Dear all,
Sorry to enter on this discussion, as it is finished, but i´m wirtting a
conference contribution and i´m been reading the discussion. I will try to
be concise.
I´m agree that the two cultures and the third proposal from C.P. Snow may
be is mainaining the diferences, better than collapsing the disciplines. I
like a lot the idea of the network of disciplines, better than the tree of
disciplines. In this sense disciplines helps to us to delimite concepts and
focus on them, but at the same time the network helps to us to exchange.
So, there are two actions there, expertice and exhange, both of them
important. The network methapor helps to the idea of the exchange.
I´m been thinking of another ideas, but i keep the one from Brian:
Activism. When you add the next A for the SEAD, to be SEAAD, i think this
is another important motor. The two culture discurse from C.P. Snow is an
academic discurse, listened in conferences and articles, but, may be, it is
not translated to real day activities. So, Action/Activism is an
alternative to this discurse, where the word, as Brian point with brilliant
way, has no discipline limitations, but where all disciplines could meet.
This kind of action creates real spaces, with real interaction with people,
and is far from academicism. So, the network of disciplines, from Roger
Idea, with the Activism from Brian i think it works with power.
Science popularization, could be one of the links to the research activity
to be part of this activism on the network of disciplines. In my poitn of
view, only if the science popularization creates spaces to be shared with
other ideas. So, science popularization not as a transfer of knoledge in
unique direction, sicence popularization as an exchange space for experts,
doing specific actions (activism).
Best,
Guillermo.
2013/8/30 roger malina <rmalina@alum.mit.edu>
> On Thu, Aug 29, 2013 at 11:58 AM, Todd Siler <toddsiler@alum.mit.edu>
> wrote:
>
> > Hi Roger,
> >
> > Thanks for setting in motion a chain of thought-provoking emails (below).
> > They've triggered countless nerve/cell-assemblies that make me remember
> > and wonder aloud once again: Why not adventure beyond weighing and
> > measuring Art's contributions to the advancement of
> > science-technology-civil society? Why not focus on exploring the spectrum
> > of learning experiences these curious artscience collaborations afford us
> > that are invaluable? I trust we'll quickly progress beyond these
> > ever-expanding acronyms for STEM, STEAM, STEAAM, SHTEAM that distract us
> > from doing what comes so naturally to many inquisitive minds who *think
> > beyond categories* and simply enjoy the challenge of working
> > collaboratively to achieve a shared, common goal.
> >
> > It seems we're all groping to answer the same questions about human
> > creativity that many of us transdisciplinary "artscientists" (aka
> > integrative thinkers) posed decades ago as natural born "metaphormers"
> > (lifelong learners, creators, discoverers, inventors, and innovators).
> > Perhaps, we should look more closely at our myriad *definitions* of art
> > and science, which tend to determine our *experiences* of these two
> > interrelated domains of explicit, tacit and implicit knowledge (see
> > attached pdf).
> >
> > In an earlier email, you stated that "there are numerous modes of art
> > science collaboration." Indeed, there are, just as there are numerous
> > expressions and embodiments of these collaborations. Unfortunately,
> > many are overlooked or ignored for reasons that are too deep to detail in
> > this email.
> >
> > I'd like to briefly comment on two mutual interests that remain top of
> > mind: (1) art science work that leads to scientific production, and (2)
> > instructional technology or procedures that can be used to train people
> > how to collaborate on art science projects.
> >
> > Concerning (1): the collaboration I've been engaged in for the past 18
> > months with Geoffrey Alan Ozin aims for both scientific production (e.g.,
> > the invention of a new Periodic Table of Nanomaterials) and artistic
> > production (e.g., ArtNano Innovations). As we noted in our white paper
> for
> > the SEAD Network: "The collaborative endeavor spotlighted in this paper
> > presents one example of two lifelong practitioners in the ArtScience
> > process who have come together to explore the possibilities of realizing
> > innovations in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology that can help meet our most
> > urgent global challenges (Ozin et al., 2009). I don't recall sending you
> > our proposal for the ArtNano Innovations. But I'd gladly do so, if you're
> > interested.
> >
> > For the moment, I'll simply point to a couple of artscience
> > collaborations that have led to patented inventions and tangible products
> > with industrial applications.* *I was hoping that more researchers in the
> > SEAD Network who composed meta analyses would visit my collaborator
> > Geoffrey Alan Ozin's website (http://nanowizardry.info), they would've
> > seen the pioneering work Geoffrey and his colleagues have done over the
> > past four decades -- much of which embody the ArtScience process and
> > practices. Geoffrey's creative collaborations reveal how the arts add
> much
> > to scientific inquiry and are useful in ways that catalyze innovations. I
> > find that Ozin 's books and papers on Nanochemistry address many of the
> > concerns the SEAD Network and Yasmin community have mulled over for some
> > time now; they provide fresh insights into teaching, learning and
> > applying his polymathic knowledge *from lab-to-market*. Also, Ozin's
> > artscience approach has led to a number of practical patents and new
> > businesses (such as the Toronto-based company he co-founded, Opalux (
> > http://opalux.com), which produce "tunable photonic crystal technology"
> > applied to security printing.
