The Rise Of The Artist • Hacker News Board

Re: The Rise Of The Artist

#11

Post by Ixiaus » Sat, Mar 02, 2013, 6:06 AM UTC

What I find lost in the cracks by many "artists" is the fact that creativity is found in all areas of human activity - it's seductive for systems thinkers to painters to consider their "clan" or "way of thinking" is the sacred and the rest of the world as secular. In truth, there's a beautiful creativity in Music, Painting, Writing, Mathematics, Engineering, Programming, Gardening, Architecture, Exploring, &c...

Also, if I'm not mistaken, painting came about because people studying mathematics were studying geometry and how to relate the real world (using geometry) onto a piece of paper.

Re: The Rise Of The Artist

#12

Post by redschell » Sat, Mar 02, 2013, 6:07 AM UTC

I'm all for drawing, and a lot of what is being advocated here, but I hope we at least make an attempt to consider things like programming and mathematics to be artistic/creative disciplines. I mean, there's a reason many universities intentionally award Math students a BA, as opposed to a BS or BEng. There's a subtle beauty to mathematical precision, and well-made code, so I don't like seeing these areas dismissed as cold, grey cubicles for the hopelessly left-brained.

Re: The Rise Of The Artist

#13

Post by saraid216 » Sat, Mar 02, 2013, 6:09 AM UTC

I'm more than a little irritated that his idea of "systems thinking" is "understanding how computers works".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_thinking

Re: The Rise Of The Artist

#14

Post by unimpressive » Sat, Mar 02, 2013, 6:12 AM UTC

I like to think of this as a response to the "learn to code" propaganda.

If it seems like it's missing the point, or underestimating the "other side", I'm sure it's entirely intentional. Or at the very least a reflection of how videos like "what most schools don't teach" come off to 'artists'.

Re: The Rise Of The Artist

#15

Post by Ixiaus » Sat, Mar 02, 2013, 6:12 AM UTC

paulsutter wrote: post #8

I don't understand how thr author contrasts "creativity, intuition, and the marshaling of original solutions" in opposition to "systems thinking". I can't imagine a better foundation for "systems thinking" than "creativity, intuition, and the marshaling of original solutions".

The author appears to warp his argument and land his primary criticism on machines and not the people that program them. Which is odd - you should not learn to code because machines are not creative? Much like saying you shouldn't learn to draw because paper + pencils aren't creative...

Machines "aren't creative" is a naive assertion too (forgivable though because not everyone outside of our industry may be aware of the happenings) - there are some truly amazing programs people are building that can evolve creative solutions to many things that no human could ever dream of.

Re: The Rise Of The Artist

#16

Post by woadwarrior01 » Sat, Mar 02, 2013, 6:14 AM UTC

I've been coding for over 20 years now and I absolutely suck at drawing. The only kind of drawings I've ever done are circuit diagrams, but I don't think they count. I bought a copy of Betty Edwards' "Drawing on the right side of the brain" over a year ago but never got around reading. Maybe I should dust it off and start with it.

Does anybody have any recommendations for coders learning to draw?

Re: The Rise Of The Artist

#17

Post by rblion » Sat, Mar 02, 2013, 6:15 AM UTC

I think the future requires a balance of both logical and intuitive intelligence. Both are needed in creating art, ideas, things, and experiences that matter to people.

Einstein was a violinist and a physicist. Why not develop both skillsets?

Re: The Rise Of The Artist

#18

Post by andyfleming » Sat, Mar 02, 2013, 6:16 AM UTC

blackhole wrote: post #10

While I entirely agree that creativity is the future, I do not understand why people think you need to draw or compose music to be creative. My most brilliant creative moments have always been with my code, not my music. I may consider myself more of an artist than an engineer, but my code is my most precious work of art. That said, by pure chance I happen to be re-re-re-re-attempting to learn how to draw this year.

I feel that the different mediums are mutually beneficial. Stories can be told through music, code or a drawing. Often a new perspective can be found in a different medium that applies to another you may be struggling with.

Re: The Rise Of The Artist

#19

Post by jaequery » Sat, Mar 02, 2013, 6:16 AM UTC

anyone can learn to code. but can anyone really learn to draw?

Re: The Rise Of The Artist

#20

Post by dylangs1030 » Sat, Mar 02, 2013, 6:17 AM UTC

I appreciate the effort it requires to draw, and create art. But I don't think the author of this page quite understands how difficult it would be for a computer to program another program.

You can tailor aspects of a language to your program, but you cannot simply design a program to think of unique ways to tackle an issue. Math and programming are left-brain activities in practice - but this ignores the slew of abstract thinking that occurs before you set key to the page, as it were.

Coding may not look as pretty as art, and I'm not saying it's more important. But it is wrong to say programming is any less organic than art is. Having a computer automatically generate code is like having it generate ASCII - impressive, but both pale in comparison to what human talent offers.