The Logic Off Topic list

Thoughts from the mind of John Matthews, 09-11-2001:

>In fact, music can be represented by maths- numbers, frequencies,
>measurements of loudness, subdivisions of the beat or bar etc........

Wah...  A tiny portion of what we call "music" can be represented by 
numbers -- much as a colorspace can be represented by numbers.  By 
there's no way the reason I get tears to my eyes when hearing Bach's 
"erbarme dich" can be represented in numbers.
The essence of any form of art is unquantifiable.  Throwing a 
technological numberminded mindset at art isn't doing the world any 
good imo.

>I think that maths is art, and so is music. They are two forms of abstract
>art, IMHO, maybe the most abstract??

Yes, I agree that some maths is art, just as some music is art.  As 
to the most abstract: nah...  Are paintings by Mark Rothko less 
abstract than a 19th century opera?

GAmoore wrote:
>  > Mathematicians are very much artists.

Some mathematicians, yes.  Most are however just plain dull 9-5 
office workers.  The same holds for physicists or any other 
"high-level/intelligence functioning kind of guy/gal".  Artists: 
Godel, Einstein, Heissenberg.  Non-artists: most of us out there, 
simply doing our jobs.
Sweeping generalisations such as the above don't really say anything 
eventually, do they?  Personally I do believe on a fundamental level 
there's a connection between the arts and science.  Just as there is 
a connection between arts & science and religion / spirituality 
(reading alomst any biography on contemporary "great" scientists 
_and_ artists makes at least that much clear).  But these connections 
are too intricate (and too difficult to spot for lots of people) to 
be able to pinpoint them with simple generalising two-line statements.


tata,
HJ
-- 
     Hendrik Jan Veenstra
     email: mailto:h@...
     www:   http://www.ision.nl/users/h/index.html