Arts and Sciences

I came across a fascinating article (available here) which argues for the value of the Arts in science education.  Three quotes jumped out at me:

Our own informal analysis of the SAT results from 2006 reveals that four years of
high school Arts or music classes confer a 100-point advantage over the average
SAT score, whereas four years of science confer only a 69-point advantage.

Our own study of Nobel Prize winners indicates that… eminent scientists are 15 to
25 times more likely than the average scientist to engage as an adult in fine Arts,
such as painting, sculpting, and print making; in crafts, such as wood and
metalworking; in performance Arts, such as acting and dancing; and in creative
writing and poetry.

Eighty-two percent of surveyed scientists and engineers answered yes to the question,
“Would you recommend Arts and crafts education as a useful or even essential background for a scientific innovator?”

We shouldn’t accept these claims without scrutiny – the first does not distinguish between cause and correlation, for example.  But they are striking, by any stretch of the
imagination, and they resonate with my own observations of students over the years.  It seems perfectly plausible, as the article suggests, that Arts and Sciences both rely on common skills.  Observation, visual thinking, the ability to recognize and form patterns, and manipulative ability, and habits like practicing, persevering, and trial-and-error problem solving may indeed lie at the root of both disciplines.  And so it wouldn’t be a surprise that studying Arts is a superb complement to the study of sciences; if so, the converse is probably also true.

I was a bit disappointed, though, to see that the only support for the Arts mentioned lay in their use for the Sciences.  Nothing wrong with Sciences of course  – in fact, a great, great deal to be said for them – but they are not the standards by which we judge all human endeavour.  Music, Art and Drama have inspired people for centuries – at least as much as the sciences – and continue to do so today.  Even if the Arts are useful, they are also worthwhile in their own rights, and I hope you will all come and see the next school productions for the sheer joy of it.  Rehearsals are well underway – watch this space.