Comments on: Transcendence http://asymptotia.com/2007/12/18/transcendence/ Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:58:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Correlations http://asymptotia.com/2007/12/18/transcendence/#comment-100158 Correlations Wed, 26 Dec 2007 17:24:32 +0000 http://asymptotia.com/2007/12/18/transcendence/#comment-100158 <strong>Essence...</strong> Both Science and Art are part of our everyday culture. Or at least they should be. Do you think of them as related, sharing some common goals, or quite different? Do you go to one as relief from the other, or for inspiration for the other? It is intere... Essence…

Both Science and Art are part of our everyday culture. Or at least they should be. Do you think of them as related, sharing some common goals, or quite different? Do you go to one as relief from the other, or for inspiration for the other? It is intere…

]]> By: Yvette http://asymptotia.com/2007/12/18/transcendence/#comment-99068 Yvette Fri, 21 Dec 2007 00:28:43 +0000 http://asymptotia.com/2007/12/18/transcendence/#comment-99068 To add on... if I had to choose one work, I suppose I would choose "The Reading Girl," which is a sculpture by Pierto Magni. (image- http://www.dtm.ciw.edu/ruedas/photos/washington/natgallery/readinggirl.html) It's my favorite sculpture in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, in Zone 5 of the West Wing if anyone wants to track it down on their next visit. The detail is completely marvelous: standing next to this sculpture you can hardly believe that the chair isn't actually made of wood, or that the pages in the girl's book are not made of actual paper. I think science is a lot like carving a realistic statue out of marble because, while equations and models are not the real thing, they can leave you with a description so accurate that you are left with a very real depiction of the reality. And when you get that depiction, you cannot help but notice and be moved at the fact that that reality is incredibly beautiful. I have a more personal motive here as well though. You can't see it in the picture, but if you ever go see this statue in reality you will notice that the girl has a tear running down her cheek because she is so moved by what she is reading. And if I said I never felt anything but incredible passion on this subject, well, I'd be a complete liar. To add on… if I had to choose one work, I suppose I would choose “The Reading Girl,” which is a sculpture by Pierto Magni. (image- http://www.dtm.ciw.edu/ruedas/photos/washington/natgallery/readinggirl.html) It’s my favorite sculpture in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, in Zone 5 of the West Wing if anyone wants to track it down on their next visit. The detail is completely marvelous: standing next to this sculpture you can hardly believe that the chair isn’t actually made of wood, or that the pages in the girl’s book are not made of actual paper. I think science is a lot like carving a realistic statue out of marble because, while equations and models are not the real thing, they can leave you with a description so accurate that you are left with a very real depiction of the reality. And when you get that depiction, you cannot help but notice and be moved at the fact that that reality is incredibly beautiful.

I have a more personal motive here as well though. You can’t see it in the picture, but if you ever go see this statue in reality you will notice that the girl has a tear running down her cheek because she is so moved by what she is reading. And if I said I never felt anything but incredible passion on this subject, well, I’d be a complete liar.

]]> By: Len Ornstein http://asymptotia.com/2007/12/18/transcendence/#comment-98832 Len Ornstein Wed, 19 Dec 2007 17:32:39 +0000 http://asymptotia.com/2007/12/18/transcendence/#comment-98832 Clifford: Your encapsulation of modeling, Occam's razor and incompleteness, as the parallels between this kind of art and theoretical science, was masterly! Clifford:

Your encapsulation of modeling, Occam’s razor and incompleteness, as the parallels between this kind of art and theoretical science, was masterly!

]]> By: EJ http://asymptotia.com/2007/12/18/transcendence/#comment-98664 EJ Tue, 18 Dec 2007 21:16:43 +0000 http://asymptotia.com/2007/12/18/transcendence/#comment-98664 I think I would have picked a Japanese painting, although I'm not sure which one. I once saw a painting that had a single branch in the foreground, and a waterfall way off in the distance. Other than some details on the branch (blossoms and whatnot), and two small outcrops on either side of the waterfall, the rest of the canvas was blank. Besides the inherent beauty and detail of the painting, I was impressed by how such a simple juxtaposition could create the illusion of great depth. That is, one felt like the tree branch was just a few feet away, while the waterfall was many miles off in the distance. I'm not sure how I would relate this to my research, but the idea is essentially the same: that so much can emerge -- in this case miles of depth -- from just a few simple paint strokes. I think I would have picked a Japanese painting, although I’m not sure which one. I once saw a painting that had a single branch in the foreground, and a waterfall way off in the distance. Other than some details on the branch (blossoms and whatnot), and two small outcrops on either side of the waterfall, the rest of the canvas was blank. Besides the inherent beauty and detail of the painting, I was impressed by how such a simple juxtaposition could create the illusion of great depth. That is, one felt like the tree branch was just a few feet away, while the waterfall was many miles off in the distance.

I’m not sure how I would relate this to my research, but the idea is essentially the same: that so much can emerge — in this case miles of depth — from just a few simple paint strokes.

]]> By: Yvette http://asymptotia.com/2007/12/18/transcendence/#comment-98659 Yvette Tue, 18 Dec 2007 20:21:43 +0000 http://asymptotia.com/2007/12/18/transcendence/#comment-98659 Wow. I read that whole issue cover to cover when it arrived in the mail but never noticed your name attached with it! :( I do remember liking the da Vinci piece though, which is probably proof that I need to look at names more often. Wow. I read that whole issue cover to cover when it arrived in the mail but never noticed your name attached with it! :( I do remember liking the da Vinci piece though, which is probably proof that I need to look at names more often.

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