In recent blogs, I’ve talked about delivering breakthrough innovation by reapplying ideas from unexpected places, and how ‘innovation magic’ occurs at interfaces. Today I want to focus on a personal passion, innovating at the interface between art and science.
Many people today believe that science and art, like oil and water, do not mix. However, many of the worlds’ greatest innovators were not constrained by this bias. Leonardo da Vinci was pretty innovative, and his creativity spanned fine art, military engineering, anatomy and biomimicry. He was not alone. Fred Hoyle was a celebrated astrophysicist, author, and musician, and Einstein claimed to get more pleasure from playing the violin than from Physics. It was Einstein who said, “The greatest scientists are always artists as well”.
Art-Science for All: This overlap of art and science is not just for giants of innovation either. During the Renaissance, artists belonged to the guild of physicians, and in creating their own paints, had more in common with today’s chemists than their contemporary alchemists. The tradition of creativity exploding at the interface of science and art continues today, with Daguerreotype and film photography having evolved into digital photography, Photoshop, and motion capture at the movies. Music is similar, with the likes of Brian Eno, Phillip Glass, and even the Beatles applying technology to art, while any musician who has picked up an electric guitar or even acoustic violin, owes a debt to the scientists or engineers who had a role in creating the instrument.
Art-Science Innovation: There is also a long history of art informing science, and vice versa. I’ve described before how early computer programming was adapted from punch-cards used in Jacquard tapestry looms (1), and how Alexis Carrel won a Nobel Prize for developing the suturing techniques used in heart surgery by reapplying techniques from lace making (2). Staying on the topic of medicine, the pace maker is derived from a musical metronome (2), and in a recent Innovation Excellence article, Scott Williams made an excellent case for borrowing innovative ideas from computer games and Sci-Fi, especially for military innovation (3). Visual illusions and illusionists can teach us much about how attention and visual search operates (4,5), which can be extremely useful for any number of design applications, while comedy can teach us how to write stunning concepts and develop surprisingly obvious innovations (6).
Science Informing Art. This is a two way street. Science can also support art and design, by supplying technical tools, but also self understanding of the creative process. For example, Ramachandran and Hirstein’s exploration of the neuroscience of art provides a fascinating framework that can help us create more consistently (7).
Creating a Bridge. So, if there is power in the interface, whether we are scientist or artist, how can we bridge to the ‘other side’? One option is to use analogy and knowledge representation, as I’ve previously suggested (8). Another is to create a culture where the two naturally blend, and in so doing, transform using the art-science interface from a special event into business as usual. We can make this happen by forming ‘science-art’ partnerships within our organizations, or by becoming fluent in both art and science as individuals.
1. Partner with your ‘opposite’.
If you are an innovator with a bias towards science or engineering, find a designer or other creative, or if you are a designer, consider partnering with a psychologist, perceptual scientist or engineer. These may feel like slightly odd pairings at first, but a collaborative relationship where you mentor one another, and are comfortable challenging and teaching each other can create a ‘left/right’ brained hybrid that mirrors the breadth of a da Vinci. These kinds of partnerships can be very productive. The relationship between Lennon, McCartney and George Martin is a great example, where Martin started off owning the ‘science’ of recording, and Lennon and McCartney the artistic songwriting input. This also illustrates another advantage of this approach, as it exemplified how boundaries blur as these relationships evolve, and in this case, McCartney and Lennon began experimenting in the studio, while Martin helped out scoring orchestrated parts for their songs. The result was, of course, magical. My personal bias is more towards the sciences, but my most creative periods while at PG were often in close partnership with people with a bias towards the arts, and I’ve loved working with Designers, Artists and Comedians. Along the way, I’ve also discovered empathy, if not aptitude, for how they approach problems.
