Art and science have long been presumed to be polar opposites, the one fueled by fantasy and creativity and the other by the mathematics and natural laws that are viewed as the other end of the spectrum. This is an incomplete and inaccurate perception, however. Art and science are, in fact, integrally connected, and their premises are closely allied. The mathematical systems that science is based on are as much a part of art as of science, although art is not often analyzed mathematically. The concept of symmetryùa basic component to be achieved or defiantly flouted in artùcan be expressed mathematically in terms of the Fibonacci series of numbers. Linear perspective is nothing more than a mathematical system for making the flat artistÆs canvas look three-dimensional. The styles of art from realism to impressionism merely represent varying degrees of mathematical precision in depicting the subject realistically. Ancient artists dissected cadavers to understand how the joints work, and what bones and sinews underlie the surface of the skin to form the limbs and torso. The phenomenon we identify as ôartistic talentö is most likely just an innate ability to ôeyeballö the mathematical constructs that good art is built on.
It is not a great leap, therefore, to see how art was fundamentally connected to the Scientific Revolution. The same artist that studied bones, muscles, and joints to learn how the human body functioned could study ropes, gears, and weights to learn how a pulley system worked. Furthermore, artists were the most likely individuals to invent new technology, since they were inherently able to ôthink outside the boxö and apply the spark of creativity to the everyday gadgets around them. Although superficially unrelated, art and science are vitally intertwined ôunder the skin.ö
No one understood this better than Leonardo da Vinci, the foremost artist/musician/sculptor cum inventor/architect/engin...