Abstract
Square roots have always seemed mysterious to me.
On the one hand square roots are really simple: The square root of a number is simply a value which multiplied by itself is equal to that number. The square root of four is thus two. And the square root of one is one. But on the other hand they are incredibly complicated! For as soon as we expand on the exercise to include other numbers problems arise. For instance the square root of two is not easily calculated in your head. The problem not only concerns the practice of arithmetic but also the underlying idea or question: What does it even mean that a square has a root?
In the same way the question of what nature is seems to become difficult as soon as we move from the easier answers to a general approach. It would seem easy to just point and say that nature is that – the flower, the tree, the landscape – out there. But it becomes significantly harder when we try to generalize our definition. For as inaccurate as the pointing finger is, so is our very definition of the concept of nature. It can thus mean anything and refer to all that we call matter or all substance. This is what “nature” refers to in the term “natural sciences”.
On the one hand square roots are really simple: The square root of a number is simply a value which multiplied by itself is equal to that number. The square root of four is thus two. And the square root of one is one. But on the other hand they are incredibly complicated! For as soon as we expand on the exercise to include other numbers problems arise. For instance the square root of two is not easily calculated in your head. The problem not only concerns the practice of arithmetic but also the underlying idea or question: What does it even mean that a square has a root?
In the same way the question of what nature is seems to become difficult as soon as we move from the easier answers to a general approach. It would seem easy to just point and say that nature is that – the flower, the tree, the landscape – out there. But it becomes significantly harder when we try to generalize our definition. For as inaccurate as the pointing finger is, so is our very definition of the concept of nature. It can thus mean anything and refer to all that we call matter or all substance. This is what “nature” refers to in the term “natural sciences”.
| Originalsprog | Engelsk |
|---|---|
| Titel | Square Roots of Nature |
| Redaktører | Jacob Juhl |
| Antal sider | 6 |
| Udgivelsessted | S.l. |
| Forlag | Jacob Juhl |
| Publikationsdato | 16 maj 2020 |
| Status | Udgivet - 16 maj 2020 |
| Begivenhed | Square Roots of nature - Højbjerg og Simmelsgaard, Hobro, Danmark Varighed: 16 maj 2020 → 1 aug. 2020 http://hoejbjergsimmelsgaard.com/blog/category/upcoming-exhibitions/ |
Udstilling
| Udstilling | Square Roots of nature |
|---|---|
| Lokation | Højbjerg og Simmelsgaard |
| Land/Område | Danmark |
| By | Hobro |
| Periode | 16/05/2020 → 01/08/2020 |
| Internetadresse |
Emneord
- Nature
- Naturbegrebet
- Antropocæn