, quantum mechanics, and cosmology. In these explorations, we will examine some of the fundamental mathematical tools which provide us our current understanding of harmony. We will also see how the some concepts surrounding harmony are in tension, if not conflict, and how some great thinkers have followed them down down blind alleys and dead ends. The aim of the course is to show the enormous consequences of harmony in the evolution of our understanding of the universe, and how science itself progresses in fits, starts, and setbacks as old ideas intermingle with new developments. We will also see how objective/quantitative aspects of harmony interact with subjective/qualitative considerations, and how cultural perspectives and prejudices can affect the progression of science.