Re: microsound Digest 4 Feb 2002 10:31:04 -0000 Issue 480

[david turgeon <david.t@xxxxxxxx>]

> the idea that experimental music has anything to do with science is odd.
> I'm not sure if anyone will win that debate.  Of course, that brings up one
> of the central pillars of science: It is logically impossible to prove
> anything.

nowhere can anyone prove that something is true.

but in science, one can prove that something is false.  (see karl popper, 
_objective knowledge_.)  science can also assert that a problem cannot find 
an objective solution (e.g. the existence of god, the definition of "good", 
etc.), in which case it is said to be a metaphysical problem.  (see a.j. 
ayer, _language, truth & logic_.)

notice also that in science, we can talk of "true" & "false" but hardly of 
"right" & "wrong" as we would in aesthetics & ethics.  however, in those 2 
fields, it's impossible to prove anything whether "right" or "wrong".

aesthetics, like ethics, evolves because of this impossibility of 
determining what right & wrong.  in the end we work with assumptions (not 
truths), which gives us charters of rights & arts academia.  while the 
former is normally quite useful (e.g. "thou shall not kill" sounds like a 
good advice in 99.9999% of cases (even for US administrations)), the latter 
is neither useful nor useless; it exists on a lighter plane altogether.  in 
arts nothing is of universal importance as is the case with ethics, it's up 
to the artist to decide what they want to do.

in fact, what puts aesthetics back into the scientific (& thus, 
experimental) fold is the fact that there are actual people interacting 
with a piece of art; depending on the cultural context surrounding it, the 
global response differs.  this can be analyzed scientifically (or nearly 
so) using the tools of semiology & sociology (or even chaos, but you'll 
probably get a lot of experimental noise...  though that might make a good 
madonna remix).  but this is still an "outside" view of art, & the making 
of it is still a mysterious & individual, & thankfully so, event.

but, as MC hawking rightly says:

"before you step to me, i'd think twice G
'cause i'm the lord of chaos, the king of entropy"

http://www.mchawking.com/

~ david