Comparing arts and science

The foundation of many things such as technology and medicine come from the oldest works of science. It is necessary to have a general understanding of this foundation to have a greater understanding of a finer field of science. On the other hand, in literature, there is no prior foundation knowledge needed to comprehend the newest and oldest works. Even though this is true, by nature, in literature, most the time, one will prefer read older works. This is not always true, though, at times some may to prefer the newest. In science, most the time, one will read newest works first but not always. To that end, I agree with following quote from Baron Lytton in most cases; â€Å"In science, read, by preference, the newest works: in literature, the oldest. † There are some cases where one may prefer to read newer works of literature and there are cases where one may prefer to read older works but in most cases in literature, read, by preference, the newest works. The following three examples illustrate where in literature one may or may not prefer to read newer or older works. The first example in literature is drama. In drama it depends weather you are trying to read to educate yourself or if you are reading/viewing for pleaser. In the first case you may want to educate yourself with older works first. In the second case you may want to read newer works for pleasure. The second example in literature is poetry. In poetry one's preference is open to choose any type of work. Poetry is timeless and because of this there is no incentive to read older or newer works. In this case the preference in neutral. The last example in literature is a novel. Most people prefer to read older works when it comes to novels. Most people read older novels because it is established work and has a high level of credibility. The oldest work is recognized and most people prefer to read it over newer works. With this being said, overall, in literature, one prefers to read the oldest works. This is most likely true because it is a generational thing where the work is passed down from one generation to another and there is no desire or necessity for change. Similarly, in science, there are some cases where one may prefer to read newer works and there are cases where one may prefer to read older works. This first case where is it is usually necessary to read the oldest works in science is in theoretical, psychological and social science. The next couple examples illustrate where one will prefer to read oldest works. The first example is in the biological fields such as medical and pharmaceutical. In order to practice or study either of these fields you must read and understand the foundation science behind it. If someone wants to have a good understanding of this field they need to read the older works. They must gain this understanding first then they may work towards newer works. Similarly, another example is the study of matter, energy, and space. If you are going to read about this subject matter you will most likely prefer to read the oldest works first and then move to the newer works. To make advances in this field a person must have a good understanding of the foundation science. In contrast, when it comes to practical science, it is usually preferred to read the newest works in science. There are a few examples the help demonstrate where in practical or â€Å"applied† science one may prefer to read the newest works. The first example is in medicine and surgery; here the preference is to read the newest so the person can use the latest science available to them. They also prefer to read the newest works so that can make further advances in the field. Similarly, in technological and business processes, one will read the newest works so they can apply them to their every day operations. As it is illustrated, in science, it may be preferred to read oldest works or it may be preferred to read newest works but in most cases the latter is preferred. In science, since we have the required foundation knowledge our preferences are forced. We are required and must read some of the oldest works first. Then after gaining that preliminary knowledge, one may prefer to read the newest works instead of older. To compare this with literature this is quite contrary. In literature there is no foundation level required. This implies there is no forced preference to read older or newer works. One may choose to read the oldest works but this is not always true. There tends to be less of a preference overall for literature comparatively; sometimes it makes sense to read older sometimes newer if often depends on type. In conclusion, I agree to an extent that â€Å"In science, read, by preference, the newest works: in literature, the oldest†. There is a certain scale and balance that exists when observing ones preference. The scale tilts enough to the for me to say that I agree with it even though it is not always true. There is always going to be new literature and there is always going to be new works in science. No matter what works come out in the future it can be assumed that this trend will continue. People will always tend to prefer to read older literature and people will always prefer to read newer works of science. This tends to be built into people's nature and it uncontrollable.