The Correlation Between Arts and Crafts and a Nobel Prize

An anonymous reader writes: The stereotype of the scientist or engineer is that he prefers facts, reason, and objectivity over more artistic pursuits. But the Priceonomics blog points out an interesting correlation: "the more accomplished a scientist is, the more likely they are to have an artistic hobby." It continues, "The average scientist is not statistically more likely than a member of the general public to have an artistic or crafty hobby. But members of the National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society — elite societies of scientists, membership in which is based on professional accomplishments and discoveries — are 1.7 and 1.9 times more likely to have an artistic or crafty hobby than the average scientist is. And Nobel prize winning scientists are 2.85 times more likely than the average scientist to have an artistic or crafty hobby." Is this more evidence that we in the science and tech fields undervalue art and pure creativity?

Comments

No.

[Bhang]

No, it doesn't mean that at all.

I'm not surprised that higher level scientists and engineers are generally more well-rounded than people who are only scientists and engineers by trade. When I look around my peer group, I see a pretty clear correlation between being better at their field, and being more well-rounded in general. Specialization and focus has its place, but in my industry (tech) the people who are "moving the ball" (vs. the break/fix positions) are also more well-rounded, not less, and that isn't limited to tech-specific things at all.

I think the real myth is that scientists and engineers don't appreciate/value/"get" art. The stereotype of the autistic super-scientist just doesn't hold up to real life for me at all, on average at least. Do you like music? Is it for the mathematical purity of the composition, or do you like the way it makes you feel? Congrats, if you picked the latter, you're into the arts.