2. Become an Expert Generalist. Another way to navigate the blended space between art and science is to bridge across the two as an individual. An expert generalist, sometimes called a T-Shaped Innovator, is someone who has causal knowledge of many areas, and who can act as a bridge between different silos of knowledge. Leonardo da Vinci was the epitome of this, and appeared to have no problem jumping from fine art to military engineering and back. While he was exceptional, I think it is quite possible for most of us to do something similar. However, we are all busy people, and with the seemingly infinite amount of information available, it is easy to fall into the trap of narrowing just to keep up with our chosen field. Our natural confirmation bias compounds this, as custom data feeds focused on our specific interests feel comfortable, making it easy to drift almost accidentally into ‘super specialization’. There is nothing wrong with this per se, as experts are highly valuable, but if we want to create at interfaces, we need both specialized knowledge and sufficient understanding of other domains to connect with them.
This may take a little effort, but it can also be fun. If we have a science bias, tour an art gallery, take an art class, or research the psychology of music (9) or the Science of Art (7). If we have an art bias, watch Nova, the Discovery Channel (although maybe more Through the Wormhole and less Naked and Afraid!) and read popular science books on as many topics as possible. Go to a zoo or safari park, and really watch animal behavior, make time for Nat Geo, or read some Sci-Fi. You don’t need to be an expert in everything, just glean enough causal understanding to make useful connections. and be able to communicate outside of your own silos.
3. A Bonus. In a time-constrained world, humans often make quick, ‘good enough’ decisions that occur largely below our awareness (10). These are based more on what feels right than on logical analysis, and drive a great deal more of our everyday decisions than we realize. When it comes to innovative new products and services, it’s unlikely people will do something completely new without giving it some conscious thought. However, their decisions are still invisibly influenced by feelings, familiarity, affordances, and other biases that operate largely below awareness. The success of an innovation therefore depends upon a hybrid of evaluation and feelings. The beauty of Innovating where art and science overlap is that it helps us to tap into both emotions and logic, and by talking to both, we increase the chance that our new ideas will resonate, and be easier to adopt.
In conclusion, if you want some really disruptive ideas, buddy up with a partner. Or, if you can make time, join an art class, or skim TED talks that you normally wouldn’t watch. Or go read some sci-fi, or better still make friends with a Sci-Fi author, and pick her brains over a couple of adult beverages! Star Trek gave us everything from flip phones, needleless hyperdermics, and arguably the IPad (11). Mark Twain anticipated the internet (he called it the telectroscope), and William Gibson gave us cyberspace (12). There are a lot of disruptive ideas still to be found in the musings of futurists like David Brin. James Burke, or Arthur C Clarke. It’s a long term investment, but becoming an Innovator, as we all know, is a marathon, not a sprint.
1. James Burke, Connections/Connections II BBC TV Series
2. Art and Science in Innovation: Robert Root-Bernstein Nature (3) (407, 2000, p 134; Science Blogs, Apr 11 2011
3. Scott .Williams (2014) href=”http://www.innovationexcellence.com/blog/2014/08/04/requirements-market-research-entertainment-and-the-art-of-the-possible/”http://www.innovationexcellence.com/blog/2014/08/04/requirements-market-research-entertainment-and-the-art-of-the-possible/
4. Don Hoffman (200) Visual Intelligence: How We Create What We See (Norton)
5. Macnik, Martinez-Conde, (2011). Slights of Mind. Holt
6. http://www.innovationexcellence.com/blog/2014/10/03/wow-why-didn’t-i-think-of-that/
7. Ramachandran, Hirstein. (1999) (J.Consc Studies) The Science of Art
8. http://www.innovationexcellence.com/blog/2014/09/08/great-innovators-steal/
9. This is your Brain on Music
10. Kahneman
11. http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/10-star-trek-technologies.htm
12. William Gibson (1982), Burning Chrome, Omni
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A twenty-five year Procter Gamble veteran, Pete has spent the last 8+ years applying insights from psychology and behavioral science to innovation, product design, and brand communication. He spent 17 years as a serial innovator, creating novel products, perfume delivery systems, cleaning technologies, devices and many other consumer-centric innovations, resulting in well over 100 granted or published patents. Find him at pete.mindmatters@gmail.com