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There certainly is a cultural division, but maybe there is no fundamental distinction to be made. Both art and science help us make sense of the world. They bot
by mathgenius 3y ago
There certainly is a cultural division, but maybe there is no fundamental distinction to be made. Both art and science help us make sense of the world. They both tell stories, about an apparently objective reality. They both excite and inspire, and enable us to transcend a limited point-of-view.
- TeMPOraL 3y agoIf we take science and art to be the same greater thing, then I'd look at it in terms of constraints. Science could be defined as the subset of art that's about seeking maximally accurate representations of aspect of reality. In the same vein, math is a different subset, one that's maximizing self-consistency. Other types of art - i.e. the things we normally call art - have their own sets of constraints. Math and science are thus special in the sense that their constraints - self-consistency and accurate representation of objective reality - give powerful, direct practical benefits. Other forms of art can have practical use too, e.g. by moving people, or refining their beliefs (or convincing them of lies in the interest of those who commissioned the art - that's advertising and propaganda). Another way in which math and science are special is that their constraints are independent of humans. Where other forms of art are necessarily a function of how people perceive and feel, the output of science and mathematics is, in principle, universal. I don't know of any other form of art like this.