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Science, art and geometrical imagination

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2011

Jean-Pierre Luminet
Jean-Pierre Luminet*
Affiliation:
LUTh, CNRS UMR 8102, Observatoire de Paris, 5 Place Jules Janssen, 92195 Meudon, France email: [email protected]
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Abstract

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From the geocentric, closed world model of Antiquity to the wraparound universe models of relativistic cosmology, the parallel history of space representations in science and art illustrates the fundamental rôle of geometric imagination in innovative findings. Through the analysis of works of various artists and scientists like Plato, Dürer, Kepler, Escher, Grisey or the author, it is shown how the process of creation in science and in the arts rests on aesthetical principles such as symmetry, regular polyhedra, laws of harmonic proportion, tessellations, group theory, etc., as well as on beauty, conciseness and an emotional approach of the world.

Keywords

artgeometryhistory
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 5 , Symposium S260: The Role of Astronomy in Society and Culture , January 2009 , pp. 248 - 273
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2011

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