The beholder has eyes, but so do I

You know the old saying "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" ?

(just for reference, this source claims Margaret Wolfe Hungerford is credited with the earliest appearance in her book Molly Bawn, dated 1878).

Anyways, I am currently in the midst of organizing and promoting an event which will take place this coming Saturday in the Chemistry building at UofT.
The event is part of the national Culture Days weekend which is dedicated to "raise the awareness, accessibility, participation and engagement of Canadians in the arts and cultural life of their communities"

For me, Science is a big part of my culture. I rely on science to decide which food to buy (or not buy), which cleaning products to use (or not use), and so many other decisions we all make every single day, entangled in our habits, our ideas, our opinions, our passions, our perception.

But wait, there's more. Science is not just part of our culture. It is also an object (if one can classify science as an object) of BEAUTY.

I think SCIENCE is BEAUTIFUL.

This is my subjective perception. I am the beholder.
And so many others share this feeling too (here's a few of them):



We all have a different idea of what it is in science that we find beautiful.
It is the surprise, the challenges, the novelty?
Is it the final answer or the process of getting that answer?

There is no right answer. They are all equally correct. Isn't that beautiful in itself?

So what will we do to show people how beautiful science can be?
Well, thank you for asking. We will be making paintings. But not in the ordinary fashion. No. We will try to surprise you in the way we draw.
And we'll also show some neat chemistry which you can do to create art.

(can you tell I'm being careful not giving away all our secrets just yet... but I do promise to post pictures and videos after the event is over)

So what is it that I'm trying to say?
Well, that sometimes, it is nice to stop thinking about explaining science. Sometimes, its nice to think about how you feel about science.