Saturday, March 31, 2007

Is Art more valuable than Science? - Another Love to Lead question

Another impossible question with a million different interpretations as to what the question even means.
You can take it as - would you rather listen to the Beatles or fly to India.
Would you rather see the Mona Lisa, or understand Relativity.
Would you rather read Ulysses or be immune from Smallpox.

It is fair to say there is a time and place for Art and Science. Art is generally what keeps people happy while science provides tools to make certain tasks easier and can perhaps solve more social problems.
Having said that, if it wasn't for science would the planet be in such a state?
Would we be facing environmental catastrophe if it wasn't for the industrial revolution and the prevalence of cars and planes?
Would the danger of nuclear weapons be hanging over our heads if it wasn't for science?

Art tends to be harmless, and often healing, while science can be the most destructive force known to man.

I'm being vague here because it's a vague question but my heart lies in the Art camp. I think we live in a society where Science is considered to be the answer to everything but if you actually speak to a scientist you realise that the more we uncover, the less we tend to actually know. Science comes with the pretence of being a panacea for the world's problems when actually it is nothing of the sort. Is the world we live in as easy to understand as taking a few readings and calling that empirical? Very little scientific research is flawless and you can usually find someone who can make a counter claim based on their own research so who should we believe?

At least with Art you know where you stand - it is all about feelings and knowing how a piece of music, book, sculpture or painting affects you and makes you look at the world in a different way.

Does the human race really want to take science over art?
Living in a futuristic world with no music or books but with a clean environment, pills instead of food and a life path that is defined at birth based on "research"?

I'd rather take my chances with disease and listen to Abbey Road.

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