> >
> > One quick aside that's important to mention here: there's a rather
> curious
> > connection between our different, yet related, approaches to purposeful
> > "object making" is how Ozin et al build their nanomaterials on a
> > microscopic level (from bottom up). In an uncanny way, their process
> > parallels how I create my large-scale paintings [some 14ft. x 200ft.]
> using
> > macroscopic scale techniques (literally, top down), which utilize the
> > retro-relief printing/painting technology that MIT patented for me some
> > years ago.
> >
> > My point is: there are many basic connections between our diverse
> > approaches to discovery and innovation that are uniquely united through
> the
> > artscience process; invariably, that process yields many "accidental
> > discoveries," to borrow Albert Szent-Gyorgyi's words; as he writes: "A
> > discovery is said to be an accident meeting a prepared mind." I've
> > experienced this many times: how both art & science prepare our minds for
> > that unexpected encounter with discovery; and how the research-based work
> > of artscience often leads to patentable products. I'm inclined to believe
> > this work succeeds precisely because it fosters the open-mindedness and
> > creative freedom I enjoy in transdisciplinary thinking and integrative
> > studies. That's why I've been having so much fun collaborating with
> > Geoffrey. He gets the whole ArtScience process, because he's been
> > practicing it over a lifetime as evidenced in "Materialology: Past,
> > Present, Future" Nanochemistry Research Group 2012.
> >
> > Concerning (2)*:* I think* *the creative collaborations you're aiming to
> > teach can be gleaned from reading this book: Ozin, G.A., Arsenault, A.C.,
> > and Cademartirir, L. (2009).* Nanochemistry: A Chemical Approach to
> > Nanomaterial. *Toronto, Canada: Royal Society of Chemistry and University
> > of Toronto. Ozin et al. write: "One of the hallmarks of nanoscience is
> > its interdisciplinary nature—its practice requires chemists, physicists,
> > materials scientists, engineers and biologists to work together in
> > close-knit teams," write Geoffrey Ozin, Andre Arsenault and Ludovico
> > Cademartiri, co-authors of *Nanochemistry: A Chemical Approach to
> > Nanomaterials *(2009). "Communication and collaboration between
> > disciplines will enable these teams to tackle the most challenging
> > scientific problems, those that are most pressing in the successful
> > exploitation of nanotechnology.
> >
> > On a related note, the procedures we've been using since 1994 to
> stimulate
> > and cultivate "ArtScience collaborations" are highlighted in this
> article:
> > "The ArtScience Program for Realizing Human Potential," in LEONARDO, Vol.
> > 44, No.5, 2011; pp. 417-424, 2011. As you'll read, the ArtScience
> program
> > is meant to *start upstream* [in elementary school] and carry on through
> > high-school and college, and used throughout one's careers. In fact, the
> > ArtScience process as described in this program is intended to be applied
> > *lifelong* and used in *informal learning* situations, such as in various
> > professional work-related situations, where individuals, groups and
> > cross-functional teams (composed of a spectrum of specialists)
> collaborate
> > on goal-oriented projects with measurable outcomes. (Siler, Todd.
> > (2012) 'Pointing your way to success through metaphorming,''in *Journal
> > of Business Strategy*, Vol. 31 No. 4, pp. 47-58, ISSN 0275-6668. ; Q
> > Emerald Group Publishing Limited, "Making sense of ideas: The model route
> > to innovation," in *Strategic Direction* Vol. 26, No. 11 2010, pp. 25-27;
> > ISSN 0258-0543)
> >
> > The taproot for that program and its approach to innovation was initially
> > expressed in *Breaking The Mind Barrier: The Artscience of
> Neurocosmology*(Simon & Schuster, 1990). Essentially, I used the visual
> arts to make some
> > new connections between two of the most complex physical sciences: human
> > neuroscience and the scientific study of the cosmos. I still find that
> > adventurous connection-making process essential for catalyzing innovative
> > thinking and creative collaborations. It's also important for raising
> > insightful hypotheses, which can be confirmed (or not confirmed) by
> > applying the scientific method. That was one of the key points of
> *Breaking
> > The Mind Barrier:* fostering ArtScience collaborations that apply
> > creative inquiry in probing natural connections on all dimensions and
> > scales.
> >
> > "The purpose of art is to lay bare the questions that have been concealed
> > by the answers," according to the novelist James Baldwin.
