We expect works of art to enlighten us, and we expect science to enlighten us -- yet the two fields are frequently regarded as separate, distinct entities which we respond to using different areas of the brain. Are those distinctions are arbitrary?

"Being able to understand science is to create metaphors," says Bly, founder of SEED magazine. "Our metaphors become profoundly more rich when scientists interact with artists and engage the arts community in the kinds of ideas that they’re navigating."

Richard Dawkins sees the career of a scientist as a colorful and incredibly creative enterprise—akin, in many ways, to the highest poetry and most imaginative art.

Randall, a physicist, wishes that science was a part of pop culture. It's just as important to understand certain basic elements of science as it is to understand certain basic elements of literature or art, she argues. "That should be as fundamental to our way of thinking. One thing that science can probably learn from art is getting people excited about ideas."