In search of serendipity

Science and the arts. Many people may see the two as polar opposites, but what about when they intersect?

I’ve always been fascinated by that overlap – when science influences art and those occasions when art inspires science. Coming across examples of that fusion always sparks a feeling of serendipity for me.

Since my background is in literature and communication, I’m more attuned to the times when science sparks something in the arts – whether it is in literature, drama, paintings, sculpture, photography, music, dance or some other form.

But I’m also fascinated by how the arts have pushed science into new areas of exploration – whether in astronomy, cosmology, physics, biology, chemistry or other fields of scientific ingenuity.

Science may be exacting, specific and quantitative and the arts subjective, interpretive, qualitative. So when they intersect, that space can be very interesting to explore.

Maybe it’s an astronomical phenomenon that inspired a classical myth, which later was transformed into a painting. Maybe it’s a fictional character who is now an element in a multi-billion-dollar scientific mission.

I’ve encountered these situations many times over the years, and I’m always surprised and delighted by those connections. Science inspiring art; art inspiring science. I want to share those encounters with this blog.

I don’t claim a strong background in science other than years of reading general science books, taking college courses, attending lectures, watching TV programs, exploring museums and science institutions, and reading magazine articles and social media posts.

Then again, I can say the same about my experience with the arts.

I hope this blog will help others to be excited also by this intersection of science and the arts. Where it will lead … I don’t know. Perhaps that goes against Plato’s advice that “The beginning is the most important part of the work.” I don’t have a detailed plan of what this blog will do … or not do.

If I have any foundation on which to stand, it’s a belief in curiosity and sometimes the fun of just following a path and enjoying serendipity when it comes along.