In the beginning, there was Jan van den Berg. Or, to be more accurate, Jan van den Berg, a scene from the Wicker Man, Papua New Guinea style, some cigars and a man called Higgs. Confusing? Not half as confusing as particle physics, but when you have a Dutchman, a theologian, a documentary filmmaker and a lay physicist explaining it to you, somehow the mists clear. When these four become one and the same person, you have the optimum conditions for enlightenment.
Everyone is talking about Higgs. He lives here, he spoke here recently in the McEwan Hall, he has been on the news, the subject of documentaries, had portraits painted of him and may even win a Nobel Prize. If you still don’t understand what the hell all the fuss is about and don’t know your boson from your bison, then nowhere are you likely to hear a clearer explanation than right here, in the dissection room, in the old Dick Vet.
From this lecture theatre, van den Berg takes us on a journey from the Netherlands to Papua New Guinea, the Japanese Alps, Switzerland, Sicily and Edinburgh. On our way, he treats us to his understanding of all things atomic; atoms, electrons, bosons, quarks, dark matter and even some proton porn. He reveals to us, with words and video, the Large Hadron Collider and the experiment which took place there last year. The subatomic size of all the particles contrasting vividly with the sheer enormity of the depths and distances he describes.
Not so much preacher as enquirer, van den Berg draws his audience in with measured prose, vivid metaphor and an unrepentantly manic impersonation. He even throws in a few witty one-liners. His awe and wonder is infectious and somewhat reminiscent of Feynman, a physicist to whom he bears an uncanny resemblance. Van den Berg uses powerpoint, film, music, the essential blackboard and some goggles, to enhance the science – he even teaches us some Pidgin English.
Every beginning has an end and after each performance, there is a 15 minute interview with an invited guest, generally a physicist. At this review van den Berg chatted with Victoria Crowe who gave us fascinating insight to the portrait of Higgs she recently completed for the Royal Society. Art and science, coming together as one.
Completed in one hour and taking 14 billion years, this is a storytelling session of genius, not solely for scientists, but having a background certainly helps.
