problem here is that they [the establishment] are differentiating us: if you are an artist, this means you are not a good mathematician, and if you are a good mathematician, you are not a good artist. But, I think they integrate each other. From my point of view, math, language, and art integrate each other, so art is very important to math.”
Mr. Daoud: “Now, it’s a little bit difficult to connect [science and art] because artistic students do not tend to think in the analytical method that is required in mathematics and scientific disciplines; they go more towards the imaginative and creative parts of the brain. But, mathematics, in itself, requires a certain degree of creativity and imagination. The question: Can Arts students integrate mathematics in their designs and stuff? Yes, of course. There is beauty in mathematical equations”.
Of such a beauty, all three mentors spoke, as Mr. Daoud eloquently elaborates:
“It depends on your definition of beauty; take Newton’s Law of universal gravitation, Dirac's equation, Stephen Hawking’s equation on black holes and countless others. You do find beauty in their simplicity and the processes these persons undertook to develop their equations. To me, that is also considered art. So, talking about a barrier between the arts and mathematics, I can understand that when thinking of art in the classical sense, but, if you talk to any scientist or mathematician regarding aesthetics and beauty, they would truly understand your point of view as an artist. It’s just another way of looking at things and perceiving them; we normally see beauty in the method of solution and the equation itself, which is the whole point of it, isn’t it?”
When questioned about the oddest thing he experienced while giving a mathematics class, Mr. Mohammad and Mr. Salah likewise said: