I think it’s very important to remember that even though science and art are two very distinct fields of study that are pursued for very different objectives, they do not live in mutual exclusivity and therefore can intersect when willed to intersect. This is an example we see with Brainbow, which I thought was super cool to read about. Lichtman’s quote about how art has the purpose of teaching something new about the world or changing your perspective of the world exemplifies how art and science can be intertwined, if in a rather vague sense. Science’s purpose is to broaden the mind, and if art is meant to do the same, then they are at parallel purposes. I definitely appreciated the idea that the Brainbow experiment could represent something larger. On a deeper, more analytical level, one could argue that the addition of polychromy to the brain of a mouse shows that even a “less evolved” brain like that of a rodent can produce something beautiful, simply by virtue of existing. On a scientific level, it represents the level of brain activity apparent in a rodent and simply gives the data a more interesting aesthetic.

I know that the author of The Art of the Brain is trying to draw a distinction between the two disciplines of science and art, but isn’t it infinitely more interesting to study the many ways in which they intersect? From a filmmaker’s perspective, the physics of light and energy, and the chemistry of developing film are very important to the art style. But, as I read further, I find that this is obviously what the author is starting to realize. As she ponders through the methodology of artists and compares it to the methodology of scientists, she realizes that the lines are more blurred than he anticipated, and her argument for a distinction starts to blur as well.

The article Art As A Way Of Knowing seems to already be taking in stride that art and science can intersect in meaningful ways, but doesn’t delve into that way of thinking. It recounts a conference at the Exploratorium that gathered artists, scientists, and educators to discuss the way that art can be used as a mode of inquiry. The article discusses that even though art is no stranger to history and historically famous scientists, the use of art in learning and inquiry is often overlooked in common discourse. It goes on to discuss how art is vital to children’s upbringing and the formation of culture, but apart from that, the article doesn’t really go into much, or any, detail about how art is useful as a tool of scientific inquiry. Rather, the article reads more as an advertisement; a teaser for this conference that was held at the Exploratorium and is inviting the reader to do more research into the event.