AT THE university where I once taught creative writing, the physics department offered a course known in the common room as Astronomy for Poets. Being somewhat interested in both subjects, I got curious and phoned up the admissions secretary, who sent me a glossy brochure. It included the following bullet-points:
- discover the secrets of pulsars and black holes
- follow the evolution of the universe from the big bang
- investigate the birth and death of stars and the origins of life beyond Headingly.
For anyone unfamiliar with the geography of the north of England, Headingly is a constellation situated towards the…
