The Importance of Creativity Part III
Georgeanne Purvinis Ph.D, Electrical Engineering
A View from the College
April 19, 2019
Editorial by Georgeanne Purvinis
Ph.D, Electrical Engineering
Musician; KCC Band & Orchestra
Beekeeper, Stained Glass Artist
The Importance of Creativity Part III
I disagree with the editorial by Richard Randolph in which he states, “People today have inflated the importance of science and math and trivialized creativity and the humanities and arts.” Science and math can be applied in the humanities and arts, and the humanities and arts can often form a basis or spark for creation in a scientific endeavor.
Science is used to restore old paintings that are dear to us. Science is also used to date the origin of artifacts, like ancient early human art on cave walls. If these pieces of art and history were trivial, would we bother with the science? Clearly the art is important to all of us.
Art and humanities often serve as inspiration for engineers. When we design new software, and we envision people using it, we understand that it needs to be both practical and aesthetically pleasing. So, as engineers, we draw on our own artistic skills to insure the program both functions and feels right to the consumer.
Recently KCC students designed a scientific payload to go in space on a NASA rocket. This involved much science and math of course, but it also involved creativity to figure out a solution to the design problem. Creativity in scientists and engineers makes the best scientists and engineers. As a former Senior Research Scientist in physics, I saw that creativity, humanities, and arts were never trivialized by my fellow scientists. As a scientist and professor, I try to explain to our students, using language and science creatively, something that they did not know or understand before.
Science and math drives our technology and makes our life easier. It has allowed our lifespan and population to increase, and it has given the average person time to be creative and artistic. So yes, we need to place much importance in science and math for our society. But thinking abstractly and creatively is part of our intelligent being, our sentience, and learning and practicing it is never trivialized.
Views expressed in this editorial are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent Kaua'i Community College or the University of Hawai'i.