Essay Sample about The Relationship Between Mathematics and Art

Many people describe art and mathematics,( or in general science), as opposing fields. I don't believe this could be further from the truth. symmetry is everywhere in nature and whatever we design. architecture especially combines the two. Architecture is a man - built project. buildings in general are very symmetrical and we make them both in terms of aesthetics and function. for as long as we have built things, we have always had design and aesthetics in mind. even when we build for functionality, we never neglect the design. 

Addition is also symmetrical. for what I believe, math, at its core, is simply addition. we repeat addition n number of times for multiplication. that is what we know as an algorithm. to reverse that algorithm is division. going back, addition itself is an algorithm and reversing the algorithm is subtraction. similarly, the Fibonacci sequence is simply adding two previous terms for a new one. each number devised as an area creates the golden ratio. The golden ratio appears frequently in art and nature. we are naturally drawn to this curve. our paintings, buildings, tools consist of it. but it happens in nature. in our flowers, and even our faces, there is a golden ratio. even when we did not know of this curve, we incorporated it in everything. mathematics is based on art. what we perceive as art is our aesthetic judgment. therefore must math be our aesthetic judgment? although we did not discover math, it is our own way of understanding the universe. we try our best to reformulate and reformat everything to fit a pretty formula. because what we understood the best fits into a pleasing simple formula. everything with a shaky foundation. however we cannot simplify down to a few terms for our own judgment. if it's the best an accurate way to understand then who are we to subtract from that? that is why I believe mathematics is founded on art.