Thursday, December 23, 2010

Math and Physics: Creative Arts?

My favorite approach towards math is through drawing geometric figures like circles, triangles, squares... They link the mathematical abstraction to the physical reality, whatever that may mean. They help to visualize patterns that may remain hidden when described with symbols. Doodling geometric figures allow digressive exploration of otherwise marked out paths and thus favor creative and curiosity-driven approaches towards math. Although I am not a mathematician, I practice math for my job and as a hobby. I subscribe to views expressed by G.H. Hardy in his Mathematician's Apology
I am interested in mathematics only as a creative art.
or by Paul Halmos in his Mathematics as a Creative Art
Mathematics is far closer to an art than it is to the business of equation-solving.
or by Paul Lockhart in his Mathematician's Lament
I’m just playing. That’s what math  is— wondering, playing, amusing yourself with your imagination.
Interestingly, in these quotes, math could be replaced by physics. Concerning me, it would likewise express my interest in physics. What if all of math and physics could be expressed through art? Well, it should.