Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin......
My two greatest, abiotic loves in life are Science and Art. For me, the two are inextricably linked - science, or nature and its workings, create the beauty we see and draw from life. Some people find it hard to link such subjects that appear so different, but for me it's easy. Science is quantitative, accurate, observant and factual. Science is not a belief but simply the working
s of the world, who needs belief when you have fact? In this respect, it would be easy for someone to say, science is so rigid, cold and untouchable. To me however, it is the opposite. Science, is an art.... The art of asking the right questions to achieve the best answers. I think science is open to our imagination, infinite and beautiful.
We observe beauty in nature, and some of us are compelled, compelled to spill out our observations and interpretations, our thoughts and wishes. Some of the greatest artists and writers have shown us just how precious, unique and beautiful the nature of the world and all its workings are. So how does science fit into this equation? Well... science tells us why. Science answers questions that to some, seem unanswerable. To say that nothing is impossible would be a cliche, but science has answered the impossible and continues to do so. Science is not rigid, it is adaptable and it flows, for this is the nature of science a growing list of questions reaching far in to the distance, changing and evolving with time.
As a scientist and an artist, I am compelled by nature. Both to paint and explore its colours, as well as to explore its meaning and function. Some people believe that to reveal an objects inner workings is to remove its beauty, but to me, beauty is gained through understanding. Richard Feynman, an eccentric and world renowned physicist illustrates this wonderfully -
Richard Feynman:
To those who do not know mathematics it is difficult to get across a real feeling as to the beauty, the deepest beauty, of nature ... If you want to learn about nature, to appreciate nature, it is necessary to understand the language that she speaks in.
To quote a friend who will remain unnamed " so you are telling me, all the poets and the writers who wrote inspiring work, were just experiencing chemical reactions? Impossible!" - needless to say they were not scientifically educated. My answer went along the lines of..... Yes. B
ut to me the processes that occur for the writer, poet or painter are themselves, beautiful. Nothing is lost from knowing how the brain functions and it's uniqueness still remains. Perhaps this is the problem, people want to feel special, want to be unique- do they think that science groups them into quantifiable processes and reactions? Well perhaps it does, but the fact that anything exists at all is extraordinary, we and the world we inhabit are exceptional. Every day science reveals something new to me. Something strange, something startling, something beautiful......
So my mission? To show everyone what science can be to them, a piece of art inspired by nature. I will end with a quote from a beloved author, to me this is a metaphor for choosing a path of infinite possibilities in science and rejecting the road to narrow mindedness and restricted thinking of religion (a story for another day).
Terry Prachett:
I would rather be a rising ape than a fallen angel.
