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  • Author Author: YT2095
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Is electronics an "Art"?

YT2095

A stinking wet and windy day outside, making me gratefull that my pastimes are all indoor activities!

I`d just built a 7 segment x 4 plugin board for prototyping quickness, and hooked that up to a newly programmed PIC16C54 (my 1s`t ever OTP!) and needless to say it worked 1`st time (Kinda), I had the a,b,c,d,e,f,g and DP segment lines a little mixed up and the display looked a bit like Predators Wristband-Mini-Nuke countdown timer image

 

it got me thinking as I was nearly tempted to actually Keep it that way and just learn to interpret the numbers for fun, is Electronics itself actually an Art as well?

 

now I know you can use electronics IN art, and electronics to Produce art, but is there an Art to Electronics? as well as programming (low level)?

 

I know sometimes in electronics design there`s more than One "right" answer, and several ways to design a PCB for instance (I consider them art).

so my question is somewhat Multifold, as in we would need to define "art" in the 1`st place.

I`m not going to do that (because I don`t think I can), but I recon it`s about "Gray Areas", when there Is no definitive Right or Wrong method, some will fall one way, others a different way, all down to personal preferences, I think "Art" is a bit like that.

but the Interesting part to me comes from trying to reconcile the Pure Maths of electronics and/coding into something like Art when you deal with 1s and 0s, fixed constants, and "Knows", into something that`s so seemingly "Analog" as art.

 

Artfull vs Skillful, anyone?

 

for Me, I see the Gray areas as room for Art, the application of the finished product as Art.

Photgraphs are 100% accurate, a painting isn`t, one is art the other commonplace/ignorable, if an artist produced a painting with a micro scale paintbrush of something, with the detail of a photo, is it art?

 

so Do the confines of Physics in elecronics bind us in such a way that it`s not Art, but a purely logical progression from concept to reality, is there something inherently Artistic in a paintbrush or chissel, that cannot be found in a soldering iron and a page of numbers? or would the solding iron have to make a pretty picture?

 

there are MANY, other aspects I Could cover here, here are just a few quick thinkings that sprung to mind whilst watching it rain, I`d Love to hear of YOUR thoughts and perspectives, additionals and even arguments (of the Logical sort!!!!) about this.

I don`t know how to post a POLL, or even if we can, but it would be Great to read you comments on take on the idea(s).

 

what`s YOUR input on this?

  • Hi YT2095,

     

    You have asked the age old question.  Is Engineering an Art or a Science?  Or is it just all Magic?

    As with everything, the answer is Yes.

    The really good artist develop an inate skill to use their chosen medium to produce what others call Masterpieces.

    A good Engineer uses a different skill set but with the same dedication to bring order out of chaos and produce devices that enhance the lives of Billions.

    Is it Science?  Yes, because science produces the knowledge and understanding of the different mediums through which the skillful can create their best work.  It takes both the science and the artistic drive for the creation of new beautiful and innovative devices.

    A well written software program runs with the same simplicity of a symphany.

    A well designed hardware device fits its application with an intuitive feel of perfection.

     

    Regardless of your opinion, both accomplishments appear as Magic to those ignorant of the math, science, engineering and artistic skills needed to bring the creation to fruition.

     

    So is it Art or Science or Magic?  Yes.

     

    Just my opinion.

    DAB