> >
> > My artscience work aims to lay bare many fundamental questions about the
> > relationships and interactions between the inner-and-outer workings of
> > the brain. The relationships and interactions remain as unsolved
> mysteries
> > of human creativity. I tried my best to explore this reality in *Breaking
> > The Mind Barrier*, which grew out of this adventurous doctoral work,
> *Architectonics
> > of Thought: A Symbolic Model of Neuropsychological Processes* (Ph.D. in
> > Interdisciplinary Studies in Psychology and Art, Massachusetts Institute
> of
> > Technology, 1986; https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/17200*.*
> >
> > Finally, "the dichotomizing between art and science," as you've aptly put
> > it Roger, will continue until the day everyone realizes that *we tend to
> > experience things by how we define them.* In fact, our context-specific
> > definitions of art and science (more so than our content-specific
> > definitions) lead us to construct all sorts of silos and towering walls
> of
> > today's compartmentalized fields of specialized disciplinary knowledge.
> > These real silos and virtual walls are still present. I see us smacking
> > into them like birds hitting crystal clear closed windows. Honestly, it
> > hurts just the same crashing into the silent symbolic space that
> separates
> > the words and worlds of "art science"; that space may as well be filled
> by
> > an astrix or hyphen or slash mark, or some other symbolic expression of
> > separation.
> >
> > Todd
> >
> > PS – the attached PDF explores our ever-evolving definitions of Art. Some
> > years ago I wrote these informal "notes to myself" that highlight various
> > changes I've seen in our definitions and experiences of the arts. I think
> > these notes may still be useful for further developing an ArtScience
> > education that applies an ever-adaptable, lifelong curriculum for
> fostering
> > innovative thinking.
> >
> > toddsiler@alum.mit.edu
> >
> > *www.ToddSilerArt.com*
> >
> >
> > roger malina
> > Aug 22 (7 days ago)
> > to yasmin_announc., YASMIN
> > Brian
> >
> > your email triggered a nerve-
> >
> > when we surveyed the STEAM field in
> > US high schools for the SEAD white papers we found dozens
> > of STEAM programs- including STEAM with the A for Agriculture-
> > so yes all for Activism !!
> >
> > my colleague tom linehan has been asking provocatively whether
> > the very concept of STEM is a concept that is now no longer useful
> >
> > ie the very ontology of STEM forces you into a way of thinking
> > that blocks the most interesting ideas and projects
> >
> > Johnathan Zillberg in his SEAD white paper meta analysis
> > started a frontal attack on the very concept of the two cultures
> > as one that is no longer useful and critiques how in spite of
> > ourselves we draw on the two culture mythology even though
> > C P snow himself disagreed with the way his ideas had been
> > distorted
> >
> > how would the art science community begin to think if we
> > banished the two cultures and CP Snow (yeah aristotle is fun
> > to read too) and the very concept of dividing knowledge and
> > education into STEM fields and non STEM Fields= so maybe
> > this STEM to STEAM discussion is fundamentally misguided
> >
> > i remember 20 years ago roy ascott when we were working
> > on the Leonardo Special Issue on Art and Interactive Telecommunications
> > (with the late and regretted Carl Loeffler) agitating to find a way
> > to replace the work Art because it carried too much unuseful baggage
> >
> >
> > so no for STEAM STEAAM SHTEAM yes for ?
> >
> > roger
> >
> >
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Thursday, September 26, 2013
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Re: [Yasmin_discussions] DOES ART SCIENCE COLLABORATION CONTRIBUTE IN ANY WAY TO SUCCESSFUL SCIENTIFIC PRACTICE ?
De solido intra solidum naturaliter contento. Steno's Law.
Introduction:
Solid, naturally contained within a solid, shaping layer within time
and space of a crystal system.
Time tailoring self similarity as a facies -- solid -- through
cristalline connected dots -- sphere floating in a kikuchi line
environment, by related or accidental coincidence particles grow--
rise as increasing patterns (I use the metaphor of sewing persian
carpet) as solid, naturally contained within a solid and again as
synchronised, harmonic pendulum. Liquid Reflections is just the
observe and reverse of the canvas of stitch: galactic plane.
I find very interesting what you post as I m designing 1atlas.com
under a discrete element computer models based on my introduction.
The search for a model of operation is the purpose of scientific
investigation. Scientists look for patterns in nature and even the
astrophysics like me see models once they identify one means that you
can potentially predict something in the world.
At first sight the natural world appears random, agitated and chaotic.
... but reality is that... there are schemes.
>From the petals of a flower, to the winding course of a river. There
is a geometry in the world surrounding around us.
and this is called fractal geometric and we use it for our River Theory.
pp
On Sat, Aug 17, 2013 at 11:41 PM, roger malina <rmalina@alum.mit.edu> wrote:
> forwarded from linked in
>
> Liliane Lijn<http://www.linkedin.com/groups?viewMemberFeed=&gid=1636727&memberID=31693844&goback=%2Egmr_1636727>
> • DOES ART SCIENCE COLLABORATION CONTRIBUTE IN ANY WAY TO SUCCESSFUL
> SCIENTIFIC PRACTICE ?
