I have no objection to someone presenting me with a painting so long as it is pretty. And I have no objection to a painting in a math class, whether it’s Escher, Norman Rockwell, or Fred Gallagher. I may even be moved to make a mathematical comment about the painting.
What I would find patronizing is someone thrusting a painting at me and saying “Say something mathematical!” I think it is equally patronizing to ask an artist to saying something artistic about the Singularity or a poet to say something poetic about math. They are perfectly capable of expressing their own reactions, which may or may not—optionally, up to them—express their artistry or poetry. If you show me a painting, and I say “That’s beautiful” just like the last 300 people you showed it to, I don’t want anyone complaining, “But the whole reason I showed that to you is to find out whether rationalists had anything to say!”
I have no objection to someone presenting me with a painting so long as it is pretty. And I have no objection to a painting in a math class, whether it’s Escher, Norman Rockwell, or Fred Gallagher. I may even be moved to make a mathematical comment about the painting.
What I would find patronizing is someone thrusting a painting at me and saying “Say something mathematical!” I think it is equally patronizing to ask an artist to saying something artistic about the Singularity or a poet to say something poetic about math. They are perfectly capable of expressing their own reactions, which may or may not—optionally, up to them—express their artistry or poetry. If you show me a painting, and I say “That’s beautiful” just like the last 300 people you showed it to, I don’t want anyone complaining, “But the whole reason I showed that to you is to find out whether rationalists had anything to say!”