“Math, Physics, and The Last Supper” *

December 11, 1997


* Notes of a presentation given to students at the Exact Sciences Conference, Miami Dade Community College, Wolfson Campus.

by: Danilo Lopez, AIA.

I like to think of college students, and students in general for that matter, as sorcerer’s apprentices. Most of you here today are studying engineering, architecture, computer sciences or any other career in which math and physics play a central role. Many of you also say, “What should I have to study calculus, or numeric analysis, or C++?. Will I ever use them in real life?”. My daughters ask the same questions all the time. One of them is a psychologist, the other wants to be an elementary school teacher, and the youngest wants to be a musician.

All this is really about the future, yours and Florida’s. What is the role of math and physics in our future? Why do we include them in our education curriculum? More curiously, what does The Last Supper have to do with math and physics?

Theory and Reality

Remember that when we write down a mathematical formula in a physics context, we are only making a statement about reality, and we are using numbers to express that reality. For example, when we say that energy is the capacity to do work. That work is a force applied to a certain mass as to displace it in space at a certain angle. That force is the product of a mass moved in space with certain acceleration. We are creating numerical symbols for metaphysical realities. Each statement has a corresponding formula. Aristotle titled one chapter of his book “metaphysics” only because it was after the chapter on physics, and he did not know what to call it.

Scientists speculate, observe reality, and deduct natural laws. Some times they study reality to discover laws; others they theorize about possible laws and later prove them in reality. These are the realms of math and physics. But the beauty is that pure reason will not give us all the answers: we need intuition. As Einstein used to say: “Imagination is more important than knowledge”. And imagination to me is that constant interplay we do in our minds between theory and reality, imagination and fact, math and art. To Pythagoras, we are number, and nowadays, there are still people that devote themselves to numerology to know the character of others and see the future. This is about where we are now and where we will be in the future.

Reason and Intuition


In interacting with reality, designing a building, constructing a bridge, or painting a still life, we use either reason or intuition. Many use both. True scientists, true artists see no divisory line between them; see no separation between art and math, letter and number. In architecture, at the extreme of the mathematical approach we have Mies Van Der Rohe (“God is in the details”), with adepts like the early Christopher Alexander, Rafael Leoz de la Fuente, Craig Elwood, and Yona Friedman . At the extreme of the intuitive approach we have Mendelsohn (“Design is revelation”) and such followers as Wright, Pedersen, and Graves.

One of the persons I admire the most is Leonardo da Vinci, epitome of the Renaissance man, who used reason and intuition to develop his solutions and inventions, who was as much an artist as he was a scientist. The Last Supper is an acute analysis of proportion, composition, and number; but also of color, mood, and symbol. In modern times I believe only Le Corbusier can really be put in the same group.

What’s in it for you?

In taking math and physics, what’s in it for you students? In addition to them being a requirement of the curriculum, I will give you the answers my own daughters found out. To Reima, the psychologist, the use of statistics is paramount in her field of specialization: tests to measure different variables. Chi square, Student’s T, and all measures of central tendency are used by her almost on a daily basis.

Kristel told me that ever since she applied herself in the study of pre-algebra, her music performances have improved tremendously. Curious about her assertion, I investigated this topic and found out that scholar research has been made with findings of enhanced mathematical rendition for students kindergarten to twelfth grade who studied piano and took music lessons. The key appears to be that the portions of the brain that have to do with music and art also have to do with math and numbers.

Danibel understands that physics in nothing but applied math. Applied to interpret reality and the concepts each formula hides or expresses, has helped her understand our world. How it works, why it works like that, and, surprise, who she wants to be.

Real Life

So this is about real life. Who do you want to be when you grow up? A Mendelsohn or a Corbusier? A van der Rohe or a da Vinci? A brief history of math -which, don’t panic, I won’t get into here- will show you that the history of humankind is closely linked to math and art alike. Read Leibniz’s biography with his mix of mathematics and philosophy, which led to the invention of computers. Or Lewis Carrols’s the author of Alice in Wonderland, who was an accomplished mathematician.

This is the Sorcerer’s path. You are the apprentices. Did you know that the head of Racal, that big company with new offices in Broward County is a mathematician? Which tells me that he must also be a good business person. In this modern world you need other traits too: management skills, dealing with people, that something called “emotional intelligence”.


Last, but not least, you need to be at the edge of technology (which owes its advances to math and to the imagination and business sense of people like Billy Gates and the Japanese). Personally, at work, thanks to math I have been able to prepare facilities lists for new schools in excel spreadsheets, do cohort statistical calculations, and budgeting. At home, I have been able to discuss with experts about the best mortgage deal for my family, utility bills, interest rates, computers and help my children with their homework and science projects.


So I encourage you to apply yourselves in the study of math, physics, and computers. Florida faces a high technology challenge in the world today: we see technology as a fast growing, exploding industry but we lack the human resources to tap into it. We need to make science and technology an integral part of our education curriculum, attract companies, and train our work force. This will allow us to compete in the economy of tomorrow, and we have to begin today. You, students of the exact sciences, are the future.