>
> I would like to contribute a few thoughts and recollections to this
> question.
>
> In September 2011, I was approached by John-Paul Latham, scientist son of
> the artist John Latham. He had seen my work, Liquid Reflections, at the
> Tate exhibition Art in the '60's, and was interested to use it for some
> scientific experiments. I reproduce here a section of his email to me
> (11/09/2006).
>
> 'So now, the scientific interest.... There is a whole community of
> researchers that use what we call discrete element computer models. The
> behaviour of systems with literally thousands of particles are often
> represented by thousands of spheres (even complex shapes are also being
> introduced now ). These systems are everywhere: eg soils and earthquake
> liquefaction, or rock fragments avalanching or jamming in a hopper, or even
> grains and vegetables packed into containers. They can all be understood
> better using these computer simulations that show the level of detail at
> the scale of the particle itself rather than computer simulations that
> treat the particulates as an en masse hybrid solid-fluid.
>
> What caught my eye with your work was the amazing life dance that the two
> different sized balls played out together, but the moves of the dance -
> motion in time and space - is governed by certain factors that Newton could
> have accounted for very precisely. I think I remembered your work
> incorrectly because your rotating plate looks quite flat whereas I thought
> it was dish shaped. It seems there is a slight curvature making it a dish
> when watching the end of the video on force fields (actually, John did some
> paintings also called force field, in the 60s).
>
> It occurred to me that the speed of rotation, size of the balls and the
> friction they have with the base plate/dish (and if it is curved - then the
> curvature), all play a major part in setting the possibilities for the ball
> motions. So, it would be very interesting to hear about your experiences
> although I appreciate that your focus and vision may have been rather
> different. I'd quite like to work out, i.e. simulate with the computer
> models - what we would expect to happen and compare it with Newton's
> analytic solution and of course see what happens on the art work itself -
> maybe try out some experiments.'
>
> John came over with his Post-doc student and having observed Liquid
> Reflections, they went on to make a computer model of the movement of the
> balls. I have the paper they eventually produced on their research. I have
> also emailed John-Paul to ask if he might wish to add anything to
> this.m<http://malina.diatrope.com>
> _______________________________________________
> Yasmin_discussions mailing list
> Yasmin_discussions@estia.media.uoa.gr
> http://estia.media.uoa.gr/mailman/listinfo/yasmin_discussions
>
> Yasmin URL: http://www.media.uoa.gr/yasmin
>
> HOW TO SUBSCRIBE: click on the link to the list you wish to subscribe to. In the page that will appear ("info page"), enter e-mail address, name, and password in the fields found further down the page.
> HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE: on the info page, scroll all the way down and enter your e-mail address in the last field. Enter password if asked. Click on the unsubscribe button on the page that will appear ("options page").
> HOW TO ENABLE / DISABLE DIGEST MODE: in the options page, find the "Set Digest Mode" option and set it to either on or off.
--
Paolo Pomponi
| Youtube | Linkedin | 1atlas.com |
_______________________________________________
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HOW TO ENABLE / DISABLE DIGEST MODE: in the options page, find the "Set Digest Mode" option and set it to either on or off.
Introduction:
Solid, naturally contained within a solid, shaping layer within time
and space of a crystal system.
Time tailoring self similarity as a facies -- solid -- through
cristalline connected dots -- sphere floating in a kikuchi line
environment, by related or accidental coincidence particles grow--
rise as increasing patterns (I use the metaphor of sewing persian
carpet) as solid, naturally contained within a solid and again as
synchronised, harmonic pendulum. Liquid Reflections is just the
observe and reverse of the canvas of stitch: galactic plane.
I find very interesting what you post as I m designing 1atlas.com
under a discrete element computer models based on my introduction.
The search for a model of operation is the purpose of scientific
investigation. Scientists look for patterns in nature and even the
astrophysics like me see models once they identify one means that you
can potentially predict something in the world.
At first sight the natural world appears random, agitated and chaotic.
... but reality is that... there are schemes.
>From the petals of a flower, to the winding course of a river. There
is a geometry in the world surrounding around us.
and this is called fractal geometric and we use it for our River Theory.
pp
On Sat, Aug 17, 2013 at 11:41 PM, roger malina <rmalina@alum.mit.edu> wrote:
> forwarded from linked in
>
> Liliane Lijn<http://www.linkedin.com/groups?viewMemberFeed=&gid=1636727&memberID=31693844&goback=%2Egmr_1636727>
> • DOES ART SCIENCE COLLABORATION CONTRIBUTE IN ANY WAY TO SUCCESSFUL
> SCIENTIFIC PRACTICE ?
>
> I would like to contribute a few thoughts and recollections to this
> question.
