Art VS Science, or Science VS Art... works both ways

Was in my bunk not too recently when my bunk mates got into a small debate on which one is better. Being the only student of the arts in the bunk, of course I stood up for what I have studied for the past 2 years. The debate didn't come to a proper conclusion, as majority decided that science is what actually runs the world, or even keep the world running. The minority didn't have much say, it was only me.

Come to think of it, theres really no point in comparing the 2 subjects. You see, its actually a matter of perspection. By comparing arts and science, its almost as if you are making a comparison to see if the duck rice was better, or the chicken rice. If many people in your area loves chicken rice, then duck rice would not seem so good, or it could be just because the duck rice in your area isn't the better ones that the rest of Singapore offer.

Science is important. I am not speaking as if I did not touch or learn science my entire life. I did, and I actually did pretty well in secondary school. Having A1 for combined science and B3 for Biology speaks for itself. Science is important. Thats without doubt. Thats where we learn and research and find out how life works, how the body works, how the earth runs, how the environment supports itself, how best it is to conserve the work... the list can run a million pages. Thats important. And thats important to a world like ours thats so dependant on technology that we have magnified the importance of science by probably a hundred times. This would sometimes cause us to see the arts as so much smaller.

The arts, be it literature, design, or just music, seem to be of less importance. When we speak of these in comparison to science, its significance seem to be minute. But, of coz theres a but, that doesn't mean the arts is small. Its in fact pretty big, just not in our society yet, or it might just be because we have't had the chance to discover its significance yet. Take literature for example, its the study of why certain things are written, how certain phrases are written and what kind of impact or effect do they have. Seems like nothing? Think again. Literature is in fact how we get to read whatever we are reading, poems, prose, news, we can go on and on. Now how about design and music? Aren't these things the ones that draw millions to places like Italy, Spain, France or other parts of Europe? And what exactly draws them? You will know when you've experienced it. Now who says arts don't run the world?

So when it comes to art vs science or science vs art, theres nothing much to compare. Both are important in a very different way. And both contributes to the society being the way it is. And when we put a certain weightage on one side, its more of a matter of perspective. Just because science is much more supported by the government than arts is in Singapore, or rather because science is contributing more to the economy of Singapore, doesn't mean that Arts is out of the picture. Take a walk down to Victoria Concert Hall, or the Art Museum, or the Singapore Repertory Theatre, and you'll see small bubbles of art life. Just because arts seem smaller in Singapore, doesn't mean its smaller. Just because the duck rice in blk 123 coffeeshop is less popular than the chicken rice stall beside it, doesn't mean that everywhere else is the same.

Ultimately, be it science or art, they both come from one source- God. Just like ducks and chickens.