Inside PBS Blog

In the NOVA episode "Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives," Mark Everett asks his father "is this laser going to burn my eyes out?"

This may sound strange, but in Mark's case, dad was Hugh Everett III, quantum physicist and publisher of the Many Worlds theory -- which, NOVA explains, "makes the astounding prediction that parallel universes are constantly splitting off from our everyday reality." For a deeper explanation of Hugh's theory, and more information about his career, visit the NOVA Web site.

Mark Everett's career, on the other hand, has been decidedly unscientific: he's the frontman of EELS, an alternative rock band best known for its pop rock first record Beautiful Freak and its melancholy follow-up Electro-Shock Blues.  Mark describes both he and his late father as "idea men," albeit with very different modes of expression.  The episode follows Mark's journey across the country as he attempts to understand the possibility of parallel universes, both as a scientific theory and as a metaphor for his relationship with his iconoclastic father.

The folks at Remotely Connected, a blog showcasing bloggers' reactions to PBS programs, invited music blogger David Gutowski to share his response to the NOVA episode.

Gutowski is used to interviewing musical artists on his blog Large Hearted Boy, but when PBS asked him to write about this episode of NOVA, he thought of someone even better-suited to the task: musician Alina Simone, an artist who shares a unique similarity to Everett.  Simone's father, Alex Vilenkin, is also a physicist. Rather than write about Everett, Simone chose to interview him, and their discussion explores the similarities and differences between the scientific father and his musical son. Simone observes that it seems the only way to understand Hugh is to understand his work, and asks Mark if the same is true for him; Mark replies, "I suppose so. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't help but turn out a lot like him in many ways. And I'm nothing without music. It's everything to me."

Can you relate to this idea, of being understood through your work?  Has your career been influenced by your upbringing in unexpected ways? Join the discussion using the comments feature below.