>
> In September 2011, I was approached by John-Paul Latham, scientist son of
> the artist John Latham. He had seen my work, Liquid Reflections, at the
> Tate exhibition Art in the '60's, and was interested to use it for some
> scientific experiments. I reproduce here a section of his email to me
> (11/09/2006).
>
> 'So now, the scientific interest.... There is a whole community of
> researchers that use what we call discrete element computer models. The
> behaviour of systems with literally thousands of particles are often
> represented by thousands of spheres (even complex shapes are also being
> introduced now ). These systems are everywhere: eg soils and earthquake
> liquefaction, or rock fragments avalanching or jamming in a hopper, or even
> grains and vegetables packed into containers. They can all be understood
> better using these computer simulations that show the level of detail at
> the scale of the particle itself rather than computer simulations that
> treat the particulates as an en masse hybrid solid-fluid.
>
> What caught my eye with your work was the amazing life dance that the two
> different sized balls played out together, but the moves of the dance -
> motion in time and space - is governed by certain factors that Newton could
> have accounted for very precisely. I think I remembered your work
> incorrectly because your rotating plate looks quite flat whereas I thought
> it was dish shaped. It seems there is a slight curvature making it a dish
> when watching the end of the video on force fields (actually, John did some
> paintings also called force field, in the 60s).
>
> It occurred to me that the speed of rotation, size of the balls and the
> friction they have with the base plate/dish (and if it is curved - then the
> curvature), all play a major part in setting the possibilities for the ball
> motions. So, it would be very interesting to hear about your experiences
> although I appreciate that your focus and vision may have been rather
> different. I'd quite like to work out, i.e. simulate with the computer
> models - what we would expect to happen and compare it with Newton's
> analytic solution and of course see what happens on the art work itself -
> maybe try out some experiments.'
>
> John came over with his Post-doc student and having observed Liquid
> Reflections, they went on to make a computer model of the movement of the
> balls. I have the paper they eventually produced on their research. I have
> also emailed John-Paul to ask if he might wish to add anything to
> this.m<http://malina.diatrope.com>
> _______________________________________________
> Yasmin_discussions mailing list
> Yasmin_discussions@estia.media.uoa.gr
> http://estia.media.uoa.gr/mailman/listinfo/yasmin_discussions
>
> Yasmin URL: http://www.media.uoa.gr/yasmin
>
> HOW TO SUBSCRIBE: click on the link to the list you wish to subscribe to. In the page that will appear ("info page"), enter e-mail address, name, and password in the fields found further down the page.
> HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE: on the info page, scroll all the way down and enter your e-mail address in the last field. Enter password if asked. Click on the unsubscribe button on the page that will appear ("options page").
> HOW TO ENABLE / DISABLE DIGEST MODE: in the options page, find the "Set Digest Mode" option and set it to either on or off.
--
Paolo Pomponi
| Youtube | Linkedin | 1atlas.com |
_______________________________________________
Yasmin_discussions mailing list
Yasmin_discussions@estia.media.uoa.gr
http://estia.media.uoa.gr/mailman/listinfo/yasmin_discussions
Yasmin URL: http://www.media.uoa.gr/yasmin
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Sunday, September 8, 2013
[Yasmin_discussions] Fwd: the rejected e-mail
Subject: Re: [Yasmin_discussions] Is STEM an Idea whose time has passed
Roger,
You spoke in one of your concluding posts about how art has 'advanced'
science, in which you explicitly excluded the relation of advancing
creativity. Could you elaborate on what you mean with 'advancement'?
One of the examples given in previous posts was the contribution of
Brandon Ballangee, who was, if I remember correctly from hearing one
of his presentations, able to show how there were deformities in frogs
in the pond a biologist was studying for years, the biologist was
somehow not able to 'see' the presence of deformities, and therefor
thought they were not present. Showing up with a bunch of kids,
Branden picked out frogs with deformities within the span of minutes
of that same pond. This later led to the understanding that
deformities did not come from pollution, as previously thought, but
from tadpoles suffering from bites from dragonfly larvae.
In all instances, the problem that seems to reoccur in these
discussions, is what is meant with definitions. When talking about
advancing science with 'creativity', it is not about making scientists
'more creative' it is about the integration of particular methods.
Creativity, in that sense is about the ability to make unconventional
connections, the ability to see things differently in-spite of how the
brain tends to settle in particular behaviour. In a previous post I
referred to the tendency of 'truths' in science. And here again, one
must be careful of what is meant by 'truth' and what is meant by
'science'. Let me explain.
Brandon was invited to the pond, as it was considered as a pond that
was not polluted, and therefor would not have these deformities, this
was emphasized by the statement of the biologist that there were no
sightings of deformities. That Brandon, and the kids were able to see
deformities so quickly, illustrated the way the brain 'sees but does
not see'. Brandon speculated that because the biologist was not
searching for deformities, his brain did not see them. This phenomenon
relates to inattentional blindness and chnage blindness. 'Change
blindness and inattentional blindness are both failures of visual
awareness. Change blindness is the failure to notice an obvious
change. Inattentional blindness is the failure to notice the existence
of an unexpected item.' A particular aspect of creative method that is
practised by artists is about the deviation of the norm. The following
of a type of 'a priori' notion that something is to be found, where
the majority think there is nothing. It develops the skill of being
aware when 'blindness' is staring you in the face.
