On Fri, Mar 20, 2015 at 9:25 AM, LizR <[email protected]> wrote: > On 20 March 2015 at 20:57, Telmo Menezes <[email protected]> wrote: > >> A fundamental difference in science is that peer reviewers are other >> scientists, working on their own research. There are no professional >> critics in science. >> >> That's true (I think). But there are plenty of commentators and so on, as > well as science popularisers, and some scientists who are critical of > others outside their areas of expertise. And some who are just critical of > others full stop (Fred Hoyle was one I believe). >
True, but notice that art critics are not merely commentators. They more or less decide which artists become financially successful, which will then influence what you are likely to see at a museum of modern art or an exhibition. In science, although it doesn't hurt to have good press, your success is mostly determined by your colleagues. Peer-reviews and citations. In sports it's perhaps even more meritocratic: the commentators can say what they want, but a football player who converts a high percentage of kicks into goals will be hired by a top team. I sense that Brent is perhaps suggesting that art is mostly bullshit. I have several very smart science/engineering-type friends who hold similar positions. I would say that this steams from a bias towards goal-driven endeavours. Real art has no goal. The business of art has a goal, and rich people care about what critics say because they are making an investment, and wish to mitigate risk through social proof. This is perhaps a bit depressing, but does it really matter? We are all still free to create and appreciate art (or not) as we please. > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Everything List" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
