184. the Artist in You

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“There is an art to science, and science in art; the two are not enemies, but different aspects of the whole.” —?Isaac Asimov

There are artists and then there are engineers. Perhaps instead of engineers, I should call them ‘analysts’ because in this broad-brush classification, I think of this category to include engineers, accountants, lawyers etc.

Analysts tend to be good at analyzing situations whereas artists, good at visualizing stuff. Artists can create something from nothing whereas analysts can solve problems. Importantly artists are not good at solving problems and analysts are not good at creativity.

In many ways, I think of “analysis” as synonymous with “science”. Similarly, “art” connotes “spirit”.

Current educational systems generally value analysis over art. And this makes sense. Teaching analysis is simple. It involves teaching methods, structures, techniques etc. Analysis is about identifying boundaries, identifying constraints, bringing together building blocks and fashioning solutions. But how do you teach art? Art is about lateral thinking; art is seeing the non-existent; art is about letting go of constraints; art is about courage.

“Art is science made clear.” —?Jean Cocteau

?‘Art’ emerges whereas ‘analysis’ hones in.

It’s the right combination of art and analysis that elevates life.

All good but why this sermon on art and analysis? What is the point? I have seen a number of people who prize analysis over art and thereby limiting the ‘richness’ in their lives. I have also seen people who value art over analysis and that is limiting too but I know very few such people. I think it makes sense to consciously and explicitly think about “art” and “analysis” and perhaps, this kind of thinking will, hopefully, develop the value of judicious use of both art and analysis to improve the quality of one’s life.

It is not surprising that the famous painter, Leonardo Da Vinci, was an adept scientist and an engineer too. And the famous scientist, Albert Einstein, seemed to have had strong spiritual (different from “religious”) inclination in addition to his scientific temperament.

For most of my life, I was a lot more engineer and a lot less artist. In fact, art had no place in my life. For reasons that I can’t pinpoint or don’t understand, I started bringing in art into my life. I started to create stuff. I started writing blogs. I started to allocate capital to stock investing (and yes, I believe that successful stock investing is more art than science), I let myself be vulnerable (without attendant anxiety), I stopped looking at actions as transactions…..this made a world of difference.

“Clear thinking at the wrong moment can stifle creativity.” — Karl Lagerfeld

For a person with a hammer in hand, all problems look like nails to be driven into walls. So, if you generally value “analysis”, you may look at all situations as problems to be analyzed and solved. So, what is wrong with solving problems? The problem is that we may spend time, energy and emotions trying to solve unnecessary problems – we may end up wasting our most precious resources on completely avoidable activities. For a practical example, one can spend efforts exercising and working out to reduce extra fat from their bodies or one can eat well to not let extra fat deposit in their bodies, in the first place. I once worked for an organization that spent boat loads of money on determining and subsequently improving developer productivity of the software code that we wrote. This would have been a highly beneficial initiative if time (and money) was first spent in figuring out how much of the code we wrote actually ended up creating value for our customers. It really does not make sense to improve efficiency of code that was not used by the relevant stakeholders.

“Nations in their great ages have not been great in art or science, but in art and science.” - Jacob Bronowski

I believe that there is a case for everyone to improve their lives by incorporating an “art” mindset. I say this because I believe that most people do not think of themselves as artists as much as they are analysts. Good art requires good analytical ability. So, the point is not to shy away from analysis but to bring in an artistic mindset.

Specifically, what do I mean by “artistic mindset”

A mind that is not afraid to dream big. How many among us really demonstrate courage to dream big? As we let our dreams to take wings, we start seeing constraints. Even before our dreams develop, we may start to see obstacles. So, we nip our dreams in the bud. At best, we think of incremental improvements as opposed to paradigm shifts. No wonder, entrepreneurs are more artists and managers are more analysts.

An artistic mindset does not just mean an inspired, motivated, excited state of mind. An artist probably applies more rigour in her craft than a scientist. An artist practices craft no end. And practice is anything but exciting. In fact, practice is rather boring and effortful. Seeing great sportsmen in action may feel like poetry in motion. This “poetry” is powered by relentless, dreary practice.

Bottomline

“The greatest scientists are artists as well.” - Albert Einstein

When there is no problem statement or situation, there is nothing to be analyzed. Analysis has no legs – it cannot stand on its own foot. The need for analysis arises only when there is a problem to be solved or something to be proved. This something or a problem predicates the need for analysis. But art starts from nothing. It does not need a specific goal. It is pursued for its own sake. Life gets better with analysis whereas life becomes beautiful with art. Science improves material quality of life by fixing issues and increasing comfort whereas art does it by helping you find inspiration and meaning in your goings on. Together, science and art elevate the quality of your life.

Ignore the artist (or the analyst) in you at your own peril.

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