The Superposition

the “interested lay person” which is a
small group who have a special and
deep interest in a particular topic.
M: A group of people that covers a
broad cross-section of society and
usually considered non-specialist to
what is being presented to them.
Funders
A: Anyone willing to contribute
financial backing to a project.
S: Government funded research
councils, charities, industry, University
Alumni and private sponsors.
M: Any external support that may be
available.
Superposition
A: (prefix - The) A loose collective of
people in Leeds interested in the joy
of discovery.
A: A state where one or more
disciplines exist in a collaboration
where boundaries are blurred.
A: The place to connect with lively
minds.
A: A place to share powerful and
contrasting modes of thinking and
existing with the world.
A: A place to go and technically
engage with how the world works
though making and science and
then go away to refine concepts to
be relevant to more people.
S: “We are the music makers, the
dreamer of dreams.”
S: A linear sum of mathematical functions.
The physical principle in which
two or more superimposed variations
in a field or medium will be equivalent
to the sum of their amplitudes. In
quantum mechanics, a representation
of a state as a sum of distinctive
vectors in a given orthogonal basis.
S: A group of people who are curious
about the world and how they can
explore it.
S: Bringing together people with
diverse interests and expertise to
explore interesting questions and
uncover new understanding and
enjoyment of the world around us.
S: The homogeneity and additivity
of states that is particularly well
known for wave mechanics where,
for example, constructive and
destructive interference of coherent
sources lead to diffraction patterns.
S: A great place to be, as in “what
a superposition to be in!”
S: Not a place where a scientist
becomes less rigorous, but a place
where a scientist can be inspired to
make a mental leap which can then
be backed up in a rigorous manner
M: Multiple states of existence
occurring in the same space and time,
possibly also multiple views of the
same idea or phenomenon.
M: An experiment to see if we can
create an arts-cience community in
Leeds
M: Where the rigorous engages with
the transcendent and the pragmatic
M: A place where a maker can get in
touch with conceptual and aesthetic
nuances and then go away and build
them.
M: A process over time where each
discipline can take leaps and engage
with aspects which initially feel
uncomfortable which then become
richer through interaction without
fear of collaboration being muddy
or unbalanced.
Acknowledgements
This book would not have been possible without funding from the Arts Council
England and Leeds BID (Business Investment District).
Special thanks to:
Editors - Dave Lynch, Lawrence Molloy, Joanna Leng in collaboration
with The Superposition Collective.
Benedict Phillips and Glenn Boulter for guiding us through the design process
and bearing with us as time began to drift.
Proofreaders Suzie Cross, Anzir Boodoo and Mary Schlichte for their honest
reflections on the submissions, especially of the glossary.
John O’Shea for his support and belief in the concept of the book.
The photographers who have given their images alongside the essays of this
book.
We are grateful to those who responded to the open call and gave hours to
create content and assist with the design and structure.
Thank you to all who have supported The Superposition in getting this far as
funders, space givers and equipment lenders, you have helped make this book
through this support.
The Superposition is a collective of Artists, Scientists and Makers. We would like
to thank all who have given up their spare time to organise the various Superposition
activities and events. Nothing would have been possible without them.
In turn we would like to thank those that have taken part in projects and
conversations, they made it richer. And finally we would like to thank all
those who attended talks, exhibitions and shows, we hope you enjoyed them.
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