On the largely computer professional forum that is the Internet, I have   
   encounted many anti-artistic attitudes. As someone who's been both a computer   
   professional and an artist, I know for a fact that one does not need to have   
   an anti-artistic attitude    
   in order to be an adequate engineer.   
      
   In 1920s, technology and art coexisted side by side. There were Thomas Edison,   
   Henry Ford and Nikolai Tesla; there were also Louis Armstrong, Scott   
   Fitzgerald and Edna St. Vincent-Millay. In 1920s America became the undisputed   
   leader of the world. It did    
   so by tapping into genius both artistic and engineering.   
      
   In recent times the attitudes were less favorable. In 1960s there was respect   
   for the arts, but also lots of anti-capitalist agitation. In 1980s and 1990s   
   there was a technological boom but no value for the arts. Both were   
   half-right. It is right to    
   affirm both arts and technology and wrong to attack either.   
      
   So I seek to bring back the attitudes of 1920s on this matter. Once again,   
   there is value for both arts and technology. Not only do both constitute a   
   contribution to the civilization, but they can also work together. 1920s   
   produced beautiful architecture    
   such as the Chrysler Building and magnificent machinery such as the Packard.   
   In both cases there was art and engineering involved.   
      
   Can artists and engineers get along? If they can co-exist in the same pursuit,   
   then there is no reason why they would not be able to work with one another.   
   The problem is the belief held by many in engineering that art is impractical,   
   even narcissistic.    
   In fact there is nothing at all impractical about the arts. Arts find   
   practical implications in many things, such as once again architecture and   
   machinery as well as interior decoration. As for narcissism, that is   
   ridiculous. The artists that I have    
   known were more, not less, compassionate than the average person, and I've   
   also seen in them much greater humility that we see in people who think that   
   only their pursuit – engineering – matters and that everyone else is a   
   fool, a lunatic or a bum.   
      
   So I advocate better relations between artists and engineers. Both contribute,   
   and in the best cases both contribute together. Let artists and engineers work   
   together to produce beautiful architecture and machinery. And save some time   
   for poetry, good    
   music and classical painting at that.   
      
   https://sites.google.com/site/ilyashambatthought   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)