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The 2005 Kyoto Prize
2005
11 /11 Fri
Place：Kyoto International Conference Center
The 2005 Kyoto Prize Kyoto Prize Laureates
Lecture topics
A Moveable Feast
Abstract of the lecture
The author and Nobel Laureate, Ernest Hemingway, once wrote that to be in Paris in the 1920s was like a "moveable feast." In a different time and a different place, I experienced the same excitement and, indeed, a "moveable feast." I will share with you: The experience of growing up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in a family that valued something that it did not have - a formal education; the events that shaped my outlook on life and the guidance I received and choices I made along the way. A professional life that featured the creation of the liquid crystal display, and a new career each decade and finally, the last chapter (?) and my personal catechism of creativity.
Lecture topics
Building on Strengths and Finding One’s Purpose
Abstract of the lecture
One enjoys what one does, when one does what one enjoys. This principle has guided my own life, and is central to the way I mentor students. I encourage them to find problems about which they are passionate to be guided by their own convictions, and not by what others think they should do. I suggest problems to students, but I do not assign them. I believe that if students work on my problems, their work will be uninspired, and their contributions minimal. If they work on their own problems, they have the potential to achieve results others could not have envisioned, and that can change disciplines. I have tried to follow this principle in my own career choices, though at times some of the pursuits seemed quixotic. I was always driven by two, apparently conflicting motivating forces; being able to combine them created synergisms that allowed me to do what I enjoyed, to enjoy what I did, and to be productive in addressing problems I felt were central to bettering society. I loved puzzles, and still do, and was entranced by the power, beauty and abstraction of mathematics. But I also felt a passion to channel my efforts for the betterment of society, in particular regarding the fragile nature of our environment, and the insults upon it from our own activities. Uniting mathematics and biology, in particular ecology and evolution, was a natural goal, but a relatively novel enterprise 40 years ago. This lecture will trace the interlocking development of my own interests, and of mathematical biology, which is by now a rich area of research, of great attractiveness to bright young researchers. I will also discuss some of the great challenges facing us, and my current passions: building strength throughout the world in these areas, especially in the developing nations at most risk from environmental change; building interdisciplinary partnerships with economists and social scientists, as well as physical scientists; and addressing the roots of selfishness in regard to environmental uses, in order to find cooperative solutions to the sustainability of our common resources and heritage.
Lecture topics
From Marionettes to the Great Orchestras
Abstract of the lecture
I was so lucky to grow up in an extremely musical family. My father was almost a musician - my doing and my thinking is formed by this model in a pro and anti way: never to give up - and take nothing for granted; I had to question everything. My way of thinking was then (1942/43) greatly influenced by the books of Egon Fridell. As a child I was interested in many things. My greatest experience was to make Sculptures out of wood and Marionettes to play them in public. This gave me a lot experience to work with other persons and to find out how to move an audience. A great musical experience changed my life while I was sick: I heard the VII Symphony of Beethoven in the radio and decided to become a musician. The time as a student in Vienna 1948 to 1952 brought rich experiences in discussions about music making and in studying old music and the special sounds of ancient instruments. In this analytic thinking I found my "theory of perfection", which later turned out to be a general theory of life. You can't have beauty and security. As an additional to all those problems you also have to regard the listener as a person of our time, with the experience of our time! So, the projection of old music is not only a technical but even more a philosophical problem, if you want to transmit the message of the music. In 1953 we founded the Concentus Musicus - From 1952 on I earned our life as orchestra-musician. The work with C.M. was never full time and we didn't want to become "old music specialists". We collected a unique repertoire for the C.M.; we played many works from the 16th to the 18th century the first time since then. An important step was the instrumentation and performance of Monteverdi's operas. This led me to the music theater as a whole. A very important part of my professional life was teaching "performance practice" at the "Musikhochschule Mozarteum" in Salzburg. So, I had to prove all my decisions in front of all the students. In 1986 I gave up to play Cello because I didn't have enough time to practice. Since then I am so lucky to work with the best musicians and I have the privilege to perform the greatest music existing. I am very thankful.
