Re: [Leica] Soapbox discussion about art and science- was PHD Qualifications!

[Alan Brown <abrown@ncsi.net>]

>Dan,
>
>> Well, I seemed to has misstated my point- I meant SCIENCE and the search
>for
>> basic knowledge- to compare artists such as Weston, Adams, et al. is again
>> an argument of Apples and Oranges!
>> They didn't further knowledge, scientifically speaking; Their subjective
>> view of the world was what made them so wonderful. The could 'see' and at
>> the same time, through their eyes, help US see the world in ways that we
>had
>> never seen it. That was their appeal, to our affect, our emotions. They
>were
>> not scientists, per se, but visionaries who saw the world differently, and
>> helped us see it the same way.
>
>    To help us see the world differently is the mark of the highest level of
>science. The classic examples are Newtonian mechanics which helped the world
>understand the motion of the planets around the sun and then Einstein who
>changed this world-view. Other examples are Darwin and then Watson and Crick
>who have changed the world-view with respect to the origin of the species
>(and humanity). The world-view is a central notion of science and hence
>comparison to Weston, Adams et al. is quite relevent.
>
>    Science is more about changing the world-view using theories validated
>by evidence than it is about increasing a volume of facts. There is often
>alot of art in good science and alot of science in good art.
>
>Jonathan Borden

Guys and gals,

If you are interested in this general topic I recommend "Art and Physics"
by Leonard Shlain who is a San Francisco surgeon.  To quote from the promo:
"Art interprets the visible world, physics charts its unseen workings--and
so the two realms seem completely opposed.  But in this brilliant piece of
cultural detective work, Leonard Shlain tracks their breakthroughs side by
side throughout history to reveal an astonishing coincidence of visions.
From the classical Greek sculptors to Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns, and
from Aristotle to Einstein, artist soreshadow the discoveries of
scientists, sometimes by more than a century."

Interesting reading.

Alan Brown