Art and Creation

" I can discover something in the universe but if I didn't do it someone else after me will discover that exact same thing. Whereas in the arts, what you create, no one who is ever born before you or will be born from your death onwards, will ever compose exactly the same thing you did." - Neil deGrasse Tyson

As a scientist, I get passionate about the act of research and new discoveries. There’s something incredibly wondrous about peeling back the secrets of the universe and marveling about the perfection of the creation. Whether there is an ultimate creator or not, everything in our universe exists in such particular conditions, it is incredible that we exist at all. Making discoveries feels like a small piece of the universe is examining itself; it makes you feel both infinitely large and infinitely small. However, science is not new. Science and math are simply laws and rules and explanations for what already exists. Nature is not changed, only understood better and with finer detail. With more knowledge we can invent, using properties that already exist, we can manipulate these properties to do something useful, such as using oil for gasoline to power cars or viruses to engineer vaccines. 

Art is the other side of the coin. Art is creation. It is actively and uniquely adding to the universe. And it unites us as humans because every human can both create and appreciate art. One of the most powerful things we have is human connection and art is a direct link to a person’s perspective, emotions, and thoughts. It comes in so many forms: music, writing, painting, dance, sculpting, poetry. Art cannot be replicated; just like people, each piece is unique. While I would argue that science requires as much creativity as art, it is not unique. 

I feel that creation is what is really fulfilling to humans. Perhaps that is our main purpose. At least for me, there is a sense of peace and fulfillment when I create something. I prefer many mediums: writing, painting, and music being my main preferences. When I’m doing any of these, I can reach a flow state, where everything else falls away and the energy pours from my body into my work. It feels as though tiny tendrils of my spirit, of my soul, take form and leave little traces of myself behind. And it is not a depletion; in fact, it feels as though the spirit is regenerated during creation.

I think everyone has a form of creation that speaks to them. Although society tends to be oppressive in its standards, I think anyone can be “good” at anything. Where there is desire and dedication, there is a craftsman. While natural talent can exist, I’ve never seen a person practice something for over a month and not get better. We are incredibly intelligent and adaptable beings. But we have forgotten our own power. It has been lost to productivity. Our purpose has shifted to careers, to money. We tend to define ourselves by our work titles instead of our passions. When we forget our drive to create, the days pass in a blur and purpose becomes muddled with responsibility. Art is the other side of science - we need both to survive and to thrive as a species.