Comments on: Revisiting an old and whacky theory

By: Charlie

Charlie — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 20:37:07 +0000

I DON’T CARE!!!! IT’S, HOOKERS AND BLOW ALL THE WAY DOWN!

By: schmwarf

schmwarf — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 00:15:37 +0000

OMG I missed your birthday!

Belated happy birthday Steve. You make the best birthday presents, you artist you.

By: Chimaera

Chimaera — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 12:56:22 +0000

tredekka:

How exactly is a movie a scientific enterprise? It employs the use of tools and technology, but at the end of the day, a movie doesn’t yield a theory or a mathematical model of anything. As for using tools and technology, so does practically *every* form of art — a paintbrush is a piece of technology, as are paints. As for the commerce angle… I’m not sure where you’re going there.

By: Dan Caveny

Dan Caveny — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:47:57 +0000

Steve,

Sorry I missed it, I have been down with the flu, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I hope that it was a good one and that there are many more.

Dan

By: tredekka

tredekka — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:37:46 +0000

What about movies, which are a blend of art, science and commerce, and which begin strictly as experienced performance only to leave artifacts (like DVDs) about a year later. It’s also the one industry that America truly dominates, and as such is viewed with great importance–to our cultural identity as well as to our economy.

By: Chimaera

Chimaera — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:15:58 +0000

By the way… this?

“Science is bones.

Art is flesh.”

Yeah, that’s an *annoyingly* beautiful expression.

By: Chimaera

Chimaera — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 19:21:21 +0000

“Chimera @ 20: A very astute question. I mean in the sense of the role they play in society as a whole. I obviously don’t mean “in the mind of any given individual.””

Ah — in that case, I think my initial response stands fairly well. Viewed through the lens of (a particular) take on philosophy, I would argue that science represents our best efforts at solving the knowledge project, while the arts, in general, represent something more akin to the pursuit or appreciation of the wisdom project.

By: dvcastle

dvcastle — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 19:09:01 +0000

Art and science can both be inspirational. The person imputing practical value is the merchant.

By: Lewis Himelhoch

Lewis Himelhoch — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:25:57 +0000

It really depends on which branch of science one is talking about and which art one is talking about.

However, since all theories must be presented as formal papers and published in accepted scientific journals to be considered relevant, I’d have to say that even the most abstract science still produces an artifact. If they didn’t, then scientific theory would not have the means needed to build and modify theory based on previous work.

Similarly, thanks to the ability we have these days to record motion and sound even performance art can result in some kind of permanent record.

In the information age, virtually everything we do or say results in artifacts in the form of binary data.

By: Louis

Louis — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:00:36 +0000

From the perspective of society, science and art perform the same role: to lift society from focusing on basic needs and looking at the bigger picture of the world around us. One could argue that science delivers artifacts while art delivers something less tangible but perhaps more physical.