Zen Pencils by Gavin Aung Than for August 25, 2014
Transcript:
Richard Feynman on THE BEAUTY OF A FLOWER I have a friend who's an artist and has sometimes taken a view which I don't agree with very well. He'll hold up a flower and say... Friend: Look how beautiful it is! And I'll agree. Then he says... Friend: I as an artist can see how beautiful this is... ...but you as a scientist take this all apart and it becomes a dull thing. SUNFLOWER HELIANTHUS ANNOUS AND I THINK THAT HE'S KIND OF NUTTY. First of all... ...the beauty that he sees is available to other people and to me too, I believe. Although I may not be quite as refined aesthetically as he is... ...I can appreciate the beauty of a flower. AT THE SAME TIME, I SEE MUCH MORE ABOUT THE FLOWER THAN HE SEES. I could imagine the cells in there, the complicated actions inside, which also have a beauty. H2O CO2 Photosynthesis Energy Oxygen H2O Molecule Yay, we can breathe! I mean it’s not just beauty at this dimension, at one centimetre. There’s also beauty at smaller dimensions, the inner structure, also the processes. Mmmm…sweet, sweet nectar. That stuff ain’t free! Carry my pollen to another flower. Sheesh, a ‘please’ would be nice. OK, here we go… Success! The fact that the colours in the flower evolved in order to attract insects to pollinate it is interesting. It means that insects can see the colour. It adds a question: does this aesthetic sense also exist in the lower forms? Why is it aesthetic? FERMAT’S SPIRAL r=cvn 0=nx137*508* Golden Angle 5 Bee: Look how beautiful it is! All kinds of interesting questions which the science knowledge only adds to the excitement, the mystery and the awe of a flower. Richard: IT ONLY ADDS. Richard: I DON’T UNDERSTAND HOW IT SUBTRACTS. - Richard Feynman
randayn about 10 years ago
Indeed.
Olddog1 about 10 years ago
Feynman is definitely missed.
ee1958 about 10 years ago
This should be made into a poster for high school science and art classes. Fantastic design! And a terrific quote.
Sister Joan about 10 years ago
why are they repeats lately, doesn’t he have anything new?
Darwinskeeper about 10 years ago
If you want to get perverse, you can think of flowers as the plant’s genitalia, they serve a similar purpose in the plant’s reproductive system with a little help of some bees and other pollinating insects.
3pibgorn9 about 10 years ago
Aye.
scaeva Premium Member about 10 years ago
I agree that this should be a poster in every science and art class—in the few places they are still taught. I use “taught” in the true sense: taught = thought.
topbunk about 10 years ago
Mr. Feynman’s lectures are remarkable.
hippogriff about 10 years ago
I liked the story of his finding a gap in the fence at Oak Ridge. Rather than reporting it, he signed out, crawled back in through the gap, and continued until they noticed the discrepancy.
slsharris about 10 years ago
Did you know that several species of goldenrod that coexist in an environment time the release of fragrance and pollen at different times of the day in order that they are noncompetitive for pollinating insects? I’m an artist, a horticulturist/landscape designer, and a technical writer — art and science are NEVER mutually exclusive except for those who don’t have the smarts to handle all of the information…
chromosome Premium Member about 10 years ago
Nice infographic!
hippogriff about 10 years ago
Night-Gaunt49: Amen! I like to quote C.P. Snow (Churchill’s science adviser in WW-II): “Science and the humanities have drifted apart so that neither can understand the other. As a result, we have humanities with no basis in reality, and science without morals.” The Two Cultures, 1947..As BA and MS in interdisciplinary studies, I can translate between them, but no one in either seems to recognize the need. A few academic organizations and movements have tried to discuss issues, but at the citizen level, it is going from separate and apathetic, to openly hostile.
nawsa Premium Member about 10 years ago
The putting together part is where the human brain surpasses computers. Or should. I’m not sure it can be taught though. Perhaps suggested.
dhleaky about 10 years ago
As an example of how a real artist understands what knowledge is needed to portray beauty, always read Liberty Meadows in GoComics.. Frank Cho understands the inside of living entities better than most “science” instructors ever will..
popomatic about 10 years ago
It does take away from the beauty when you dissect something so much that you miss the true enjoyment of it all. Sometimes the best way to enjoy something is to simply look and listen to it.
OneDayAtATime almost 6 years ago
That’s silly. Did you not even read the cartoon?