Friday, February 24, 2012

Those lovely lines

I had a Maths teacher in school who, apart from his prowess in Maths, had this amazing handwriting and a fetish for drawing near-perfect circles and straight lines on the blackboard. The sense of aesthetics he brought into his drab work was admirable. His passion rubbed off on many of his students who consciously tried to get their diagrams right.

I was reminded of that Maths teacher when I came across this video of Walter Lewins, a renowned Professor of Physics at MIT, who is also famous for the lovely lines he draws on the board.

Walter Lewins, world-renowned professor emeritus of physics at MIT, is incredible. You might think he is incredible because he's a world-renowned physics professor, and I don't want to take anything away from that little accomplishment. But because I'm not great with physics, the part of Lewins' game I find most remarkable is that he can draw a mean line. Rhythmic, precise, and clearly well-practiced, Lewins draws lines like Mozart conducted. Or like George Costanza worried. Or like Guy Fieri diners, drive ins, and dives. He's just good at it, and it's a delight to watch him nail it on each try.
Do watch the video that appears in the same link.

Good teachers can influence and inspire in so many different ways.

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