6 ms·

A Mathematician in a School of Art

127 points by nkoren 2y ago

tivert 2y ago
I'm reminded of this cringe shirt that shows up in the ads I see quite a bit: https://www.geeksoutfit.com/products/the-great-fibonacci-wave-t-shirt https://www.geeksoutfit.com/products/the-great-fibonacci-wav.... The ads usually feature several shirts. The above one, and 5 others that advertise the wearer is an asshole (e.g. https://www.geeksoutfit.com/products/my-level-of-sarcasm-is-based-on-your-level-of-stupidity-t-shirt https://www.geeksoutfit.com/products/my-level-of-sarcasm-is-...).
- EstanislaoStan 2y ago
  Why do you subject yourself to ads?
  - setopt 2y ago
    If you’re on a mobile device, adblockers are often crippled so a lot manages to slip through.
    - mkl 2y ago
      uBlock Origin on Firefox Android is not crippled. I essentially never see ads.
      - tivert 2y ago
        I use that, but it doesn't work in apps. I see these ads in the New York Times app.
- bigstrat2003 2y ago
  That shirt isn't cringe, it's really cool. I don't know why you feel the need to go out of your way to hate on it.
jhncls 2y ago
A fellow mathematical sculptor is Carlo Séquin [0]. Also Jos Leys' mathematical imagination is an explorative wonderland [1]. [0]: https://people.eecs.berkeley.edu/~sequin/ https://people.eecs.berkeley.edu/~sequin/ [1]: https://www.josleys.com https://www.josleys.com
Jun8 2y ago
"There were several motivations behind the spiral. The first was an interest in the spiral patterns of both Celtic and Islamic art, and a desire to create a similar effect with as few rules as possible" Quasi-periodic Islamic wall tilings are a whole interesting black hole, e.g. see this paper https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1135491 https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1135491 This really resonates with me. Unfortunately "the two cultures" polarizes people into viewing artists as airheads doing random artifacts or mathematicians as weirdos working on mostly useless stuff - the "I'm bad at math" confession to bond with people is common. How can we encourage more people to study both art & math? Or Humanities and Science in general, e.g. English and Biology? I've always fantasized about having $10M discretionary money (haven't done the math, really, just a random figure) and opening a "Arts and Sciences Academy", which would be a high school where Arts trivium (music, literature, sculpture) would be studied on equal footing and intertwined with Sciences trivium (math, physics, biology) - I know an eclectic mix. I don't know why the very rich not pursue setting up schools like this?
- dartos 2y ago
  FWIW the prevalent “I’m bad at math” vibe has a lot to do with how math is taught vs like English or science
  - bokoharambe 2y ago
    Which in turn reflects prevailing conceptions (or misconceptions) about the nature of mathematical objects. The educator must be educated and all that.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- itronitron 2y ago
  A work cant be justified as art solely by the technique employed in its creation, otherwise it would just be a craft representing the technical skill of the creator.
- noelwelsh 2y ago
smokel 2y ago
People sometimes combine two fields of study to create something novel and intriguing. However, such combinations often fall short, failing to satisfy the standards of either field. Unfortunately, the typical art audience rarely appreciates the elegance of mathematical theorems, especially when they deal with something as complex as, say, the Riemann hypothesis. Similarly, scientists often struggle to understand the appeal of performance art, where an artist might, for instance, stare at an apple for an hour. It is one thing that there is not enough audience for a niche thing, but the lack of criticism is even worse in my opinion. I'm probably being a bit too harsh here, and I'm probably just jealous, but it's something that keeps frustrating me. "Circuit-bending" [1] was a particular annoying crossover of art and electronics that still makes me shudder. Using the golden ratio for no good reason is also up there. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circuit_bending https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circuit_bending
- enugu 2y ago
  A formal program with funding, faculty and grad students would greatly help to make something which is not superficial. (Although I don't know of how much making art is a university subject, art criticism seems to be more in vogue). Currently, undergrads take double majors (Witten was a history grad!). But, this doesn't tend to happen at the graduate level. The obstacles can be getting funding(siloed into departments), and courses being demanding enough already for one subject. Faculty sometimes do hold a side appointment in other departments. But, the main incentive emerging from the academic job system is to get specialized expertise and publish in high reputation journals.
- cwmoore 2y ago
  As one of my contributions to “failing to satisfy the standards of either field” (math, astrophysics, or fine art), I wonder whether you would love or hate https://www.ouruboroi.com https://www.ouruboroi.com
  - adamgordonbell 2y ago
    Or this, the uroboros quine. Which I think is for sure art. https://github.com/mame/quine-relay https://github.com/mame/quine-relay
swayvil 2y ago
[flagged]
- interludead 2y ago
  There's definitely a strong case that intellect can enrich the process
  - swayvil 2y ago
    Consider who's making that argument.
downboots 2y ago
Someone suggested sharing this gallery into this thread https://mathemalchemy.org/2022/01/19/mathematical-connections-cavalcade/ https://mathemalchemy.org/2022/01/19/mathematical-connection...
rose987a 2y ago
[dead]
morjom 2y ago
Shadertoy is a nice blend of art, math and programming. I wish I'd find the willpower to dive into it.
sehansen 2y ago
I feel compelled to plug a sculptor I've been a fan of since college: https://www.bathsheba.com/ https://www.bathsheba.com/ They have a lot of more or less mathematically inspired metal sculptures for sale, for instance a functioning Klein bottle opener: https://www.bathsheba.com/math/klein/ https://www.bathsheba.com/math/klein/

127 points by nkoren 2y ago

I'm reminded of this cringe shirt that shows up in the ads I see quite a bit: https://www.geeksoutfit.com/products/the-great-fibonacci-wave-t-shirt https://www.geeksoutfit.com/products/the-great-fibonacci-wav.... The ads usually feature several shirts. The above one, and 5 others that advertise the wearer is an asshole (e.g. https://www.geeksoutfit.com/products/my-level-of-sarcasm-is-based-on-your-level-of-stupidity-t-shirt https://www.geeksoutfit.com/products/my-level-of-sarcasm-is-...).

