FW: To JE: Thanks; Abyssinian event

Dear Jeffrey,

Thank you so very much for your invitation to breakfast, which Lesley kindly conveyed via email and telephone yesterday.

Sorry I wasn't in town - The World Science Festival music/brain event swayed way to far from science and the vision I formulated when the organizers first consulted me back in October.  Originally, it was supposed to take place at Lincoln Ctr, but that fell through.  They managed to get another landmark location for the event, but the deal they had to cut with the devil (no pun intended) was that the Abyssian Baptist Church controlled the venue.  Consequently, what was supposed to be 60 - 90 mins of neuroscience and musicology turned into a potpourri of musical performances, church/ethnic history, fluffy patient anecdotes by Sacks, and only a dollup of real science by yours truly - not something I wanted to be connected with.  I didn't get the minute-by-minute schedule from the choirmaster (!) until after Memorial Day and my invitation to you, so you can imagine my surprise when I got the rundown. [It's not just that I'm an anti-theist who would have run the risk of saying something about the merits of hard-core empiricism and the dangers of blind faith with Pastor Calvin Butts sitting nearby on stage! (To my knowledge, Rev Jeremiah Wright was not going to fly in from Chicago, but there's a decent chance Al Sharpton will be there.)]

I'm wondering what you thought of some of these physics/math-oriented venues?  The one on dance inspired by Brian Greene's book struck me as, well, weird.  Alan Alda's involved elsewhere.  Seems more like a Discovery Channel fair than a true World Science Festival.  Are you going to any of the other events?

Really, I'm happy to come down any time to breakfast - would be great to see you again and catch up, and I could drop in on my octogenarian mom in the Bronx afterwards.

Peace & Love,
Mark
mtramo@hms.harvard.edu
cellphone 781-718-6390