Unit 2: Math & Art

MATH + ART

Math and art. These are two terms that appear to be nearly antonyms of one another when comparing their traits. However, is this a personal bias or just simply facts? 

https://www.enkiquotes.com/quotes-about-kids-growing-up-too-fast.html

Many people are raised throughout life with more of a tendency to express artistic ideas, or to lead a more tactical and definite lifestyle. For example, maybe a child's parent was an author, or a singer, musician, or even a magician. On the other hand, maybe another person's parents were mathematicians, scientists, or even accountants. The effects of the 'domestic' or family life that an individual grows up under, heavily impacts their perspective on the real world as they mature. 

As for me, I never felt like I directly fell under either of these umbrellas. In fact, I felt like I had to search for my strong-suits, and discover whether those fell under the categories of either math or art through a trial and error process. Never, did I consider the power that each of these terms had in uplifting and strengthening one another. 

https://drawception.com/panel/drawing/GyWh6336/a-vs-f-who-wins/

Throughout childhood, I tended to enjoy more of the mathematics and science subjects during schooling. I wanted to have one answer...right here...right now. And, it seemed as though when I would attempt to evaluate the work of individuals who would exemplify creativity through their writing - I would appear to not be getting the answers 'right'. So, in a search to receive more instant gratification, I found that I sided more with the math end of the spectrum - and, soon, began to label myself as more of a math person than an art person. 

Then, Edwin Abbott's story named "Flatland" altered my perspective on life. Sure, there will be people who seek more enjoyment through spending time in either the math or art industry. However, where these two opposite careers and beliefs meet is where true success is found. Simply put, when math and art coexist, their impacts are even stronger. 

When reading "Flatland", it became very apparent to me how a world with either math OR art will not be sufficient. Not only did a flat world negate emotion and expression, but now 'people' were being judged based upon their looks...or in this case, the number of geometrical 'sides' they had. The reason this occurred, was not because of the overwhelmingly popular belief that MATH should rule the world, but simply the lack of creativity. Applying this situation to our world, what if we just judged a book by its cover and ranked or classified people based upon their looks? This is discrimination. We must look beyond the outside of an individual and consider their inner uniqueness in order to make a more accurate judgment (creativity). 

https://www.thisisinsider.com/vietnams-new-bridge-held-up-by-giant-concrete-hands-cau-vang-2018-8

Then, when watching Nathan Selikoff's video on the interaction between math and science...it dawned on me that not only will there be more interesting views to a situation; but by coexisting, it actually brings humanity closer together. When two different 'industries' learn how to strengthen one another by working together, the traits that people enjoy more are accounted for, and people will simply feel more welcomed and become more successful throughout their lifetime. 

References

Admin. "The Everyday Impact of Math." Did You Know Science, Did You Know Science, 30          

     Nov. 2018. 

"Health Topics A-Z." PeaceHealth, www.peacehealth.org/medical-topics/id/ty6171.

Information Technology - University Outreach. "Arts and Culture at MSU." Arts and Culture       

     @ MSU - Michigan State University.

Lavender. "20 Quotes That Talk About Children's Fast Growing Up." EnkiQuotes, 6 July                                                                               

     2017. 

Murray, Tom. "Vietnam Has a Wild New Bridge That's Held up by a Pair of Giant Concrete 

     Hands." INSIDER, INSIDER, 1 Aug. 2018.