When Bohr received the Order of the Elephant, as is customary, he choose his own crest. Above is the Contraria Sunt Complementa he created using the Yin Yang symbol of complementary opposites. — When Bohr received the Order of the Elephant, as is customary, he choose his own crest. Above is the *Contraria Sunt Complementa* he created using the Yin Yang symbol of complementary opposites.

At first glance, the notion of a physicist wrestling with the properties of light may seem more distant from the world of philosophy and art than ever possible.

Niels Bohr, however, stood apart. In the early part of the 20th century, Bohr was developing a theory of complementarity while grappling with the unpredictable nature of light and quantum mechanics. In doing so, he turned to the humanities for help. His discoveries and thoughts would transcend beyond just physics into the world of philosophical and artistic thinking. His theory of complementarity states that two concepts, both seemingly different, could also be mutually complementary. What it means is that an experiment that clearly illustrates one part of nature would simultaneously obscure another complementing view. An example of this is demonstrated through the properties of light. The theory held that light could be both a wave and a particle, but our measurements of it could only reveal one, a wave while obscuring the other, a particle. His principle implies that while gaining certain information from a particular observation, other, equally relevant information is simultaneously lost. Light is comprised of both elements, yet we can only measure or witness one at a time. For Bohrs, this principle was profoundly philosophical, highlighting how many of our perceptions of the world remain unseen and are often only measured by what we immediately wish things to be. His approach was so deeply felt that when he had bestowed the Danish Order of the Elephant, he chose the symbol of yin-yang as his coat of arms. Inscribed on the crest is the motto Contraria Sunt Complementa, which means "opposites are complementary.” It was an approach that made Bohr a visionary and beloved physicist. His willingness to consider this dual nature not as a contradiction but as two sides of the same coin, with only one revealing itself at a time.

What made him endearing to the works here was his insistence that the language with which we describe things is as important as the physical properties we perceive of them. Many physicists of the early 20th century were grappling with notions of relativity as it applies to observations, and Bohr felt no exception to this. He realized that what we choose to see is always relative to us as viewers and the subjects we perceive — not merely one or the other — but as languages that are inherent parts of what we see. Bohr’s perspective endeared him to many of his students and colleagues as well, maintaining collaborative and mentoring relationships with them — many of whom became great physicists and thinkers as well. His playful, curious approach was often interdisciplinary, applying not just to physics but to writing, philosophy, and the understanding of ourselves. Through the nature of complements, Bohr left us with a kind of philosophical approach to science and even art that can serve as an inspiring model to many of our own living worldviews. It remains a type of backbone to surrendering to other models of thought.

01° - Other Spot (8 of 455 features from Volume 01) — **01° - Other Spot** *(8 of 455 features from Volume 01)*

01° - Other Spot (8 of 455 features from Volume 02) — **01° - Other Spot** *(8 of 455 features from Volume 02)*