Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Mathematics and the Arts

A pleasant surprise: On my daughter's 8th grade math teacher's webpage at Princeton's JW Middle School, I found a quote:
"Mathematics is one of the essential emanations of the human spirit, a thing to be valued in and for itself, like art or poetry."    
Nice sentiment, I thought, then looked at who the quote was by: Oswald Veblen. It's worth noting that the Institute for Advanced Study, the formation of which had so much to do with Veblen's vision, has long integrated the arts into its programming, particularly music. The Veblens' aesthetic sense, clearly shown in their love of nature, extended to his view of mathematics as well.

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