In this blog post, we will examine how science and art intersect and overlap through intuitive inspiration and the desire to explore.
People are easily moved when they see a beautiful painting or listen to beautiful music, but they find scientific theories very difficult to understand due to their complex logic and rigid language. Therefore, it is commonly believed that scientists strive to discover objective truths through logical analysis and experimentation, while artists rely on intuitive inspiration to pursue subjective aesthetic values. Although this conventional wisdom is not entirely wrong, looking back, many scientific discoveries could not have been made without intuitive inspiration.
Albert Einstein overturned the immutability of time and space, which had been considered absolute truths by everyone, and showed that time and space can also change through his theory of relativity. This shift in thinking, which broke the mold of conventional thinking, came from intuitive inspiration, demonstrating how important intuitive inspiration is in scientific discoveries. In addition, Isaac Newton discovered universal gravitation from a falling apple, and Galileo Galilei discovered the principle of the pendulum while praying in the Cathedral of Pisa when he saw a lamp swinging from the ceiling. Archimedes discovered the principle of measuring the volume of objects in a bath and ran home shouting, “Eureka!” Saying that scientific discoveries are made through “1% inspiration and 99% effort” underestimates the role of intuitive inspiration.
So where does this inspiration come from? People generally believe that scientists make new discoveries through logical analysis and reasoning. However, the foundation of these discoveries is intuitive inspiration, which often comes from places beyond the reach of language. Most great scientists, like artists, confess that at the decisive moment of discovery, they are driven not by logic but by an aesthetic sense that springs from the depths of their consciousness and is difficult to express in words. Scientific discoveries are the result of logically analyzing and systematizing such inspiration.
On the other hand, painters, sculptors, and architects also analyze and dissect objects in order to create perfect harmony and balance. The golden ratio of the Greek era is a meticulous analysis of the laws of mathematical proportion that can produce the greatest aesthetic effect. Beautiful music is also based on a precisely calculated arrangement of sounds and resonance. Paul Cézanne’s statement that “all forms in nature are composed of spheres, cylinders, and cones” clearly reveals the analytical perspective of artists. Furthermore, poets who were reminded of waves spreading out in concentric circles by the sound of bells ringing can be seen to have dissolved scientific knowledge about sound into their poetic imagination. In this way, while scientists rely on intuitive inspiration to construct theories, artists create works of art by introducing scientific knowledge and perspectives.
These creative acts of science and art both originate from the human instinct to explore. The desire to explore leads scientists and artists into the unknown world and acts as a driving force that stimulates new imagination. Of course, the goal of science is to understand the laws of nature and uncover its mysteries, but its motivation is the same as that of art: a sense of awe and wonder toward nature. That is why Albert Einstein said that those who cannot feel wonder at the mysteries of the universe, who are not moved by them, and who cannot lose themselves in contemplation are as good as dead. From this perspective, science and art cannot be considered fundamentally different mental activities. Just as the colors of a rainbow overlap and merge into one another, at a certain point, science and art overlap and become difficult to distinguish clearly.
