Anda di halaman 1dari 1

COMMENT BOOKS & ARTS

‘net savvy’ than in those who are ‘net naive’. A RT


These findings cannot answer the ques-
tion of whether such changes are good
or bad. Conclusions are coloured by the
authors’ values. Bilton treats the adaption
Abstract relativity
of the ‘net savvy’ as positive: “the brains
were learning, benefiting from prac- A Paris exhibition contrasts 1920s depictions of the fourth
tice and experience”. Carr comes to the dimension, find Stefan Michalowski and Georgia Smith.
opposite conclusion: “When it comes to

T
the firing of our neurons, it’s a mistake to
assume that more is better.” he birth of modern physics a century Mondrian/De Stijl four dimensions: the
Part of the problem is the paucity of ago fired artistic as well as scientific Centre Pompidou, exhibition includes
scientific studies on the effects of modern imaginations. This can be seen in Paris. some of his tesseracts,
Until 21 March 2011.
technologies on the brain. It is a testament the Pompidou Centre’s current exhibition projections on paper
to both authors’ skills that they were able to of abstract art, covering Dutch painter Piet of four-dimensional
produce entire books on works so sparse. Mondrian and the De Stijl group, led by cubes. Then, in the 1920s, he began trying to
Unfortunately, to fill the pages, they lump another Dutchman, Theo van Doesburg. evoke time and change — four-dimensional
information into categories that are too A series of canvasses illustrates the space-time — in his paintings.
diverse to be useful. For example, both treat evolution of abstract techniques, from the Mondrian rejected van Doesburg’s attempt,
the use of all Internet technology — web soft contours of impressionism to the spare and the two split over it. Symbolic of their rift
browsing, web searching, texting, tweet- geometry of cubism. “We arrive at a portrayal was van Doesburg’s use of dynamic diagonal
ing, video games and so on — as a single of other things, such as the laws governing lines, which contrasted with Mondrian’s strict
activity, despite the fact that such variety is matter,” Mondrian wrote. Cubist techniques vertical and horizontal grids. But the quar-
unlikely to have one distinct effect. As with were inspired, in part, by the multi-dimen- rel went deeper than diagonals: Mondrian’s
food, the effects of technology will depend sional mathematics of Henri Poincaré and doggedly developed style had become too
on what type of technology is consumed, his contemporaries. much of a constraint for his former coterie.
how much and for how long. Most of the exhibition is rightly devoted to The De Stijl artists wanted to remake the
History suggests that technology Mondrian and the devel- human environment
does not change the brain’s fundamental opment of his recogniz- by designing furniture,

t. vAn DoesBUrG SiMUlTANEoUS CoUNTEr-CoMPoSiTioN (1929–30). DiGitAl iMAGe © MUs. MoDern Art, new York/scAlA, Florence
abilities. The general principles of brain able mature style. From a buildings and cities
organization have not changed for thou- minimal toolbox of visual based on their primary-
sands of years — probably since the rise of elements — white canvas, coloured, idealized
language. Major technological advances black lines and simple structures. Van Doesburg
do not create de novo brain structures. blocks of red, yellow or experimented with archi-
They do, however, take advantage of the blue — emerge geometric tectural designs and films
cognitive flexibility of the human mind. compositions of startling incorporating the fourth
With each new technological develop- intensity and elegance. dimension. Some of these
ment, we see a shift in the cognitive abili- Mondrian was deeply products are displayed in
ties and brain functions that society values influenced by theosophy, the exhibition, but the
most. The advent of writing systems, so a spiritual movement role of the fourth dimen-
celebrated by Carr, devalued the role of grounded in ancient texts sion is not clearly shown
oral memorization through storytelling that was bent on uncover- Theo van Doesburg’s use of diagonals is or explained. The artists
as cherished by the Greeks. Great orators ing universal truths in art, symbolic of his quarrel with Piet Mondrian. themselves do not always
such as Socrates would have lamented that religion and science. He seem to have grasped the
Carr has lost the memory skills necessary penned reams of theory as to why his abstract difference between a fourth dimension in
for passing on knowledge through stories style was the appropriate expression of these space versus one in time.
to future generations. Yet he has gained “great generalities” for modern times. As the artists tried to incorporate the new-
other skills by entraining alternate brain A quiet introvert from a Calvinist family, found laws of physics in their expressions of
networks for reading and text analysis. Mondrian became a mentor to van Doesburg, absolute truth about the Universe, history
Just as it was difficult to say at the time by contrast a flamboyant young painter who ambushed them. Their comrades in abstrac-
whether the advent of writing was good had three wives and many artistic cliques in tion were soon brutally dismissed by the
or bad, a value judgement of the effect of his short life (he died aged 47). When van Soviet and Nazi authorities. Einstein helped to
the Internet is impossible. But it is a trib- Doesburg moved to Paris in 1923, the two pull the rug out from under their depictions of
ute to neural plasticity that, with each new men worked closely: their canvasses form a the ‘absolute’ by dissolving special relativity’s
technological development, our brains dialogue as each sparked fresh innovations neat geometries into quantum theory’s fuzzy
adapt — for better or for worse. ■ from the other. But their intense relationship clouds of probability. But Mondrian’s precise
exploded a year later — and one of the flash- vision, with its subsumed scientific borrow-
Daphne Bavelier is a professor in the points was the theory of relativity. ings, continues to intrigue and delight. ■
Department of Brain and Cognitive The public learned about Albert Einstein’s
Science at the University of Rochester, discoveries after the First World War, when the Stefan Michalowski is a former particle
New York 14627, USA. solar eclipse of 1919 confirmed general relativ- physicist and executive secretary of the
e-mail: daphne@cvs.rochester.edu ity by showing that gravity can bend light. In OECD Global Science Forum in Paris.
C. Shawn Green is a cognitive scientist Paris, space-time became a catchword in avant- Georgia Smith is a journalist based in Paris.
in the Department of Psychology at the garde circles. Artists from futurists to Dadaists e-mails: stefanm@noos.fr; georgias@noos.fr
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, latched on to the new ideas. Van Doesburg
Minnesota 55455, USA. had already flirted with spatial geometry in this article does not represent the views of the oecD.

3 8 | N AT U R E | VO L 4 7 0 | 3 F E b R UA Ry 2 0 1 1
© 2011 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved

Anda mungkin juga menyukai