Artscience : creativity in the post-Google generation /

This book argues that as society becomes increasingly complex and the "post-Google generation" emerges, true innovation will be initiated by those who cross traditional boundaries in art and science and practice what Edwards (biomedical engineering, Harvard Univ.) calls "artscience." It is a fusion of methods--aesthetic and scientific, intuitive and deductive, sensual and analytical--that embraces both nature and culture in their full complexity and yields such unique pairings as architecture and cell structure, musicology and pain mediation, and street mimes and law enforcement. To this end, Edwards proposes the "lab," a literal and conceptual space supporting a new form of experiential education intended to accelerate exploration and innovation, a space where Bohemia meets technology. The lab acts as a catalyst and focuses on "idea translation," the process of moving from concept to realization. Although Edwards draws on the work of individuals such as Damien Hirst, Steve Jobs, and Alan Lightman, he insists that it is the ideas themselves that make "artscience" possible. The writing style of this book is informal and breezy; however, the absence of notes, bibliography, and index is quite disappointing, even in this post-Google era. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers; lower-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty. R. M. Davis emeritus, Albion College

Edwards (biomedical engineering, Harvard) attempts in this truly inspiring work to shed light on the perceived dichotomy between the arts and sciences and why it needs to be challenged. He looks closely at the idea of translating concepts or ideas through pure sciences and the arts as they occur in all sectors of life. Essentially, he shows how scientific ideas flourish in the artistic community and how art can inspire science. Edwards takes interdisciplinary thinking to another level, going a long way in demonstrating a kind of symbiosis that can-and for many, does-exist between the arts and sciences. He relates stories of "artscience" innovation in France, Germany, and the United States; discusses his recent founding of Le Laboratoire, an artscience cultural center in Paris; and explains the theory behind his idea of the "laboratory." Edwards's book belongs on the shelves of any arts and humanities or natural science library and can wonderfully support an interdisciplinary curriculum.-Michael McArthur, Northern Ontario Sch. of Medicine's Health Information Resource Ctr. Lib., Sudbury (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.