Thoughts before bed

     Here I lay, a geek that needs to wake up early.  I piss away the hours and feed my insomnia by drafting my blog post, reading the works of the scientific masters, and thinking about C.P. Snow.
     C.P. Snow was recently introduced to me as I scoured the Internet for works on entropy.  Tonight I am reading "The Two Cultures", which seems to be his most referenced work.  This post is not about the essay, mainly because I'm only two pages into it at the moment and really need to head to bed soon so I can wake up early tomorrow.  Writing fills some strange indescribable need, and it helps clarify thoughts.
     What I've read so far has got me thinking.  He's said that there is a widening gap between the scientific intellectuals and the literary intellectuals.  This seems to be everyones focus, so references to the book end here.  However, I want to talk about art and science.
     Sometimes, it seems that so many groups of thought can not get along.  Christians who believe in the big-bang start by saying "Now I know it sounds odd. . ."  Apparently, since I study science, I can't believe in ghosts and spirits.  I read abstracts and scientific papers, but they certainly are not "good literature."
     The funny thing is, artists and writers are why I got into science.  My favorite artist in high school was M.C. Escher because his art was based on math and logic.  If it wasn't for the work of Arthur C. Clarke, I may not have gotten back into science at all.  My first "teachers" after dropping out of college were webcomics like "Irregular Webcomics", SMBC, and XKCD.  Sometimes, when I want to look for inspiration, I watch Vihart on youtube.  If my one and only exposer to science was traditional schooling, I would be the most boring person in the world.
     The more I read, the more I find.  Today, while reading James Maxwell, I was introduced to Lucretius, a roman philosopher who wrote a large poem outlining the works of the Greek masters.
     For the most part, popular culture confuses scientific principles. For every Jules Verne, there are a hundred or so authors explaining how to improve your life by using the many-worlds interpretation to propel yourself to a world.  Trying to sift through them to get to the facts is a god-damn chore.  Don't forget about the people who do understand the theories, but present them to push their own agendas, political or religious.
     It is to easy to get cynical.  Too many people try to paint pictures of an "Us vs Them" view of life.  I see as many people working together as I see people fighting.  For now I'll ignore the motivations; I want to sleep tonight, not hate people.  Art helps progress.  The best can use it as a tool to communicate ideas to everyone.  These ideas can further understanding and help form new ideas.
    When stuff starts to look cliché, it is time to sleep.  Goodnight all of you beautiful shapes in the void.