Nerd Music

I found myself thinking recently about how to integrate science and art. Honestly, I think scientists do it better. Well, put it this way: I can forgive imperfect art better than bad science. If an artist wants to make art about science, they'd better know their stuff. Sloppy, goofy, off the cuff art is merely expressive, and that's an asset in the arts.

Geeks at Christmas

An software performance at North Point Community Church highlights the pros and cons of the instruments. The musicians are not generally as lively as they would be with acoustic instruments: especially the guitar players looked cramped. Some of the sounds were better than others. Still the fun of the performance for me was the accessibility of the instruments: anyone with an iPhone or iPad can find these apps, and pile more. Multi-instrumentalists could become more common even on acoustic instruments with the exposure to software versions to play with first. No one is likely to stop playing the guitar for an iPhone version, but it's fun to have sounds in your pocket.

Snakes and Math

A really cool and fast paced video by Vi Hart discusses knot theory and some aspects of topology. Her drawing is elegant, and the experiments she produces are captivating. Pick up a pencil when you have some time and enjoy the design possibilities of these techniques. She brings it to the table without a single number, but somehow, you understand the process is logical, and therefore expressible mathematically.