Another example of how art advanced science, may be found in the story
of Alexander Flemming and the discovery of penicillin, here I quote
from and article I wrote a while ago.
"We forget that penicillin was discovered precisely because of a
chance chain reaction originating from Alexander Fleming's messy
methods. What many are not aware of is the context in which the chain
reaction of the discovery of penicillin was able to happen. Alexander
Fleming was also a painter:
In addition to working as a scientist, and well before his discovery
of antibiotics, Fleming painted. He was a member of the Chelsea Arts
Club, where he created amateurish watercolors. Less well known is that
he also painted in another medium, living organisms. Fleming painted
ballerinas, houses, soldiers, mothers feeding children, stick figures
fighting and other scenes using bacteria. He produced these paintings
by growing microbes with different natural pigments in the places
where he wanted different colors. He would fill a petri dish with
agar, a gelatin-like substance, and then use a wire lab tool called a
loop to inoculate sections of the plate with different species. The
paintings were technically very difficult to make. Fleming had to find
microbes with different pigments and then time his inoculations such
that the different species all matured at the same time. These works
existed only as long as it took one species to grow into the others.
When that happened, the lines between, say, a hat and a face were
blurred; so too were the lines between art and science.[i]
________________________________
[i] <
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/Painting-With-Penicillin-Alexander-Flemings-Germ-Art.html#ixzz1jocYlGKw
>, last viewed January 17th 2012. Thank you to Anna Dumitriu for
pointing me to the article."
Functioning in a scientific discipline with particular paradigms will
have a particular effect on how that discipline advances. Although
there is a very important function to these paradigms, as you well
explain, yet there is a form of advancement that is not being
explored, when disciplines do not diverge in their methodologies.
The core, the essence of this story, one could say, is that we are
all human with brains functioning in a particular way. The way the
brain functions is closely related to the way it has been educated.
Paradigms of disciplines form in themselves a type of 'blindness'
within the scientist of that discipline. Which tends to generate a
sense of 'truth' of how something is, without being aware of what is
not being seen or explored. I find this problem particularily
vulnerable in relation to certain academic methods or traditions in
which I find that a current paper on a subject, will often refer to a
source paper once made in the sixties. Because such referencing occurs
with high frequency, the original paper is somehow not 'questioned'.
This for me then enhances the need to question what you mean by
'advancement' that excludes creativity, and or why you find it
important to exclude this. Unless there was already the
misunderstanding of what is meant by creativity, on the one hand this
could mean using unorthodox methods in ones dicipline, such as the
case with Alexander Fleming, on the other hand it could mean the
ability to make diverging associations that lift 'blindness' or take
the blindness as a given, even if it is not yet obvious, as could be
seen in the case of Brandon's work.
With regards to your STEM-STEAM question ( for those not aware, in
short more information may be found here: http://stemtosteam.org/)
I would, considering the way educational systems are set up, think
that there is definitely a shortage of STEAM professionals, yet, the
artist in me directly rings the alarm bells of 'blindness', in which
perhaps it is not so much a shortage of STEAM professionals, but a
shortage of awareness of their existence, and the use of their skills.
Jennifer
________________________________
From: roger malina <rmalina@alum.mit.edu>
To: YASMIN DISCUSSIONS <Yasmin_discussions@estia.media.uoa.gr>
Sent: Saturday, September 7, 2013 8:44 AM
Subject: [Yasmin_discussions] Is STEM an Idea whose time has passed
yasminers
our discussion has gone quiet as to whether art science collaboration
contributes to scientific research- the next step seems to be to
compile a blibliography documenting specific examples if anyone knows
of such a bilbliography or would like to work on one contact me at
rmalina@alum.mit.edu
meanwhile i propose to segue onto a connected topic that discusses
the STEM to STEAM movement
There is an active discussion these days as to whether there is really
a shortage of STEM trainied professionals
A recent article in IEEE Spectrum argues
,,,And yet, alongside such dire projections, you'll also find reports
suggesting just the opposite—that there are more STEM workers than
suitable jobs.
http://malina.diatrope.com/2013/08/22/is-stem-an-idea-whose-time-has-passed/
Can we argue that what is missing is STEAM professionals ?
Roger Malina
_______________________________________________
Yasmin_discussions mailing list
Yasmin_discussions@estia.media.uoa.gr
http://estia.media.uoa.gr/mailman/listinfo/yasmin_discussions
Yasmin URL: http://www.media.uoa.gr/yasmin
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Roger,
You spoke in one of your concluding posts about how art has 'advanced'
science, in which you explicitly excluded the relation of advancing
creativity. Could you elaborate on what you mean with 'advancement'?
