Math for artists

It's that time again. That time in the semester when we are all frantically making appointments to see our advisers, reading pages upon pages of course descriptions and wondering for the millionth time, "What am I going to do with my life?" Spring registration has begun.\nWe spend countless hours preparing for next semester, knocking off courses from our never-ending lists of requirements. This semester, try to remember to choose class options that will make you a more well-rounded student, options that might be out of your comfort zone and that might not be required for your degree.\nSeveral prestigious medical schools, including Yale, Stanford, Cornell and Mount Sinai have recently added art appreciation classes to their curricula. According to a study that was published in The Journal of the American Medical Association in 2001, medical students can improve their observational skills by looking at artwork.\nIn an article about this study in Monday's New York Times, Rebecca Hirschwerk, an art teacher at Mount Sinai School of Medicine said, "I can't think of many places outside art where you can be in a moment, and just look, for as long as you can take it. Think about what it would be like if you were with a patient and could freeze the moment to really pay attention to everything that patient was trying to tell you."\nNot only can medical students learn from their more right-brained friends, but artists can also learn about their craft from a more scientific standpoint. Though many liberal arts students claim that math and science are hard and that they just "don't get it," there are alternatives. \nI personally have to fulfill 12 credit hours of natural and mathematical science courses, not including the finite and statistics classes that I had to take for my journalism degree. I am one of those people who does not "get" math and science, so I was incredibly enthusiastic when I found out about a course called "Anatomy and Botany in the Renaissance," offered through the Hutton Honors College. It combines art history with lessons on the human body and plant life. I have some reason to go to this class because it incorporates one of my interests -- art.\nSome feel that these hybrid courses are "dumbed-down" for the sake of students' grades, so that liberal arts students don't really have to do math problems, and science students can just take art classes "for fun." This way of thought defeats the purpose of taking a class to learn something new. The courses should be just as rigorous, but tailored to specific areas of interest. \nClasses on the acoustics of an orchestra can be required for music students. Pre-med students can receive the assignment of reading "Art and Medicine," a book of 53 reproductions of paintings and drawings depicting the physician's role in society through the ages. Painters and sculptors can take a special class on the proportions of the human body.\nStudents come to college for two reasons: to find what they are most interested in and to specialize in that area. It becomes highly frustrating when you discover what you love to do but then have to take classes that do not even slightly interest you to fill general education requirements. IU does a decent job of offering courses that transcend the arts and sciences border, but there really should be more options.\nSchools mean well by requiring us to take classes outside our comfort zone. After all, we come here to learn new things. They are being counter-productive, however, in requiring classes that are out of our interest zone. So take charge of your own education next semester and sign up for classes that will be both beneficial and interesting to you. Otherwise, you'll be wasting your time.