Art vs Science
Comparing and Contrasting
You might have heard someone describe something as “Both Art and Science” or “More Art than Science”.
But, what exactly is Science, and what do we mean by Art?
Definitions
To me, Science is both a body of knowledge and a process for expanding that body of knowledge through experiments.
For example, the claim “for every action there is an equal, and opposite reaction” (Newton’s 3rd) becomes part of Science after it has been tested through a sufficient number of scientific experiments.
Art is both the expression and output of creativity.
Right and Wrong Answers
Science has objective right and wrong answers. If a claim fails scientific experiment, it is not Science or the wrong answer.
Art has neither right nor wrong answers. Art can, however, be beautiful or not beautiful.
However, this beauty is necessarily subjective; in the eye of the beholder. This holds true even when you and I agree that a Matisse is beautiful because it is colourful because your colourful and my colourful are completely different things.
Criticism
Science can be criticised as being right or wrong.
Art cannot be objectively criticised.
Art or Science
The same thing can be both art and Science.
For example, a computer program can be beautiful in an artistic sense. Conversely, its efficiency and correctness can be verified through scientific methods.
Similarly, certain aspects of art can be evaluated scientifically.
For example, a musical performance can be scientifically analysed to verify if the performer accurately plays the correct notes as specified in the original composition. If there are no “mistakes”, we describe the performance as “note perfect”. This “note perfect” is a scientific claim. Such a performance could simultaneously be “not (artistically and subjectively) beautiful” if the listener thinks so.
Purpose
The purpose of Science is the expansion of Science. The purpose of art is enjoyment. Or, in other words, art for art’s sake.
These two purposes can be mutually beneficial.
For example, a scientist may enjoy the process of experimentation because they find it beautiful in an artistic sense, just as a computer scientist or mathematician might find an algorithm or theorem subjectively beautiful. This enjoyment might motivate the scientist to reach a more scientific objective, like proving some claim or discovering a new cure.
In case you were wondering this article is both Art and Science, though perhaps more one than the other.
