Richard Feynman's 95th Birthday

Thank you Antra for the reminder!

Here are a few picks from the internet:

This video captures beautifully my thoughts on art and the endless arguments I have with artists about nature, science and art.

But Bloomsbury celebrates Feynman

what is science in 63 seconds

Feynman wiki

Gleick's fabulous biography

Feynman's video, and revisiting my own post, brought up some memories:

I'd once asked a fellow-scientist who was also an artist why she painted, and she responded with I believe a quote, that painting is an excuse to gaze upon nature. Not quite as terse as "because I can" nor "because it is there", but in the same space. I knew a painter in Madrid - Javier Fernandez Lizan, and on my first visit to his studio, at some point, after the above conversation, I asked Javier why he painted. Javier responded by taking me to a massive 8'X10' abstract still life with human figures, in oil, and showed me a 2 or 3 square inch area, and said "to capture this blue".

Why did I do science? Why do I analyse data now?
"Because it is there!"
"Because I can!"
"Because it is an excuse to gaze upon nature!"
"Beacuse I want to capture "this blue", which is in my head, and speaks to me, and I want to express it!"
"Because I am an instrument of "this blue"'s meme, and it expresses itself through me!"

So, I have never understood why it is that while most scientists find commonalities with artists ( my thoughts on art notwithstanding!), most artists keep trying to distance themselves from scientists!