Did Magic Die When Art and Science Split?
Did Magic Die When Art and Science Split?
Chose a title that reflects what the article actually discusses!
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Arthur C. Clark
I disagree with the author. It's not like scientists today are robots who only study in their field and have no interest in arts at all. With the quantity of scientists in existence you're going to get a vast array of varying interests outside their fields. I fact I would say many people are inspired to become scientists by arts such as science fiction; we don't need formal education as priests or monks to have โmystery and wonderโ as she puts it. Likewise with artists, there are lots of artists who are interested in and inspired by science.
Secondly, as knowledge progresses it's necessary that we specialize more, or at least some of us do. It takes an entire lifetime to get to the root of today's scientific mysteries, which was not the case 200 years ago. All the low hanging fruit has been picked. So again, dedicating a significant portion of a scientist's life to religious "magic" is only going to be detrimental to that cause.
Science is very much an art in and of itself; breaking ground and figuring out how to set up a new process/experiment doesn't come from thin air.
I recommend to those feeling this to read โZen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenanceโ by Robert M. Pirsig.