Oh, no, do not worry! Do not think, please, that just because it is the National Science Day, I am going to fulminate on how the Newton-ian optical principles were reflected in Wordsworth's celebration of the rainbow. Believe me though when I insist that the traditional view which looks at the Romantic poets in a very non-/un-scientific paradigm is absolutely wrong.
It is very easy to establish the connect between the Romantics and the contemporaneous developments in science. Remember, "Frankenstein'', the first ever science fiction in the whole world, was written by Mary Shelley in the beginning of the nineteenth century, a beehive of multiple scientific and technological developments.
Why then the title of our blog? Is that your question? Well, my contention today is that science and art are not diametrically opposite, are not mutually exclusive. Unfortunately, the popular binary treats them so. Rational science versus intuitive art is the silly prejudice nurtured over centuries.
Believe me though when I insist that science and literature, in fact, most plastic arts, are two sides of the same coin. Why do I say so? Well, both begin with imagination and inspiration. Scientists, too, enjoy that 'frenzy of imagination' Shakespeare or Coleridge talks about. Often we have read about how this or that scientist found the perfect solution to an impossible problem through the epiphany of a reverie.
Next, both use the royal road of the perception for the Eureka moment. The perception tools, touch, taste, et al are tools of both, right? Well, both can make or mar an individual or a society. Multiple examples can be given to support my statement.
Are there any differences? Yes, undoubtedly. Science, and its offspring, that is, technology are value-neutral. The duo is in fact a-moral. Literature, on the other hand, is deeply ethical in its search of the meaning of the perceived reality, and beyond.
Well, whatever be their differences, I love them both immensely. Though literature is my oxygen, I try to keep myself abreast in the sciences. Believe me, in brief, beyond binaries exist excellent expanses!
Pratima@In my opinion, science teaches you the ultimate humility because it tells you that the reality we understand is limited by our current paradigms. Let the paradigm shift, expand, evolve a bit, and new worlds emerge. Einstein expanded the Newton-ian world view beyond belief. Now, not even the A.I. knows what it can attain!
Oh, yes, performing arts like music and dance, too, are mathematical. But let us discuss this issue some other time!
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