The art of science

http://www.artcyclopedia.com/images/durer-rhinoceros.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RCmSwz09E6A/T_nWb1vdcEI/AAAAAAAABHE/stxsWMKbgl4/s1600/a-duerer-a-man-drawing-a-lute-sml-512.jpg

http://www.britishmuseum.org/collectionimages/AN00175/AN00175603_001_l.jpg

Rap

1 Reply

@raprap,

nice...

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@boomerang,

boomerang wrote:

I happened to catch a piece of a show talking about how North Carolina voted in a bill that makes measuring the rising sea level, according to scientific projections, illegal. They have to keep measuring it the old way, despite the danger it might put people in. Weird.

Are you referring to this story? If so, the problem has nothing to do with not knowing what science is. Whether the North Carolinian legislature knows what science is or not, this is a problem of cronyism.

Here's what's worrying the cronies: When people buy a beach-front house, the law requires them to buy flood insurance for it. So if the sea level rises in line with climate-science projections, the premiums on flood-insurance policies will be higher than if it doesn't, making beach-front houses a harder sell for developers. Against this background, North Carolina's Coastal Resources Commission determined that global warming will make North-Carolina sea levels rise by 39 inches. Apparently, the insurance premiums consistent with such a projection are unacceptable to North-Carolina developers. Hence, the Republican majority in the legislature barred their state from acting on this result, and the Democratic governor has not vetoed it. (Shame on both of them!)

So in my view, it looks as if these people know full well what science is. They just feel threatened by this particular scientific finding, so they're now forcing their officials to whistle past the graveyard. I don't think this is ignorance; I think it's corruption.

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@Thomas,

Yes, that's the story.

I'm sure corruption is a big part of it.

But the climate change deniers, the anti-vaccination crowd, and, right here in Oregon, the fluoride hand wringers, all seem to find it very easy to ignore the science on things.

I think some people just honestly don't understand.

I understand the skepticism. You can't go a day without reading some contrary nutritional news. Everyone knows pharmaceutical companies hide results that don't show their drugs in a positive light. We all grew up with the tobacco industry lies.

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@Thomas,

I would imagine that, if we followed the money, the largest part of the sponsoring for the legislation came from the building and real estate industries wot?

I hd several beers with Oren Pilkney in the past and hes always been totally flummoxed about how stupid North Carolinians were about sea level rise until he realized he was beung subjected to an almost "Creationist Style" war on his reputation s a qorld renowned geomorphologist.

What that has to do with art in cience I don't know but heres one from JF Landsdowne's Birds of the Forest

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41-oik56ULL.jpg

1 Reply

@farmerman,

The good news is that science doesn't give a damn about politics. If the North Carolina sea level rises 39" then whatever happens in Raleigh (or Charlotte Banks) won't be much more than additional redistribution of wealth.

To some extent I'll be a little nostalgic having grown up as a ginger on the Carolina barrier islands, but time and tides cover all mistakes and memories.

I went over to this little Kentucky Park the other day--another example of the Art of Science.

http://www.friendsofaudubon.org/cms_images/foa_homeimage3.jpg

http://www.friendsofaudubon.org/foa.php

Rap

2 Replies

@raprap,

I suppose. If we all acted rationally we probably wouldn't issue building permits for much of the state of California or Florida.
I just don't want the insurance industry to "Spread the risk" to an extent that Im paying just to keep some assholes digs from being washed away.

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@boomerang,

Quote:

Do you think art has a place in science?

Yes, especially in social science such as ethnography or sociology, because the material one tries to depict and explain in ethnography is often essentially artistic. An ethnographer who has no artistic sense simply cannot do his/her job well, IMO. This thesis comes from: L'adieu au voyage: L'ethnologie française entre science et littérature, by Vincent Debaene. The same reasoning applies to history, inasmuch as it requires an understanding of how aesthetics evolved over time, what political and social roles were played by art in specific societies and eras, etc.

Beyond social sciences, the invention of any new scientific theory or emergence of a new scientific idea has a lot to see with artistic inspiration. Some scientists are more intuitive than others and do better at it. I would imagine that cultivating one's creativity through the practice of art may help a scientist become more inventive and look beyond past horizons.

Finally, much of the day to day practice of science is in fact an art...

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@raprap,

Audubon is a great example. His art serves a scientific purpose: give an idea of how the bird moves and behaves.

1 Reply

@Olivier5,

Of course hes been criticized for arranging his "models" in often grotesque positions so thye actually fit the size of the paper in his "Elephant Folio"

"Art is a passion, pursued with discipline;Science is a discipline , pursued with passion. Passion is that thing which drives creativity and Ive had fun with both"
Arthur Sackler.

1 Reply

@farmerman,

Quote:

Of course hes been criticized for arranging his "models" in often grotesque positions so thye actually fit the size of the paper in his "Elephant Folio"

Page composition is a domain where art prevails... Smile

1 Reply

@Olivier5,

even if we have to bust a few necks to fit the field.

I think the trumpeter swan is also a "wired up" model.

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@boomerang,

QI is very popular in Australia.....I assume it is in England

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Bit of bad news I'm afraid.

Quote:

Stephen Fry is to step down as the host of BBC Two comedy quiz show QI after 13 years.

The presenter said it was "one of the best jobs on television" but felt "it was time to move on".

He will be replaced by Sandi Toksvig, who called it her "dream job". She stood down as chair of BBC Radio Four's The News Quiz earlier this year after a 10-year run.

Alan Davies will remain as resident panellist.

Fry was originally signed to be a team captain opposite Alan Davies, but he agreed to host the show as a last minute replacement for Michael Palin "just for the pilot".

Fry said: "For 13 years I had one of the best jobs on television. Behind the camera squadrons of quite extraordinarily brilliant researchers, programme makers and uniquely curious (in both senses of the word) people making that job so much easier.

"In front of the camera generations of lively minds and above all of course the wonder of nature that is Alan Davies."

The series covers topics under one letter each series and Fry said "after passing the alphabetical halfway mark I thought it time to move on, but I will never cease to be grateful to John Lloyd for devising QI and for everyone else for making it such fun".

The upcoming M series will be Fry's last.
Show creator Lloyd said the host's departure was the "end of an era".

"Though we are all very sad he's decided to move on, I am confident that we have found the perfect person to occupy his gigantic shoes.

"Sandi will be the first female host of a mainstream comedy panel show on British television - an appointment that is well overdue."

Toksvig said QI was her "favourite television programme both to watch and to be on, so this is absolutely my dream job".

"Stephen has been utterly brilliant with the first half of the alphabet. Now I look forward to picking up the baton, mixing my metaphors and sailing towards the Land of Nod (i.e. Z). Who knows what lies ahead? It should all be quite interesting," she said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-34528586

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