Med Tech and Art

Again, this week one of the underlying themes I noticed was that of science and technology changing our perspective on ourselves and our world, with art following as a reaction to that new found understanding.

People have been dissecting human cadavers for centuries, and during the Renaissance it became important for artists to work with other researchers in this process to learn more about the human form and also artists helped in documenting the internal structures through visual media.

Ancient Egyptian mummification process, involving dissection of the dead

Fast forward and we have things like the Visible Human project, and even more forward to technology like X-Ray, MRI and CT scans. This video by Vox features videos produced by MRI scans that show the human experience through a very different lens, as one would see if they could cut open everyone and look inside



Drinking, speaking, playing instruments, sex, giving birth, and even using the restroom all look extremely different through this different lens, and of course this new found understanding of what is really going on when we do the things we do impacts our understanding of ourselves in radically different ways. Self perception has changed drastically since the technology has been introduced.

Artist Angela Palmer used MRI's to create the above piece, by layering MRI images on vertical sheets of glass to create a unique physical 3D view. Her inspiration for this piece comes from the idea of "mapping" the human body, and being able to understand it from the inside out and render it as such. 

But of course, it is not just about scientific technology influencing the psyche of the general population. Art seems to be a vital component too of making use of these new technologies, and a Forbes article describes that in the digital image based world of modern medicine, skills in evaluating visual art can help with physical diagnosis and interpretation of MRI's, CT scans, and X-Rays. The article goes into great detail about how "thinking in pictures" can lead to success in the field of medicine, which the article also admits is essentially an art itself. 

Sources:

1. "MRI Art Exhibit Captures Beauty Of Human Brain." The Creators Project. VICE, 20 Jan. 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2015. 
<http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/mri-art-exhibit-captures-the-beauty-of-the-human-brain>

2. Glatter, Robert. "Can Studying Art Help Medical Students Become Better Doctors?" Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 20 Oct. 2013. Web. 25 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertglatter/2013/10/20/can-studying-art-help-medical-students-become-better-doctors/>

3. Bamberg C, Rademacher G, Güttler F, et al. "Human birth observed in real-time open magnetic resonance imaging." Am J Obstet Gynecol 2012. Web. 25 Apr. 2015
<http://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(12)00023-3/abstract>

4. "Inside Out: Body Imaging Sculptures by Angela Palmer." The Royal College of Surgeons of England. RCS, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015.
<https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/museums/hunterian/exhibitions/archive/inside-out-body-imaging-sculptures-by-angela-palmer>

5. Vesna, Victoria. "Medicine pt1." YouTube Lecture. YouTube, 21 Apr. 2012. Web. 24 Apr. 2015.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=74&v=Ep0M2bOM9Tk>

Robots and Art

Robots and Art

We, as human beings, take pride in our intelligence, communication, accomplishments, etc. because we feel unique in these capabilities.

However, as technology improved over time, artificial intelligence has been on the rise, upsetting this train of thought. If robots could do things we do, then maybe we aren't so special after all.

As seen in the video, humans were able to make a computer do a very human thing: sing, in one of our languages, as early as 1961. These developments hinted that artificial intelligence might one day rival human intellect. This was picked up on in 1968 in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The film features an intelligent robot that is believed to be incapable of error, named HAL 9000, a direct reference to the IBM computer.

HAL is IBM with letters moved back in the alphabet

In part of the movie, HAL and some astronauts are on their way to Jupiter. After a series of events HAL is deemed to be malfunctioning, but before the astronauts can disconnect HAL, he kills several astronauts. In an iconic scene, HAL expresses emotion (something only people previously could do) and even sings "Daisy Bell," the same song as above.
The movie is an artistic expression of the fears and wonder generated by rapid technological development at the time. The roles of the humans and robots are practically reversed, with the astronauts doing the mechanical mundane tasks while HAL handles more complicated ones. The movie can be said to support the idea that machines remove the "aura" of human expression, with HAL's creepy presence reducing the role of the astronauts significantly and having an unnatural cold-hearted mentality. HAL has even been compared to Frankenstein's monster, his very presence an abomination. But it also can be said to oppose that view, as HAL has emotions and is a complex character, very human-like. He only did what he did to try to survive. The movie could show us that maybe  humans are also just machines of nature, and we should not think ourselves so superior to artificial intelligence.

The movie is important because it impacted technology as well, like RUR to robots; it was labeled as a near-documentary vision of how engineers and scientists saw the future. It even was used by Samsung to invalidate Apple's patents of the iPads, as similar devices appear in the movie.

Cites:

Math and Art

I have often heard my Math teachers and professors call certain mathematical proofs, equations, sequences, etc. beautiful. Now, naturally, this would seem strange, because the word 'beautiful' is typically used to describe something stimulating to the physical senses. Although math often seems dry and not 'sensory', there is evidence to suggest that equations can be just as 'beautiful' as visual forms of art, according to the Huffington Post article cited.