EstanislaoStan 2y ago
Why do you subject yourself to ads?
- setopt 2y ago
  If you’re on a mobile device, adblockers are often crippled so a lot manages to slip through.
  - mkl 2y ago
    uBlock Origin on Firefox Android is not crippled. I essentially never see ads.
    - tivert 2y ago
      I use that, but it doesn't work in apps. I see these ads in the New York Times app.
bigstrat2003 2y ago
That shirt isn't cringe, it's really cool. I don't know why you feel the need to go out of your way to hate on it.

jhncls 2y ago

A fellow mathematical sculptor is Carlo Séquin [0]. Also Jos Leys' mathematical imagination is an explorative wonderland [1]. [0]: https://people.eecs.berkeley.edu/~sequin/ https://people.eecs.berkeley.edu/~sequin/ [1]: https://www.josleys.com https://www.josleys.com

Jun8 2y ago

"There were several motivations behind the spiral. The first was an interest in the spiral patterns of both Celtic and Islamic art, and a desire to create a similar effect with as few rules as possible" Quasi-periodic Islamic wall tilings are a whole interesting black hole, e.g. see this paper https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1135491 https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1135491 This really resonates with me. Unfortunately "the two cultures" polarizes people into viewing artists as airheads doing random artifacts or mathematicians as weirdos working on mostly useless stuff - the "I'm bad at math" confession to bond with people is common. How can we encourage more people to study both art & math? Or Humanities and Science in general, e.g. English and Biology? I've always fantasized about having $10M discretionary money (haven't done the math, really, just a random figure) and opening a "Arts and Sciences Academy", which would be a high school where Arts trivium (music, literature, sculpture) would be studied on equal footing and intertwined with Sciences trivium (math, physics, biology) - I know an eclectic mix. I don't know why the very rich not pursue setting up schools like this?

dartos 2y ago
FWIW the prevalent “I’m bad at math” vibe has a lot to do with how math is taught vs like English or science
- bokoharambe 2y ago
  Which in turn reflects prevailing conceptions (or misconceptions) about the nature of mathematical objects. The educator must be educated and all that.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
itronitron 2y ago
A work cant be justified as art solely by the technique employed in its creation, otherwise it would just be a craft representing the technical skill of the creator.
noelwelsh 2y ago

smokel 2y ago

People sometimes combine two fields of study to create something novel and intriguing. However, such combinations often fall short, failing to satisfy the standards of either field. Unfortunately, the typical art audience rarely appreciates the elegance of mathematical theorems, especially when they deal with something as complex as, say, the Riemann hypothesis. Similarly, scientists often struggle to understand the appeal of performance art, where an artist might, for instance, stare at an apple for an hour. It is one thing that there is not enough audience for a niche thing, but the lack of criticism is even worse in my opinion. I'm probably being a bit too harsh here, and I'm probably just jealous, but it's something that keeps frustrating me. "Circuit-bending" [1] was a particular annoying crossover of art and electronics that still makes me shudder. Using the golden ratio for no good reason is also up there. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circuit_bending https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circuit_bending

enugu 2y ago
A formal program with funding, faculty and grad students would greatly help to make something which is not superficial. (Although I don't know of how much making art is a university subject, art criticism seems to be more in vogue). Currently, undergrads take double majors (Witten was a history grad!). But, this doesn't tend to happen at the graduate level. The obstacles can be getting funding(siloed into departments), and courses being demanding enough already for one subject. Faculty sometimes do hold a side appointment in other departments. But, the main incentive emerging from the academic job system is to get specialized expertise and publish in high reputation journals.
cwmoore 2y ago
As one of my contributions to “failing to satisfy the standards of either field” (math, astrophysics, or fine art), I wonder whether you would love or hate https://www.ouruboroi.com https://www.ouruboroi.com
- adamgordonbell 2y ago
  Or this, the uroboros quine. Which I think is for sure art. https://github.com/mame/quine-relay https://github.com/mame/quine-relay

swayvil 2y ago

[flagged]

interludead 2y ago
There's definitely a strong case that intellect can enrich the process
- swayvil 2y ago
  Consider who's making that argument.

downboots 2y ago

Someone suggested sharing this gallery into this thread https://mathemalchemy.org/2022/01/19/mathematical-connections-cavalcade/ https://mathemalchemy.org/2022/01/19/mathematical-connection...

rose987a 2y ago

[dead]

morjom 2y ago

Shadertoy is a nice blend of art, math and programming. I wish I'd find the willpower to dive into it.

sehansen 2y ago

I feel compelled to plug a sculptor I've been a fan of since college: https://www.bathsheba.com/ https://www.bathsheba.com/ They have a lot of more or less mathematically inspired metal sculptures for sale, for instance a functioning Klein bottle opener: https://www.bathsheba.com/math/klein/ https://www.bathsheba.com/math/klein/