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It's basically the argument that poets like Keats had, that science was destroying beauty because it "unweaved the rainbow" -- that is the rainbow is less beaut

It's basically the argument that poets like Keats had, that science was destroying beauty because it "unweaved the rainbow" -- that is the rainbow is less beautiful if we understand why it occurs rather than being magical. I personally can't understand this argument at all -- but then I always enjoyed figuring out how magic tricks worked as well.

nuancebydefault 4y ago
I also try to find out how and why things work, I suppose that's why I became an engineer. Thinking about the subject further, the beauty is not the rainbow, the beauty is the fantasy around it. For an engineer, fantasising can be a means to enhance creativity and out of the box thinking, which can lead to a solution, the pieces of the puzzle fall into place, in the end the effect can be explained logically. The journey to come to the conclusion is like a game, and is fun and satisfying. Once the solution is known, their interest will sheft to other effects, rendering the former less interesting.
robocat 4y ago
Keats made a strawman argument. Take an artist and show them the science. Take an artist and show them some history. Take an artist and show them a different view of something. Does adding different facets of knowledge to something reduce the value of the existing facets? A scientist looking at a rainbow can enjoy the thought that their eye is at the apex of a cone of light - looking parallel along the side of the cone - and that the projected cone looks like an arc. A field of rays which your eyes only see a fraction of. A scientist can wonder about the infrared and ultraviolet colours that are not visible. A scientist can appreciate that there is no colour magenta in the rainbow - a rainbow does not contain "all" colours. A scientist can wonder about how discrete drops dashing through the air can create a continuous looking rainbow - Monet or Esher would appreciate that. A scientist can delight in creating a rainbow by construction, not only by discovery. A scientist can search for rainbows in unobvious places that they might expect one. Adding those facets to an artist doesn't take anything away from an artistic appreciation. It is additive to the wonder.

nuancebydefault 4y ago

I also try to find out how and why things work, I suppose that's why I became an engineer. Thinking about the subject further, the beauty is not the rainbow, the beauty is the fantasy around it. For an engineer, fantasising can be a means to enhance creativity and out of the box thinking, which can lead to a solution, the pieces of the puzzle fall into place, in the end the effect can be explained logically. The journey to come to the conclusion is like a game, and is fun and satisfying. Once the solution is known, their interest will sheft to other effects, rendering the former less interesting.

robocat 4y ago

Keats made a strawman argument. Take an artist and show them the science. Take an artist and show them some history. Take an artist and show them a different view of something. Does adding different facets of knowledge to something reduce the value of the existing facets? A scientist looking at a rainbow can enjoy the thought that their eye is at the apex of a cone of light - looking parallel along the side of the cone - and that the projected cone looks like an arc. A field of rays which your eyes only see a fraction of. A scientist can wonder about the infrared and ultraviolet colours that are not visible. A scientist can appreciate that there is no colour magenta in the rainbow - a rainbow does not contain "all" colours. A scientist can wonder about how discrete drops dashing through the air can create a continuous looking rainbow - Monet or Esher would appreciate that. A scientist can delight in creating a rainbow by construction, not only by discovery. A scientist can search for rainbows in unobvious places that they might expect one. Adding those facets to an artist doesn't take anything away from an artistic appreciation. It is additive to the wonder.