I found this article relevant because it compared the neurological effects of visual forms of art and pure mathematics and found them the same, using the science of brain scans!

Euler's equation, considered by many to be one of the most beautiful math equations

However, the equation above can only really be understood by someone with background knowledge in math, which is a problem. This week, I learned that mathematics can influence visual art through the development of technique, and also that art can be a means of explaining complex mathematics.

In lecture, I learned that the ideas of perspective were pioneered as early as 1000 AD by al-Haytham. In addition to it's artistic influence, it seems that the Book of Optics he wrote also has philosophical impacts as well, as he argues that personal experience can affect how individuals see the world around them.

The latter concept, of art being used to demonstrate complex mathematical concepts, was brought up in lecture by the work of Piet Mondrian, but also can be demonstrated by the following photographic artwork.

"A spiral aloe (aloe polyphylla) in the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden." - Joe Christianson

"SunFlower: the Fibonacci sequence, Golden Section" - lucapost

The Fibonacci sequence might seem to some as an esoteric idea that doesn't have a practical value, but this photograph shows that it can even be found in nature, and that math truly surrounds us.

Further, art in the form of the novel Flatland also demonstrates the idea of higher dimensions, something normally outside the grasp of someone not well versed in high level math or science. It really changed my perspective.

All of these collaborations between math, art and science allow us to interpret high level ideas in a new light, and change our perspective of the world around us to see that mathematical concepts are ubiquitous in our lives.
Links:
1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/17/beautiful-math-equations-brain-great-art_n_4789667.html

2.http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/738111/Ibn-al-Haytham

3.https://www.flickr.com/photos/parsectraveller/3193354054/in/faves-110482765@N04/

4.https://www.flickr.com/photos/lucapost/694780262/in/faves-110482765@N04/

5. http://www.popmath.org.uk/rpamaths/rpampages/sunflower.html

Cites:
Freeman, David. "Here's Proof That Beautiful Math Equations Affect The Brain Just Like Great Art." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 17 Feb. 2014. Web. 11 Apr. 2015.
Christianson, Joe. "Fibonacci." Flickr. Yahoo!, 04 Apr. 2011. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.
Lucapost. "SunFlower: The Fibonacci Sequence, Golden Section." Flickr. Yahoo!, 09 Sept. 2007. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.
Vesna, Victoria. "Mathematics Part 1." Youtube. YouTube, 9 Apr. 2012. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.
Abbott, Edwin A. Flatland. 2nd ed. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1991. Flatland. Ibiblio.org. Web. 11 Apr. 2015.
"Flowers and Fibonacci." Flowers and Fibonacci. U.C.N.W., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2015.
"Ibn al-Haytham". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 11 Apr. 2015

Two Cultures

TWO CULTURES

When I first started listening to Professor Vesna about the idea that art and science are separated "unnaturally," my instinct was to disagree. Before delving deeper, I thought that art is a far more expressive undertaking, that is highly subjective and open to interpretation, fundamentally at odds with science which only has one answer and results from passive observation. This explains why at my high school, they kept all the science classrooms on a different floor than the humanities, just like at UCLA where we have divide between North and South Campus.

Sierra Canyon, my high school. Top Floor: Physics; Bottom Floor: English

                                                 

I made an analogy to political philosopher John Stuart Mill's On Liberty, in which he says that a two-party system is ideal, because it is "the opposition of the other [party] that keeps each within the limits of reason and sanity." However, the congressional gridlock as we have in America today is a result of this system. (and stereotypes, like lecture referenced). 

Looks like having two, opposing points of view isn't always helpful

                                                                         

Through the lecture and reading the work of C,P Snow, I understand that when there is no collaboration between the Two Cultures, neither advances in the way that each should. Scientist Richard Feynman, in an article by the BBC, explains that both appreciating the beauty of a flower from an artistic perspective is important, but science can only add to the experience.


 Interestingly, his work in quantum physics is relevant, because the observer can not simply be passive, and instead has an effect on the outcome! (Goethe thought of this active role too)  

Awe-inspiring interference pattern, generated by Feynman Double-Slit experiments 

I understand how science can further art, but I am not sure about the other way around. C.P. Snow, in his last chapter, fails to explain how art's impact on science can help lessen the divide between rich and poor, only how science can help, and the 'Third Culture' as referenced seems to be science-biased. 

Cites:

Snow, C. P. “Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution.” Reading. 1959. New York: Cambridge UP, 1961. Web.

Vesna, Victoria. “Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between.” Leonardo 34.2 (2001): 121-25. Web.

Kelly, Kevin. "The Third Culture" Science 13 February 1998: Vol. 279 no. 5353 pp. 992-993. Web.

Brooks, Christopher. "Richard Feynman on Flowers, Artists and Scientists."BBC News. BBC, 16 May 2013. Web. 

Collini, Stefen. J.S. Mill: On Liberty and Other Writings. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1989. Print.