The power of art is that it can connect us to one another, and to larger truths about what it means to be alive and what it means to be human.
Interpretation
Art connects individuals while expressing universal truths of humanity and existence.
In this quote, Daniel Levitin emphasizes the profound ability of art to forge connections between people and to communicate essential truths about life and humanity. It suggests that through artistic expression, we can explore shared experiences and deeper understandings of our existence, ultimately fostering a sense of community and a broader perspective on what it means to be human.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of community, one might use this quote to illustrate how art brings people together.
As soon as you hear a proposition, the creative brain in humans assumes for the moment that it's true, and starts trying to find evidence. It's what computer scientists in the old days used to call 'Fifo:' first in, first out. The first piece of information that gets in has a privileged position, even if it's misinformation.
What music is better able to do than language is to represent the complexity of human emotional states.
Information overload refers to the notion that we're trying to take in more than the brain can handle.
That walk around the block, that fresh air, is going to help you work more quickly and effectively when you get back.
There are a lot of books about how to get organized and a lot of books about how to be better and more productive at business, but I don't know of one that grounds any of these in the science.
There's an ancient connection between movement and music. Most languages don't make a distinction between the words 'music' and 'dance.' And we can see that in the brain. When people are lying perfectly still but listening to music, the neurons in the motor cortex are firing.
Yellow is capable of charming God.
Supreme serenity still remains the Ideal of great Art. The shapes and transitory forms of life are but stages toward this Ideal, which Christ's religion illuminates with His divine light.
When you're writing fiction or poetry... it really comes down to this: indifference to everything except what you're doing... A young writer could do worse than follow the advice given in those lines.
What is drawing? It is working oneself through an invisible iron wall that seems to stand between what one feels and what one can do.
Dead women tell no tales. Sad men write them down.
One of the interesting things an artist does is they keep rediscovering things, whether it's a jazz piece or a role you've done for 3,000 performances or a song you're singing for the 3,000th time. My job is to find that spark that keeps it fresh and alive.
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