NEA: If you believe the popular conception of artists and scientists as polar opposites, you might expect that putting them into a room together would lead to brawls, brouhahas, and well, big bangs. But, in fact, as theoretical physicist and novelist Alan Lightman and playwright Alan Brody have found out, the only explosions in the room are creative ones. In the early 2000s, the two men—both on faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)—decided to start a monthly salon for scientists and theater artists on MIT’s campus. The members of the resulting Science on Stage salons discovered not only common ground but also how, in many ways, artists and scientists are kindred spirits.
4 comments:
As someone who's partner is a computer scientist while I am an artist I'm obviously on the side of thinking that artists and scientists make good partners. I never thought I would fall for a scientist, but despite focusing on different subjects, we both have to think creatively about our work and we meet in the middle when it comes to playing music. At any rate, I kind of think it could be a little boring to be with someone who did the same thing as me, though I know there are many people who do the same thing and it works out beautifully…so, it totally depends, but I know my world is constantly tweaked and expanded through talking with him and it has a big impact on my work. My partner and I always have things to teach each other about our separate focuses, and through it I think we both learn a lot, gain different perspectives and ways of looking at our own work…through each others work. I think that people who don't have this opportunity are missing out. I have met scientists who are so extremely entrenched in what they do that they have no concept of what I do and honestly look down on it. But, they haven't given a chance to really listen and look. I'm sure there are scientists too that have met artists that refuse to even accept the scientists world. It definitely depends on the open nature of the relationship. I think this salon sounds amazing -- what a great way to create communication between the arts and sciences and work toward better understanding and collaboration between the fields.
The notion that scientists are not creative is outdated and untrue. The notion that artists are not analytical is likewise, outdated and untrue. One must display a wide range of skill sets in order to be fully competent in what they do. Of course, everybody has a preference in thinking style. But we must learn to balance this preference with what we do not naturally prefer in order to have everything it takes to function successfully in any industry. One of the major flaws of the incubators that are the separate colleges at CMU is that they do not foster much communication with each other. If we all stopped assuming we were inherently different and talked more, we may be able to build afar more innovative future.
I now kind of want to see a brawl between a scientist and an artist, but that might just be me. I have never quite understood the idea that science and art are fundamentally opposites, nor why people get surprised when people from both fields manage to work together. I mean, there is an entire group of majors that Carnegie Mellon offers with the goal of combining art and the sciences in some fashion.
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