Studying mathematics has profoundly changed my life, but I'm not sure whether it is for the better. It has brought out some personality traits I always had, and enhanced them. I have always been somewhat un-spontaneous and methodical, and fond of precision and neatness; now I am terribly methodical and determined to seek precision, not only in mathematics and ideas but in language. I am constantly proofreading everything I read, including throwaway memos and graffiti.

I have always been prone to overelaborate details; just a glance at my fantasy city panoramas will show just how far I can get carried away. This wild proliferation of details attracts people, and has sold a lot of prints for me, so I can't fault it altogether. However I have gotten quite tired of hearing the same thing for years and years: "Look at the DEEEE-TAILS!" What if I made art work which did not have all those deeee-tails? Would it be rejected by viewers and not sell? Would it suggest that I was "slacking off" and being lazy, making a less detail-work-intensive piece? I used to jokingly say to clients that the price of a picture was "a dollar for each detail." Would I have to charge less for a simpler picture?

At work, I have the task of lettering hundreds of price tag signs, in which the name of the item, the price, and the weight must all be correct. The management knows that I am the one to do it. I also proofread all the other signs in the store, and catch many mistakes. I can catch mistakes in other stores, or in books, Websites, or even in advertisements, but I can't correct them, which causes me much distress. Woe to those who use the Dread Apostrophe, "it's" as the possessive of "it!"

Doing proof after proof seems to fit my methodical, step-by-step temperament. It's not a temperament that is attractive to our pop-romantic modern society, so fond of hot-sexy impulse and dash, high intense emotion and following "the heart" and "it's" intuitive, passionate urges. I know I am a nerd, and doing math increases nerdness. Well, so there it is; I celebrate nerd pride, along with my nerd heroes who ponder quantum cosmology and string theory.

I set out the details of my ordinary life in proof-like lists. Here's an example. I have a small water fountain which sits on a desk in my studio next to my drawing table and my math space. I have to clean the fountain every month or so to keep the water clear and fresh. Last night I cleaned the fountain. Now the fountain is sitting in its place, dry and disassembled. I won't assemble, fill, and activate it yet, because the collection of little glass cat sculptures (details! details!) that I keep around the fountain is all dusty and needs to be cleaned. If I assemble and fill the fountain with the sculptures in place nearby, I might knock one of them over and break it. But I can't wash the sculptures, because the sink is full of dishes from tonight's dinner, which I have to clean first. I can't do math because the sculptures and fountain parts are all over the place where I usually do my math. And there are papers and finished but yet-unsent tax forms (arrrgh!) under the sculptures and fountain parts. So what is the proof here? Given: dirty dishes, dusty tchotchkes, math paper and books buried under essential but uncleaned stuff. Prove: you can get your studio neat and in working order before the end of the known universe, or better, before the weekend.

Posted at 1:46 am | link