Very interesting read about the intersecting worlds of science and art. Robert Irwin is an installation artist dealing directly with light and space. This reading was about his continued exploration of his own perception, but also the perception of others. Specifically the perception of someone who thinks in a different manner then him, such as a Wortz (a scientist).
I was rather interested in the use of the anechoic chamber as a means of shifting primary and secondary senses around. Taking away visual and sound stimulus heightens the other senses. I have read about this in several magazines like Wired and such. Some suggest doing regular exercises where you eliminate visual stimulus to enhance or “work out” other senses. Suggestions such as taking a shower with your eyes closed. I've done this before, haven't slipped yet, but there is a definite change of how you bathe your self. You can feel the individual streams of water, where they hit, how hard they hit. I haven't done this in a while, but I would assume with more practice you could count the streams from feeling alone. Much like that beloved game of trying to guess how many fingers are touching your back.
One thing that comes to mind now is the use of headphones in public places. It doesn't cause the same effect as no sound, because you generally listen to music, but you perceive the world differently when listening to them. Your brain starts to do what it does best which is to match that which it hears with that which it sees. You see people walking in step with the music, the wind might blow at a climax during the song, the world appears to be in beat with you and your Ipod. The brain makes really interesting connections and I know this pretty well, I generally end up jumping to different topics in conversations. My friends would be talking and someone might mention the fact that “its getting hot..” and I would follow up with “...in here, so take off all your clothes.” Sadly that is the only example I could think of right now. Though I assure you I do this all the time in my head, link common phrases used in day to day conversations with their appropriate songs. I may not always share this, because as proven above I don't just remember songs I enjoy. In conclusion very interesting stuff about perception and sadly I didn't even get to the part about Science/Logic and Art/Reason being parallel to one another, but I did side with this idea about how the artist is the measuring tool for art while the ruler is the measuring tool for science.
