- #1
fourier jr
- 765
- 13
Everybody has heard of a "beautiful" theorem, or proof, or formula, etc but has anyone heard of any work in aesthetics done on things in math? I did a (very) minimal bit or reading on aesthetics, and I read that there are two general points of view. There's the objective point of view, where beauty is an intrinsic property of a sculpture/painting/etc, ie beauty is not in the eye of the beholder and things are beautiful whether or not someone is there to say so. Then there are the people who say it is subjective, and that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I have NEVER heard of anyone at any time working on this sort of thing in math, only with things like paintings, etc. But what if we did? Is Euclid's proof that there are infinitely many primes a beautiful proof because we say so or because of what it is, regardless of what anyone thinks?
ps - it sounds a bit like the "discover vs invent" argument in math, but that's not what I'm asking. I think the two ideas could be related though.
ps - it sounds a bit like the "discover vs invent" argument in math, but that's not what I'm asking. I think the two ideas could be related though.