| What knowledge do we gain from music? This is the question Edward Rothstein, chief music critic for the New York Times, addresses in his new book Emblems of Mind: the Inner Meaning of Music and Mathematics. Rothstein asserts that music and mathematics engage the mind and emotions in very similar ways. Both activities train us to look for and interpret patterns in the world, skills that provide a foundation for many other areas of learning and living. Rothstein thus rejects the notion that mathematics and music are too abstract and impractical for study by the common man and insists that they should be a part of basic education for every individual. He also discusses the infinite metaphors music makes possible in the mind of the listener. |
Emblems of Mind: The Inner Life of Music and Mathematics (Times Books, 1995) |
