Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode

5.6.7.EIGHT


Oct 6, 2020

This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Dr. Merritt Moore — an absolutely remarkable woman who is both a professional ballet dancer and a quantum physicist. Dr. Moore holds a degree in Physics from Harvard University and a PhD in Quantum Optics from the University of Oxford and combines her expertise as a quantum physicist and professional ballet dancer throughout her creative practice. Dr. Moore has also been featured on the Forbes 30 under 30 in Arts and Culture and has spoken at the Forbes Women’s Summit. Most recently, Dr. Moore has been honored as an artist-in-residence at the Harvard ArtLab, where she joyfully experiments with creativity.

Dr. Moore is one of the most remarkable podcast guests to date, and on the podcast, she and Aleksandra only scratch the surface on her incredible journey in dance. However, through the conversation, Dr. Moore discusses how all of her accomplishments stemmed from overcoming doubters in her earliest dancing days and ultimately created one of the most unique ballet careers of all time.

 

Moving Quotes:

“Both the right brain and the left brain are extremely necessary for both ballet and physics. Creativity is so necessary in the physics lab to solve new problems. And having an analytic brain can help you when practicing dance."

“Perfect is replaceable. Don’t try to be perfect. Strive to be yourself. What can you bring to the table that no one else can?"

“My parents encouraged me to audition because they wanted me to get that strength to fail and get back up."

 

Bullet Points (w/ timestamps) - Highlighting key topics discussed:

4:27: Dr. Moore retells her entire story and how she proved doubters wrong in becoming both a professional dancer and a PhD-educated Oxford graduate in Quantum Optics.

10:46: Dr. Moore explains what initially drew her towards the field of science and how understanding science takes practice.

13:00: Dr. Moore discusses the origins of one of her featured videos, where she dances with a robot.

15:14: Dr. Moore describes the Harvard University ArtLab and the freedom of being able to experiment with creativity with no expectations.

18:05: Dr. Moore, who was featured at the Forbes Women’s Summit in 2019, discusses the incredible and rewarding experience of sharing with prominent women.

20:59: Dr. Moore shares her ideas around why there are so few women in the field of science, even while the gender gap in other fields have narrowed.

25:39: Dr. Moore describes her experience competing on BBC’s reality show Astronauts: Do You Have What It Takes and how this show ignited a fire to become a real astronaut.

31:17: Dr. Moore discusses what’s next in her career and in her creative experiments.

 

Bullet List of Resources – 

Dr. Merritt Moore