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- Simplicity, Complexity, and The Observer in Creativity
- Simplicity & Constraint in Art
- Minimalism in Music
- Immutability and Experience
- Art & The Observer
- Darwin Revisited
- Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle
- Humor Break
- Back to Uncertainty
- Complex Systems
We continue our journey of moving towards the idea of a sweet spotin artistic creativity, a balance between freedom and constraint. This sweet spot is informed by satisfiability, a strange and exotic subfield at the intersection of computer science and physics. This satisfiability displays a phase transition, something we hinted at previously but h...
Below is a series of drawings by Picasso, successively stripping away detail until only a few lines remain. Yet it is still obvious what the drawing represents. Those few lines, seemingly capricious and simple, are in fact very constrained. The drawings are fascinating because of how much thought they generate within the observer. –
Another example, from the musical world, is a minimalist piece called Spiegel im Spiegel, by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, now residing in Berlin. The piece contains so much structure that it is hard to imagine how it could hold one’s interest, and in fact it could be represented by a short algorithm (computational recipe) on a computer. You may...
But we have a way around the seeming huge variation in complexity and constraint in art. We are not speaking solely of the work of art as something immutable that sits out there in the cosmos somewhere, untouchable by human sentiment like a star thousands of light years away. We speak of something that might touch us deeply and occasionally so prof...
We want to instead consider a system which consists primarily of the work of art combined with the observer. To a lesser degree, we need to consider the entire culture of which the observer is a part. What the observer brings to the work of art is as important as the work of art itself, in terms of creating a meaningful or even profound experience.
In biology, this is called the “unit of selection” problem. We’ve often heard evolution a la Darwin expressed pithily as “the survival of the fittest”, but that is glib. The fittest what? Is it individual, or family group, or clan, or entire species? The idea of ‘fitness’ is easier to understand. It is the ability to keep on keeping on, to keep on ...
In quantum physics, the phenomenon being studied and the observer are inseparable. The act of observing changes what is observed because detecting something physical requires shining some form of light on it, where light can be anything from radio waves to X-rays. Since light has energy, that energy interacts with what we’re looking at and modifies...
In grad school, Bruce was known for a drink called the Heisenberg. It was a kind of atomic milkshake made out of milk, espresso ice cream, and a liberal amount of vodka, blended in a turbocharged blender that made the lights dim when fired up. It got its name because “it made you uncertain of your principles.” It was very nerdy, but also delicious....
In physics, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle is easily expressed in terms of quantifiable parts. We will keep our minimal equationspromise, though, and not show it here, but were we to do so, it would fit in one line with room to spare.
In terms of the complex interactions of a species (or clan, or individual, or family…) and its environment or an artwork and its observer, we do not yet have equations to describe the interaction. Equations are simple things that compress a huge amount of information into a few symbols, and perhaps the hallmark of complexity is incompressibility. I...
Sep 9, 2018 · The Power Of Simplicity & Constraint In Art. There’s power and potency in working with simplicity and constraint in your art. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. – Leonardo Da Vinci.
Dec 2, 2023 · Simplicity fosters clarity of purpose, making it easier to prioritize and focus on what truly matters. It allows room for innovation and creativity, as simplicity often sparks ingenuity and new perspectives.
Jan 5, 2024 · By paring down artistic elements to their bare essentials, artists create a visual language that speaks volumes without the need for elaborate details. This intentional simplicity invites viewers to engage with the work on a contemplative level, appreciating the beauty in the fundamental elements.
Its guiding tenet was simplicity—not merely the shallow simplicity that comes from an uncluttered look and feel and surface of a product, but the deep simplicity that comes from knowing the...
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Nov 27, 2023 · Definition of Simplicity in design. In a design context, simplicity minimizes complexity to achieve a clear and concise presentation. This goes beyond visual aspects, encompassing...