# The Importance of the Arts **URL:** \ **Category:** Neuroscience, Psychology, and Health\ **Created:** [September 10, 2017, 4:21am UTC](https://forum.artofmemory.com/t/the-importance-of-the-arts/32859 "2017-09-10T04:21:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Josh](https://forum.artofmemory.com/user_avatar/forum.artofmemory.com/josh/32/21_2.png) [@Josh](https://forum.artofmemory.com/u/Josh)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2017, 4:21am UTC](https://forum.artofmemory.com/t/the-importance-of-the-arts/32859/1 "2017-09-10T04:21:20Z")
## The Art of Scientific and Technological Innovations > In fact, I’ve just published a study that shows that almost all Nobel laureates in the sciences are actively engaged in arts as adults. They are twenty-five times as likely as average scientist to sing, dance, or act; seventeen times as likely to be an artist; twelve times more likely to write poetry and literature; eight times more likely to do woodworking or some other craft; four times as likely to be a musician; and twice as likely to be a photographer. Many connect their art with their scientific creativity. > > Moreover, those folks who produce the new patentable inventions and found the new companies to produce them – they, too, are artistically trained: they are far more likely to have continuous participation in drawing, painting, dancing, woodworking, metal working, and mechanics than their less innovative peers. Ninety percent of them, in interviews, expressed the opinion that the arts should be part of every scientists and technologists education. Eighty percent of them could point to specific ways in which their arts training directly enhanced their innovative ability. > > In sum, successful innovators in sciences and technology are artistic people. Stimulate the arts and you stimulate innovation. Full article: [http://scienceblogs.com/art\_of\_science\_learning/2011/04/11/the-art-of-scientific-and-tech-1/](http://scienceblogs.com/art_of_science_learning/2011/04/11/the-art-of-scientific-and-tech-1/) ---
**Author:** ![Mnemon](https://forum.artofmemory.com/user_avatar/forum.artofmemory.com/mnemon/32/4776_2.png) [@Mnemon](https://forum.artofmemory.com/u/Mnemon)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 10:50pm UTC](https://forum.artofmemory.com/t/the-importance-of-the-arts/32859/2 "2017-09-25T22:50:27Z")
I am so happy to see that someone else knew about this fascinating study! Ya, I’ve been a fan of Robert Root-Bernstein’s book Sparks of Genius for a long time, and when I stumbled on this study in Google Scholar, I took copious notes and practically memorized the main points. Sure, there were towering minds of genius in certain fields who obsessed almost exclusively on that one subject, but the vast majority of top creative scientists are generalists, and eclectics, with a wide range of interests. It begins with their intense curiosity and a complete openness and enthusiasm to explore many different avenues and disciplines. Anyone who has read that study knows very well this is true - in addition to reading other books and stories about the life of highly creative people in all walks of life. - The Arts are Fundamental, Not Ornamental - ---
**Author:** ![Josh](https://forum.artofmemory.com/user_avatar/forum.artofmemory.com/josh/32/21_2.png) [@Josh](https://forum.artofmemory.com/u/Josh)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2017, 4:51am UTC](https://forum.artofmemory.com/t/the-importance-of-the-arts/32859/3 "2017-09-26T04:51:00Z")
I haven’t read that book, but it looks interesting. I found a summary here: > **[Sparks of genius – The 13 thinking tools of the world’s most creative people....](https://vnthomas1.blogspot.com/2009/06/sparks-of-genius-13-thinking-tools-of.html)** > > Sparks of genius – The 13 thinking tools of the world’s most creative people. By Robert & Michele Root-Bernstein. I wish to buy this book as... In one US state where I lived in the 1990s there was a political movement to take “non-essential” topics out of schools and just limit students to the 3 Rs (reading, 'riting, 'rithmetic). The idea of removing art and music as a core part of education is really a terrible idea. Here in California, there is at least one local elementary school that doesn’t have a music teacher (“non-essential” topic) so the parents had to raise money on their own to hire one for the school. It’s really hard to believe. ---
**Author:** ![Mnemon](https://forum.artofmemory.com/user_avatar/forum.artofmemory.com/mnemon/32/4776_2.png) [@Mnemon](https://forum.artofmemory.com/u/Mnemon)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 4:24pm UTC](https://forum.artofmemory.com/t/the-importance-of-the-arts/32859/4 "2017-09-27T16:24:51Z")
Ya, the crappy inner-city schools I went to in Portland, Oregon barely taught any arts or music. I only had one music class in elementary school, and never had another music or art class again all through middle and high school. Below I’ve posted two articles about studies that have been done showing a direct correlation between arts and music education, and the resulting better mathematical skills and other academic benefits. On another note, one of the best recent books I’ve read on the nature of genius is called _Genius Explained_ by Michael Howe. Check it out. I’ve also provided some links below to the brilliant blogger on creativity and genius Maria Popova over at her website BrainPickings. That research ties in with the nature of mnemonics - because it is all about combinatory play, and connecting the unconnected in highly original, creative ways. > **[Arts and Smarts](https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/arts_smarts)** > > At a time when educators are preoccupied with standards, testing, and the bottom line, some researchers suggest the arts can boost students’ test scores; others aren’t convinced. Karin Evans asks, What are the arts good for? > **[Does Playing a Musical Instrument Make You Smarter?](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201406/does-playing-a-musical-instrument-make-you-smarter)** > > A new study from Boston Children’s Hospital found a correlation between musical training and improved executive function in both children and adults. > **[How Einstein Thought: “Combinatory Play” and the Key to Creativity](https://www.themarginalian.org/2013/08/14/how-einstein-thought-combinatorial-creativity/)** > > “Combinatory play seems to be the essential feature in productive thought.” > **[Networked Knowledge and Combinatorial Creativity](https://www.themarginalian.org/2011/08/01/networked-knowledge-combinatorial-creativity/)** > > Why creativity is like LEGO, or what Richard Dawkins has to do with Susan Sontag and Gandhi. > **[The Science of “Chunking,” Working Memory, and How Pattern Recognition Fuels...](https://www.themarginalian.org/2012/09/04/the-ravenous-brain-daniel-bor/)** > > “Generating interesting connections between disparate subjects is what makes art so fascinating to create and to view… We are forced to contemplate a new, higher pattern that binds lowe…