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Art and medicine, insofar as they seek to understand and portray the human body, have shared an intimate relationship as they've evolved over the years. The flourishing of art and the beginnings of medicine, for example, both occur in Renaissance Italy. This is evident through the writings of Andreas Visalius, who created a detailed anthology of human anatomy during the Renaissance, to Leonardo da Vinci, who used his dissection of cadavers to create anatomically accurate artwork that remain quintessential examples of Renaissance art to this day. I was especially surprised to see in the reading that within the Hippocratic oath itself, it is acknowledged that "there is art to medicine as well as science." In this sense, doctors understand and embrace the co-dependence of art and medicine. I was surprised by how much contemporary art is influenced and informed by medicinal advances and our increased capability to map and analyze the human body. I found especially interesti

Following closely from the theme of math and art, this weeks lecture on robotics and art illustrated the incredible prospects that can come about from the merging of robotics and art. Dr. Vesna's lectures and Benjamin Walter's essay touch on the increasing role of mechanization and automation in the world of art since the introduction of the printing press and, more specifically, what we lose and gain from mechanization. Walter argues that while we may lose the "uniqueness" of a work of art - lost to the fact that it can be reproduced to detail by mechanical reproduction - art becomes less of a form of ritualism and more of a form of l'art pour l'art: art for its own sake. Furthermore, now a wider group of people are able to enjoy it and be inspired by it. One of the exhibits I found interesting was the work of Ken Rinaldo, who used art to make social commentary on the rise and use of robots. Such is evident in his piece Drone Eats Drone - American Scre

If we regard art as a way to communicate the range of human creativity to others, then the LASER event can be described as a showcase of unique forms of artistic communication. From presentations of the hypnotic ambient sounds that hum under the bustle of everyday life, to showcases of how the deaf experience life and art without sound, a theme of communication and miscommunication underpinned the entire event.  Haytham Nawar's presentation of Collective Bread Diaries was especially fascinating, as it not only illustrated how machines can learn from human expression and create art of its own, but also the use of bread as an act of protest. Bread in Arabic can also be interpreted as "livelihood" or "to live", and to use this simple act of metaphor as a cry of protest is an especially poignant way to communicate ideas of peace and liberty.  In keeping with the trend of atypical forms of communication, Bill Fontana's "Acoustical Visions" pre

Mathematics is the abstract study of the mechanisms by which numbers, quantities, and space itself operate; likewise, art and visual art especially can be described as a visual depiction of the universe. Therefore it should be no surprise that, as our knowledge of mathematics increases, so does the sophistication which which artists are able to visually portray the universe through both figurative and abstract art. Through the evolution of math and art, perhaps some of the most relevant insights I gained were Brunelleschi's contributions to art through the optical study of linear perspective. Another was Al-Haytham's argument that vision and perception occur in the brain rather than the eyes, and are subjective phenomena based on prior experiences. The third was the relevance of Fibonacci ratios in describing natural phenomena, and how artists have used that to portray compelling depictions of random sequences. As I read through this week's readings, it occurred to m

While written back in 1959, C.P. Snow's speech on the emergence of two academic cultures and the necessity to bridge the gap between the two could not be more relevant today. As an economics major at UCLA I have seen how universities dole out increasingly specialized degrees without emphasizing a well-rounded liberal education, and am able to observe changing job markets that are increasingly looking for people who are both technically specialized and able to think creatively. It is clear that as universities continue to do this, society as a whole will be far worse off for it. Snow attributes a lot of this divide to the education system. In addition, Sir Ken Robinson's talk in the RSA animate video discusses how schools are not only failing to properly provide a well-rounded education for students, but also actively destroying their ability for divergent and creative thinking, as illustrated in the paperclip study he discusses. What surprises me most about the educat