Editor's introduction

‘What makes the desert beautiful,’ said the little prince,

‘is that somewhere it hides a well.’

― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

The Journal of Mathematics and the Arts (JMA) editorship is for me an exciting scholarly and creative undertaking. My inspiration for this editorial work originates in my diverse experiences: my mother's lessons in traditional, ethnic crafts and arts; my scholarly work in mathematics at various levels for different audiences; my appreciation of other cultures; and my work and passion for human dignity, diversity and intercultural communication. These eclectic interests inspired me to facilitate the Bridges workshops and contribute to Bridges conferences (see the 2014 [2] and 2015 [3] JMA conference reports) from their inception in Winfield, Kansas, by my dear colleague and friend, Reza Sarhangi [6]. That led to my participation in the work of the JMA. For many years now I have considered the people I have connected with through the mentioned experiences my big global family. This family shares an interest in looking at the world through the lenses of mathematics and the arts. To further illustrate what motivates my mathematics and the arts inquiry, I will share a few examples.

In my undergraduate and graduate years, I was immersed in a primarily discipline-based view of mathematical sciences and their applications. Traditional mathematical imagery and visualization were part of that experience. Today's 3D printing of sculptures and everyday objects reminds me how I learned and loved to create technical drawings for my geometry classes. My first significant memory of conceptualizing mathematics and the arts with a deeper sense of possibilities happened as I was reading Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid. I was fascinated by the interplay of the music of Bach, the paradoxical artwork of Escher, and implications of the Gödel's Theorem of Incompleteness. Hofstadter's deliberations about the prospects of artificial intelligence emulating human thought further inspired my interest in unexpected and unusual connections of different worldviews; the world of mathematics to other worlds [4].

Recently, mathematician Roger Antonsen gave a talk, ‘Math is the hidden secret to understanding the world’ with an unanticipated connection to empathy [1]. He attempted to make this connection via mathematical imagery of changing perspectives and asking what if questions. His goal was to share his insight into the nature of our understanding by considering multiple perspectives. Although examples focused on mathematical representations, the transition to thinking about our own and others’ perspectives seemed smooth. That led to talking about our ability to imagine things from other's perspective – our ability to empathize.

Here is one more thought-provoking example of transdisciplinary connections. In the Copenhagen Royal Theatre, as part of Cultural Capital 2017, physics Professor Klaus Mølmer gave a presentation about the intriguing behaviour of cold atoms. The presentation was followed by composer Kim Helweg's piece, ‘Quantum Music’, performed by Aarhus Sinfonietta. Quantum Music comprises 15 short movements, and was inspired by the physics of Bose–Einstein condensates [5].

Finally, I want to mention an example of a three-movement piece, ‘Superposition’. It was performed by a duet consisting of the Welsh mezzo-soprano, Juliette Pochin and a D-Wave machine – a prototype for a potential quantum computer. This D-Wave machine sound was produced by a quantum-mechanical algorithm transforming Pochin's voice through ‘quantum-ness’ to produce a new sound [7].

Here, I have only touched on the traditional ways of thinking about mathematics and the arts, and have tried to provide a few current and startling examples that might require a deeper study. The purpose of these examples is twofold. First, I want the reader to have a quick snapshot of my thinking related to mathematics and the arts. Second are changes: changes in general, in the transdisciplinary field of mathematics and the arts as well as changes to the JMA. With new discoveries, the transdisciplinary field of mathematics and the arts is changing which has an effect on the scope of JMA. To illustrate, with every journal submission the question of suitability should be considered from multiple perspectives, by individuals with different knowledge and experiences. In that context, my goal is to maintain what is unique and special about JMA; in particular, I hope to remain true to its spirit.

As I contemplate JMA's future, I would like to remind us all about JMA's multi-layered characteristics: different nature of participating disciplines; sometimes conflicting perspectives of players; divergent beliefs about what constitutes the nature of mathematics and the arts; accompanying philosophies and knowledge constructions. My focus is on broadening the JMA family by providing opportunities to work collaboratively in this challenging but inspiring space. I hope that my work on that focus will enable us to expand our scope, broaden our family of authors and readers, and envision new horizons. Furthermore, I anticipate this will also help to shape JMA's priorities to reflect expertise, interest and passions of the global JMA community. I like to think about JMA as an inviting space for sharing about inquiry, exploration and discovery in mathematics and the arts. This might include an inquiry, exploration and discovery of mathematics and the arts in, for example, Machine Learning and Data Mining, or Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. I am planning to facilitate publication of some JMA special issues focused on mentioned priorities. As this first 2017 issue is coming out, we will have a call for papers for two special issues: one devoted to mathematics and the arts in education (Guest Editors: Paul Gailiunas and Kristóf Fenyvesi) and the other to celebrate the life and work of Reza Sarhangi (Guest Editor: Carol Bier).

I am further happy to announce that JMA will also consider short mathematical art papers: Artist Statement. This kind of contributions should focus on one main art work and include up to 1000 words of author's narrative about their selected work; to clarify the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of hers or his work, to engage observer's own thoughts. This is in line with JMA's introduction of graphical abstracts which help place artistic works at JMA's focus. JMA also has the ability to include video abstracts particularly for dramatists wishing to submit a math-art paper around art forms like drama (stage, screen or television), prose, poetry and music.

Reflecting on the past 10 years, I would like to express my genuine gratitude to prior JMA editors, Founding Editor Gary Greenfield and my predecessor Craig Kaplan. I am expressing this appreciation for their stewardship on behalf of the JMA's global community – readers, reviewers, authors, the Editorial Board, Taylor & Francis, and all other individuals who helped along the way to sustain the high quality of JMA publications. As JMA Editor-in-Chief, during the review process I will follow Gary and Craig's successful model, as well as include some new elements in accordance with my style and line of thinking.

As I am looking at the first submissions for 2017, I am reminded of the crucial role that the Editorial Board and the Associate Editors play in maintaining rigor for quality publications during the review process. My thanks go to them, too, together with my confidence that we can continue the vital collaborative traditions that Gary and Craig nurtured so effectively.

To celebrate 10 years of JMA's existence and progress, and to illuminate the transdisciplinary thinking of JMA's authors, a selection of JMA papers from the past 10 years will be available for free online access during 2017. I am looking forward to the opportunity to introduce that collection to our readers. This kind of retrospective will encourage further reflection on the scope and depth of the field of mathematics and the arts as well as vision for some future priorities.

Additional information

Funding

National Science Foundation [DMS-1308767].