One of the examples given in previous posts was the contribution of
Brandon Ballangee, who was, if I remember correctly from hearing one
of his presentations, able to show how there were deformities in frogs
in the pond a biologist was studying for years, the biologist was
somehow not able to 'see' the presence of deformities, and therefor
thought they were not present. Showing up with a bunch of kids,
Branden picked out frogs with deformities within the span of minutes
of that same pond. This later led to the understanding that
deformities did not come from pollution, as previously thought, but
from tadpoles suffering from bites from dragonfly larvae.
In all instances, the problem that seems to reoccur in these
discussions, is what is meant with definitions. When talking about
advancing science with 'creativity', it is not about making scientists
'more creative' it is about the integration of particular methods.
Creativity, in that sense is about the ability to make unconventional
connections, the ability to see things differently in-spite of how the
brain tends to settle in particular behaviour. In a previous post I
referred to the tendency of 'truths' in science. And here again, one
must be careful of what is meant by 'truth' and what is meant by
'science'. Let me explain.
Brandon was invited to the pond, as it was considered as a pond that
was not polluted, and therefor would not have these deformities, this
was emphasized by the statement of the biologist that there were no
sightings of deformities. That Brandon, and the kids were able to see
deformities so quickly, illustrated the way the brain 'sees but does
not see'. Brandon speculated that because the biologist was not
searching for deformities, his brain did not see them. This phenomenon
relates to inattentional blindness and chnage blindness. 'Change
blindness and inattentional blindness are both failures of visual
awareness. Change blindness is the failure to notice an obvious
change. Inattentional blindness is the failure to notice the existence
of an unexpected item.' A particular aspect of creative method that is
practised by artists is about the deviation of the norm. The following
of a type of 'a priori' notion that something is to be found, where
the majority think there is nothing. It develops the skill of being
aware when 'blindness' is staring you in the face.
Another example of how art advanced science, may be found in the story
of Alexander Flemming and the discovery of penicillin, here I quote
from and article I wrote a while ago.
"We forget that penicillin was discovered precisely because of a
chance chain reaction originating from Alexander Fleming's messy
methods. What many are not aware of is the context in which the chain
reaction of the discovery of penicillin was able to happen. Alexander
Fleming was also a painter:
In addition to working as a scientist, and well before his discovery
of antibiotics, Fleming painted. He was a member of the Chelsea Arts
Club, where he created amateurish watercolors. Less well known is that
he also painted in another medium, living organisms. Fleming painted
ballerinas, houses, soldiers, mothers feeding children, stick figures
fighting and other scenes using bacteria. He produced these paintings
by growing microbes with different natural pigments in the places
where he wanted different colors. He would fill a petri dish with
agar, a gelatin-like substance, and then use a wire lab tool called a
loop to inoculate sections of the plate with different species. The
paintings were technically very difficult to make. Fleming had to find
microbes with different pigments and then time his inoculations such
that the different species all matured at the same time. These works
existed only as long as it took one species to grow into the others.
When that happened, the lines between, say, a hat and a face were
blurred; so too were the lines between art and science.[i]
________________________________
[i] <
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/Painting-With-Penicillin-Alexander-Flemings-Germ-Art.html#ixzz1jocYlGKw
>, last viewed January 17th 2012. Thank you to Anna Dumitriu for
pointing me to the article."
Functioning in a scientific discipline with particular paradigms will
have a particular effect on how that discipline advances. Although
there is a very important function to these paradigms, as you well
explain, yet there is a form of advancement that is not being
explored, when disciplines do not diverge in their methodologies.
The core, the essence of this story, one could say, is that we are
all human with brains functioning in a particular way. The way the
brain functions is closely related to the way it has been educated.
Paradigms of disciplines form in themselves a type of 'blindness'
within the scientist of that discipline. Which tends to generate a
sense of 'truth' of how something is, without being aware of what is
not being seen or explored. I find this problem particularily
vulnerable in relation to certain academic methods or traditions in
which I find that a current paper on a subject, will often refer to a
source paper once made in the sixties. Because such referencing occurs
with high frequency, the original paper is somehow not 'questioned'.
This for me then enhances the need to question what you mean by
'advancement' that excludes creativity, and or why you find it
important to exclude this. Unless there was already the
misunderstanding of what is meant by creativity, on the one hand this
could mean using unorthodox methods in ones dicipline, such as the
case with Alexander Fleming, on the other hand it could mean the
ability to make diverging associations that lift 'blindness' or take
the blindness as a given, even if it is not yet obvious, as could be
seen in the case of Brandon's work.
