Ethan Castillo DESMA 9

This week’s lesson focused on how medicine, art, and technology all help one another to advance. Technology is the reason medicine is where it is today. Technology is so important to modern medicine, and there are often new breakthroughs in this industry because of it. Technology advances medicine One example of technology influencing medicine is the invention of x-ray and MRI machines. These imaging breakthroughs are extremely important in medicine today, and life would be a lot more difficult without them. Doctors are able to see into our bodies without having to perform surgery, and they can then give us the best treatment. Additionally, we have gone even farther and are now able to see our internals in 3D. These 3D scans help doctors even more, and are just one of the examples of how medicine continues to innovate with the help of technology.  Technology is also increasingly important when dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. All around the country and the world, people use t...

During week two, I attended the watch party where we watched the documentary "The Origami Revolution". This documentary was very interesting because it showcases just how complex and useful this ancient art form can be. The connection with math and art is very evident in this documentary. One of the people featured in this documentary created a computer program which will show you how to fold anything from just a sheet of paper.  Origami Folding Computer Software It was also shown that origami has many practical uses other than just being a visual art. For example, researchers are creating a bulletproof shield that can be deployed quickly and be easily transported. This invention, when it is finalized and delivered to law enforcement, has the possibility of saving hundreds of lives. Police Shield Another use of origami is in space. Researchers have found that if solar panels are in a flasher pattern, it can wrap around a rocket during launch and open in space. This can provid...

For this week's blog post, I would like to talk about an invention of a machine that changed the world. This machine was the printing press. The printing press was created by Johannes Gutenberg. He mostly adapted existing technology to create this press. Once book making was mechanized, books were able to be mass produced and it was very profitable. This changed many sectors including religion. This is because the bible was able to be printed and distributed to more and more people.  First Printing Press Even though this was an amazing invention, there were people who realized that once something becomes mass produced, it is no longer special. Walter Benjamin actually discusses this in the article “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”. In this article, he says that mechanization in general destroys the pure value of what art originally is. I understand his argument and agree that a handmade book is much more valuable than a mass produced one. However, I believe th...

I think the concept of math and art together is very interesting. As an artist myself, I have not considered the fact that I use math all the time in my art without even knowing it. This is because I always considered math to be things like formulas. I was not doing any calculations while doing my art, but Professor Vesna explains in her lecture that math is much more than just formulas. Art is actually modeled after nature through something called the "Golden Mean". This concept helps artist to create a more natural looking art. The "Golden Mean" Perspective is also used in art all the time in art and is something that relates to math. The vanishing point rule says that there "should be a vanishing point to which all parallel lines in a plane converge". This helps to create the illusion of perspective on a 2D surface. Using math, the artist is able to guarantee that the geometry of the picture will look correct to the viewer.  All parallel lines converge ...

When learning about the two cultures of art and science, I came to the realization that I am very much influenced by these two cultures every day. In fact, I chose my major based on the fact that I am interested in both the arts and sciences. My major, cognitive science, connects art and science together in a way that I find very interesting. For example, some people who choose this major end up designing websites and apps, or go into the marketing field. I would hope to be able to use my artistic abilities with this major so I can work in the creative side of product development and design. Finding a major that encompasses aspects from both cultures was very challenging, as there is normally a great divide between them.  Graphic showcasing the various subjects which make up cognitive science. https://www.study-in-germany.de As I was reading the assigned articles this week, I found that Professor Vesna’s article, “Toward a Third Culture,” really resonated with me. This is...