OD11 digital HR - Flipbook - Page 40
The art of (art + science)
W
e live in an age of
science. Every aspect
of our life is infused
with technology derived from
fundamental scientific discoveries,
from the material on which you
are reading this to the food we
eat, the clothes we wear and the
medicines we take. Our ability to
manipulate molecules has given
us exceptional control over the
world. Science has transformed
society, and the big challenges of
our time – from cleaner energy
to understanding the illnesses
of the mind – are dependent
on the collaborative efforts
of scientists with myriad
specialisations and backgrounds.
Yet there is a broad sentiment
of mistrust between science and
society. Governments, corporations
and civil society are happy to profit
from the advances of science
but are increasingly unwilling to
support it. As I write this, in early
2025, we have witnessed President
Trump withdrawing the planet’s
most powerful player from the
World Health Organization and
reneging on critical climate
agreements. Regrettably, these
decisions will disproportionately
harm the world’s poorest people.
Scientists themselves are partly
to blame. More than half a century
ago, CP Snow warned that a lack of
communication between “the two
John conducts the combined choirs of VOX Cape Town and the Chanticleer
Singers in a concert of choral masterpieces at the Memorial Chapel, August 2023.
cultures” of modern society –
the sciences and the arts – was
a major hindrance to solving the
world’s problems. Even in this era
of connectivity, specialists from
these two spheres seldom consult
one another, and may even regard
one another with suspicion or
scepticism. It is little surprise,
then, that scientific and artistic
literacy, in a fractured and unequal
society such as ours, is poor.
One of my favourite quotes
to share with new BSc students is
an observation by Bill Bryson, one
of few notable polymaths of our
time (and whose books I remember
zealously devouring in the Molteno
Library): “I think all students
PHOTOGRAPHS DOMENIC SINGH-GORIN; MADELENE CRONJE
In today’s world, we are wholly reliant on, and yet increasingly suspicious
of, the scientific enterprise. At the same time, art is often considered
a secondary pursuit. John Woodland, an exponent of both, believes
that now more than ever we must foster a symbiosis between the two
