ART AND SCIENCE

Science is uniquely concerned with physical things. Historically science is born of questions such as: How many are there? Why do apples fall down? How does a falling thing fall? What shape is it? How big is it. How much does it weigh? Why does that object act that way? This requires scientists to restrict their attention to a limited single object and study that one object carefully.

This study may require tremendous physical skill and special techniques. The scientist may have to invent new methods and perfect new skills to conduct his studies. Often numerous studies are done which simply attempt to establish a pattern or direction. But from this careful, and sometimes lengthy, study the scientist attempts to distil some kind of general understanding about the object or event that they have studied.

This general understanding is sometimes called a theory. As it becomes more reliable and useful, it is sometimes is called a Law. These general ideas can then be used to compare other similar objects, evaluate the theory further, and make predictions about events under certain conditions.

But the overall conclusion is that scientists tend to begin with some real-world physical object or phenomenon and conclude with a general idea. They turn the world of reality into the world of imagination and thought.

In contrast, art appears to be concerned with ideas. Much of art, including visual art, music, language arts and performance, appears to be born from such matters as: religious concepts, political movements, cultural characteristics, imaginary events or social ideals. This requires the artist to restrict their attention and focus on a specific idea they wish to explore.

This exploration may require an extended period of time to consider all the ramifications of the idea they wish to explore. This is followed by an extended period of time when the artist may have to invent new methods and exert considerable skill in his chosen medium to produce a model. Often the artist may make several models or attempts to capture the ideas he is contemplating.

In the end the artist creates a physical object which represents his view of the purely ethereal idea he has been contemplating. The important thing is that the end product is a function of the physical world. It may be visual, audible, or palpable; but it is real. This object can then be used to test the accuracy of the artists (and societies) understanding of the idea, explore the ramifications of the idea, explain the idea more fully to others, or even test the truthfulness of the idea.

But the overall conclusion is that artists tend to begin with some non-physical idea and conclude with a real object or physical manifestation that can be detected by the senses. They turn the imaginary world of ideas into reality.

It seems that both groups of people are concerned with understanding our world, arriving at some form of truth and increasing understanding. Even the skills and talents involved are very similar in a general sense. What appears significantly different is that they initiate their mental journeys from separate starting points.

Unfortunately, because of their opposite trajectories, scientists and artists often see themselves as in conflict. Understanding similarities enriches each field significantly. This can be especially powerful in educational endeavors where numerous studies and pilot projects have shown that using one approaches to study the other is especially effective.

For example, having students write about math or science has increased understanding for many students. Writing computer programs that artistically animates scientific phenomenon has proven animate to be an excellent learning tool. The discipline of assigning an artist to explore a specific scientific concept in an art class leads to greater understanding of both art and science.

The world appears to need fewer engineers and poets, and far more people who understand the relationship between ideas and objects. The creation of ideas has an effect on the physical world. The creation of objects has an effect on the creation of ideas.