#theory

You must forget all your theories, all your ideas before the subject. What part of these is really your own will be expressed in your expression of the emotion awakened in you by the subject. ↗

— Henri Matisse

#art-theory #creativity #design #emotion #matisse

The man who indulges us in this natural passion, who invites us into his heart, who, as it were, sets open the gates of his breast to us, seems to exercise a species of hospitality more delightful than any other. No man, who is in ordinary good temper, can fail of pleasing, if he has the courage to utter his real sentiments as he feels them, and because he feels them. ↗

— Adam Smith

#courage

Do not be afraid of the word 'theory'. Yes, it can sound dauntingly abstract at times, and in the hands of some writers can appear to have precious little to do with the actual, visual world around us. Good theory however, is an awesome thing. [...] But unless we actually use it, it borders on the metaphysical and might as well not be used at all. ↗

— Richard Howells

#art #metaphysics #theory #art

Tot așa cum galbenul este intotdeauna asociat cu lumina, se poate spune și că albastrul aduce cu el și un principiu al întunericului. Această culoare are un efect special și aproape indescriptibil asupra ochiului. Pe scara culorilor este una puternică, însă de partea negativă, și la maximum de puritate este, cum s-ar zice, o negație stimulatoare. Aspectul său este deci un fel de contradicție între excitație și calm. ↗

— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

#colours #goethe #johann #theory-of-colours #von

I became intrigued with colour theory. The absurd pronouncements of the Colour Institute, a group that decides what colours are hot each year or season, amused me. ↗

— John Barton

#amused #became #colour #colours #decides

What is especially striking and remarkable is that in fundamental physics a beautiful or elegant theory is more likely to be right than a theory that is inelegant. ↗

— Murray Gell-Mann

#beauty #physics #science #theory #beauty

If we increase r [in a logistic map] even more, we will eventually force the system into a period-8 limit cycle, then a period-16 cycle, and so on. The amount that we have to increase r to get another period doubling gets smaller and smaller for each new bifurcation. This cascade of period doublings is reminiscent of the race between Achilles and the tortoise, in that an infinite number of bifurcations (or time steps in the race) can be confined to a local region of finite size. At a very special critical value, the dynamical system will fall into what is essentially an infinite-period limit cycle. This is chaos. ↗

— Gary William Flake

#mathematics #beauty

Psychology cannot tell people how they ought to live their lives. It can however, provide them with the means for effecting personal and social change. ↗

— Albert Bandura

#personal-change #psychology #social-change #social-learning-theory #change

It's a bit counter-intuitive to think about the future in terms of the past. But...I've learned an important trick: to develop foresight, you need to practice hindsight. Technologies, cultures, and climates may change, but our basic human needs and desires - to survive, to care for our families, and to lead happy, purposeful lives - remain the same.' p 5 ↗

— Jane McGonigal

#games-theory #change

When, however the elements of this [book] such as time study, functional formanaship etc, are used without being accompanied by the true philosophy of management, the results are in many cases disastrous. And, unfortunately, even [when those] who are throughly in sympathy ... undertake to change too rapidly ... they frequently meet with serious trouble, and sometimes with strikes, followed by failure. ↗

— Frederick Winslow Taylor

#change