As this week’s topic focused on how mathematics has influenced art and science, I have began to realize how important mathematical (specifically, mathematical technologies) are to the creation of art and science.
A great example of this is NASA’s Hubble Telescope. Within the telescope, two mirrors reflect light off of each other, with the second reflection focusing light through a hole in the center of the primary mirror. Through technology and mathematical workings, we can get a glimpse into outer space and begin to understand it’s scientific meanings.
The idea behind a telescope is very similar to the idea of a “vanishing point” that Brunelleschi formed in 1413. He developed the idea that there should be a point where two parallel lines converge on a single point. With this idea, the idea of “perspective” in a painting held new meaning because it was backed by geometric principles.
Perspective, as Piero de la Francesca said, did not simply deal with the three principle parts of drawing, proportion and coloring, but it incorporated lines, angles and proportion; all mathematical concepts.
Perspective also translates to children and adult favorites, optical illusions. When the brain sees an optical illusion, it tries to process these two dimensional images into three dimensional data. For example, when one looks at a black and white grid, the grid is simply a grid on a piece of paper; two dimensional. However, what the artist does in creating this grid is make the brain use what’s called “lateral inhibition”, a scientific explanation that essentially disables your peripheral vision.
To sum it up, as much as mathematics has been deemed essential for students and art has been taken out of school, there is no denying the two hold equally important to society as a whole and to each other.
Works Cited
Haring, Lin. Long Ride Into Vanishing Point. Digital image. Fine Art America. Web.
Hermann Grid. Digital image. Wikipedia. Web.
"Hubble Essentials." HubbleSite. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
Jacobs, Nathan. "How Optical Illusions Trick Your Brain." TED-Ed. TED. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
"Lateral Inhibition." Www.indiana.edu. University of Indiana. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
O'Neill, Ian. Our Universe. Digital image. Discovery Channel. 7 May 2014. Web.
Vesna, Professor Victoria. "Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean." YouTube. YouTube. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
Hey Chad I enjoyed readying your blog and thought the examples where great. The first example about the space telescope was something I would of never thought of but a great way to show the connection of the sciences. Space can be beautiful and with the use of math and technology we are able to see those things in a new way. Great research
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