With regards to your STEM-STEAM question ( for those not aware, in
short more information may be found here: http://stemtosteam.org/)
I would, considering the way educational systems are set up, think
that there is definitely a shortage of STEAM professionals, yet, the
artist in me directly rings the alarm bells of 'blindness', in which
perhaps it is not so much a shortage of STEAM professionals, but a
shortage of awareness of their existence, and the use of their skills.
Jennifer
________________________________
From: roger malina <rmalina@alum.mit.edu>
To: YASMIN DISCUSSIONS <Yasmin_discussions@estia.media.uoa.gr>
Sent: Saturday, September 7, 2013 8:44 AM
Subject: [Yasmin_discussions] Is STEM an Idea whose time has passed
yasminers
our discussion has gone quiet as to whether art science collaboration
contributes to scientific research- the next step seems to be to
compile a blibliography documenting specific examples if anyone knows
of such a bilbliography or would like to work on one contact me at
rmalina@alum.mit.edu
meanwhile i propose to segue onto a connected topic that discusses
the STEM to STEAM movement
There is an active discussion these days as to whether there is really
a shortage of STEM trainied professionals
A recent article in IEEE Spectrum argues
,,,And yet, alongside such dire projections, you'll also find reports
suggesting just the opposite—that there are more STEM workers than
suitable jobs.
http://malina.diatrope.com/2013/08/22/is-stem-an-idea-whose-time-has-passed/
Can we argue that what is missing is STEAM professionals ?
Roger Malina
_______________________________________________
Yasmin_discussions mailing list
Yasmin_discussions@estia.media.uoa.gr
http://estia.media.uoa.gr/mailman/listinfo/yasmin_discussions
Yasmin URL: http://www.media.uoa.gr/yasmin
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE: click on the link to the list you wish to subscribe to. In the page that will appear ("info page"), enter e-mail address, name, and password in the fields found further down the page.
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HOW TO ENABLE / DISABLE DIGEST MODE: in the options page, find the "Set Digest Mode" option and set it to either on or off.
Friday, September 6, 2013
[Yasmin_discussions] Is STEM an Idea whose time has passed
yasminers
our discussion has gone quiet as to whether art science collaboration
contributes to scientific research- the next step seems to be to
compile a blibliography documenting specific examples if anyone knows
of such a bilbliography or would like to work on one contact me at
rmalina@alum.mit.edu
meanwhile i propose to segue onto a connected topic that discusses
the STEM to STEAM movement
There is an active discussion these days as to whether there is really
a shortage of STEM trainied professionals
A recent article in IEEE Spectrum argues
,,,And yet, alongside such dire projections, you'll also find reports
suggesting just the opposite—that there are more STEM workers than
suitable jobs.
http://malina.diatrope.com/2013/08/22/is-stem-an-idea-whose-time-has-passed/
Can we argue that what is missing is STEAM professionals ?
Roger Malina
_______________________________________________
Yasmin_discussions mailing list
Yasmin_discussions@estia.media.uoa.gr
http://estia.media.uoa.gr/mailman/listinfo/yasmin_discussions
Yasmin URL: http://www.media.uoa.gr/yasmin
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE: click on the link to the list you wish to subscribe to. In the page that will appear ("info page"), enter e-mail address, name, and password in the fields found further down the page.
HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE: on the info page, scroll all the way down and enter your e-mail address in the last field. Enter password if asked. Click on the unsubscribe button on the page that will appear ("options page").
HOW TO ENABLE / DISABLE DIGEST MODE: in the options page, find the "Set Digest Mode" option and set it to either on or off.
our discussion has gone quiet as to whether art science collaboration
contributes to scientific research- the next step seems to be to
compile a blibliography documenting specific examples if anyone knows
of such a bilbliography or would like to work on one contact me at
rmalina@alum.mit.edu
meanwhile i propose to segue onto a connected topic that discusses
the STEM to STEAM movement
There is an active discussion these days as to whether there is really
a shortage of STEM trainied professionals
A recent article in IEEE Spectrum argues
,,,And yet, alongside such dire projections, you'll also find reports
suggesting just the opposite—that there are more STEM workers than
suitable jobs.
http://malina.diatrope.com/2013/08/22/is-stem-an-idea-whose-time-has-passed/
Can we argue that what is missing is STEAM professionals ?
Roger Malina
_______________________________________________
Yasmin_discussions mailing list
Yasmin_discussions@estia.media.uoa.gr
http://estia.media.uoa.gr/mailman/listinfo/yasmin_discussions
Yasmin URL: http://www.media.uoa.gr/yasmin
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE: click on the link to the list you wish to subscribe to. In the page that will appear ("info page"), enter e-mail address, name, and password in the fields found further down the page.
HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE: on the info page, scroll all the way down and enter your e-mail address in the last field. Enter password if asked. Click on the unsubscribe button on the page that will appear ("options page").
HOW TO ENABLE / DISABLE DIGEST MODE: in the options page, find the "Set Digest Mode" option and set it to either on or off.
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