exceeding our materials
After tearing through Jonah Lehrer's How We Decide, I decided to give his debut book a try. I haven't even got past the prelude, and I'm already taking notes. He ends this prelude with this lovely paean to art and science:
It is ironic, but true: the one reality science cannot reduce is the only reality we will ever know. This is why we need art. By expressing our actual experience, the artist reminds us that our science is incomplete, that no map of matter will ever explain the immateriality of our consciousness.

The moral of this book is that we are made of art and science. We are such stuff as dreams are made on, but we are also just stuff. We now know enough about the brain to realize that its mystery will always remain. Like a work of art, we exceed our materials.

...The experiment and poem complete each other. The mind is made whole.
He's got a nice touch with verbage--thoughtful, poetic and heartfelt. I'm doing my best to save this read for the coming Thanksgiving holiday, so I can enjoy it at home in our cozy living room, rather than on a cramped Bart or bus ride home.
Labels: art, books, cool science, eyeshurt, inspiration, reading

:: ewee 12:36:00 PM [+] :: 0 comments ::
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