'Hey Bill Nye, What's the Evolutionary Purpose of Music and Art?' | Big Think

Hey Bill Nye, What's the Evolutionary Purpose of Music and Art?'

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The impulse to create art and music comes from deep evolutionary drives, explains Bill Nye the Science Guy. In the animal kingdom, song and visual displays are great tools for, um, flirting.

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BILL NYE, THE SCIENCE GUY :

Bill Nye, scientist, engineer, comedian, author, and inventor, is a man with a mission: to help foster a scientifically literate society, to help people everywhere understand and appreciate the science that makes our world work. Making science entertaining and accessible is something Bill has been doing most of his life. In Seattle Nye began to combine his love of science with his flair for comedy, when he won the Steve Martin look-alike contest and developed dual careers as an engineer by day and a stand-up comic by night. Nye then quit his day engineering day job and made the transition to a night job as a comedy writer and performer on Seattle's home-grown ensemble comedy show “Almost Live." This is where “Bill Nye the Science Guy®" was born. The show appeared before Saturday Night Live and later on Comedy Central, originating at KING-TV, Seattle's NBC affiliate.
While working on the Science Guy show, Nye won seven national Emmy Awards for writing, performing, and producing. The show won 18 Emmys in five years. In between creating the shows, he wrote five children's books about science, including his latest title, “Bill Nye's Great Big Book of Tiny Germs." Nye is the host of three currently-running television series. “The 100 Greatest Discoveries" airs on the Science Channel. “The Eyes of Nye" airs on PBS stations across the country. Bill's latest project is hosting a show on Planet Green called “Stuff Happens." It's about environmentally responsible choices that consumers can make as they go about their day and their shopping. Also, you'll see Nye in his good-natured rivalry with his neighbor Ed Begley. They compete to see who can save the most energy and produce the smallest carbon footprint. Nye has 4,000 watts of solar power and a solar-boosted hot water system. There's also the low water use garden and underground watering system. It's fun for him; he's an engineer with an energy conservation hobby. Nye is currently the Executive Director of The Planetary Society, the world's largest space interest organization.
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TRANSCRIPT:

Michael Montoya: Hi Bill. Michael Montoya here. What do you think is the evolutionary advantage to humanity being both musically and artistically creative? And where do you think this initial spark of creativity came from?

Bill Nye: Michael. Michael. This is a great question and susceptible to speculation. Apparently music and art is part of the way we communicate and it's certainly the way you attract mates. I'll just put it to you that way. Musicians and artists engage other people in a way that people who don't use music and don't use art do not. Now, there's a lot of talk about songbirds in evolutionary biology and they all have these songs, which must be pleasing to the ears of their potential mates and also must send messages to others of their species, so I guess to other species as well. I am angry; this is my territory; I'm looking for a mate; it's a sunny day. These sort of announcements are made by other species so you figure humans have just taken it just a whole other level with albums and record release parties and art exhibits and art museums and art galleries. So it really is deep within us and I think art enriches our lives, engages our brains and stimulates us in a way that nothing else we do does. So, this is only speculation on my part but music especially certainly inspires us. That's for sure. So carry on Michael. Turn it up loud.

[morgothbeatz]

My question made it!!! I'm so stoked!!

[joshuam]

"TURN IT UP LOUD" - Bill Nye 2016

[gsilcoful]

A good answer. Not very romantic but a good answer.

[ChaoTime]

My initial thought when I heard the question was that people who are creative find creative ways to survive thereby passing on their creative genes.

[gizmogoose.]

And the cave drawings of buffalo became more than just the recounting of yesterday's hunt.
Somewhere along the line, someone remarked, *look* at the _line quality, _ and the _nuances in the shading, _ and the *_dynamic_*_ way the arrangement of many buffaloii play off of each other._ *Og* is a _rock solid_ *GENIUS!*

[nuance]

Ugh... more research is needed for this question--- I would look more at our mammal brethren in the sea for a better answer to this question. Orcas (killer whales) have three distinct cultures, where they vocalize differently, and it's correlated to their environment, what they hunt. Culture (and language) are shaped from our environment, where our music is almost always a metaphor about our lives (our environment). And, the poet inside me has to say this, all words are inherently musical, especially the Latin/Greek structure of scientific jargon.

I wouldn't totally dismiss "we sing and dance to attract mates, " but it makes my brain scream "correlation without causation!"

[Fischstix]

Access to fine arts is intrinsic to a high quality of life.

[coffeefrog]

Since Bill didn't know, I'll give a whack at it. As an artist, I would sincerely like this question to be answered.
My guess involves a few things: First, our species breeds based on intelligence and curiosity, and I think art stimulates our brains, gives us puzzles to solve, and is just generally satisfying to us intellectually. It makes us feel a sense of fulfillment in that regard, and it broadens our horizons of things to be curious about. Secondly, it brings people together--sharing music and whatnot can be a form of peace making and community building. Not to mention, music and dance can be sexual. Lastly, I agree with Bill that it is a form of communication that can convey things that simple words and gestures can't.

[willway]

Please someone make a remix of Bill saying "Turn it up load", that would be amazing!

[imset]

Music/Art is not only a very important catalyst for the evolution of culture but also a challenge, test, and a footprint of the artists SELF to oversee the reflection of one's SELF/mental, emotional, and spiritual evolution.

[MrRussellharmon]

There's a great scientific journal(in the field of psychology) titled Unraveling the Mystery of Music: Music as an Evolved Group Process (Laersch & Arbuckle, 2013)
That has provided a foundation for further research into what music is. 7 study's that were done in this article helped solidify the theory of the journal that was music evolved as a group process. Essentially to make us form in-group bias towards each other AKA to feel more connected to one another, AND to communicate the desired collective state of our social group across our community at once. Example being aggressive music played at a football game to elicit the feeling of confronting the opposition and winning influencing the crowd. Everyone coming together in peace, love, and tolerance at a concert or festival, Or a military trumpet calling all soldiers to action. This is efficient because music travels fast and there's no misinterpreting the meaning generally, also no room for disagreements on such action being called. There's also people who are more influenced by music then others and these people are more likely to work better in groups and have strongher in-group bias. As well as when they're social status is threatened music seems to have an even greater effect on these people(thinking about how Sally May broke your heart and you played "Apologize" on repeat huh?) In essence music seems to be imbedded into humans to connect us together. Which we've really all felt instinctively without even trying, the very nature of music is unifying our species... that's fucking insane... well I mean this is just a theory but it's the only theory done on music that actually has data to back it up! If you have any interest in music I think it's a must read! And one more thing: this "mating call" Bill has told us is the purpose of music, isn't wrong, but it's not the main piece, it looks to be simply a byproduct to the in-group bias music creates! Fucking fascinating stuff and I really hope further research comes out soon!
Hope you guys benefited from my rant haha

[acathosh]

A good question?! This must be the wrong show

[selfelements]

Music, science, as well as any kind of art, is the manifestation of the human mind into the domain of matter. The genuine artistic expression though is what fascinates me for it enables us to see ourselves in a new way, or perhaps in a better more accurate way. Through the process of deep introspection by a psychological phenomenon called projection, the human mind can finally know itself by distancing itself from the image that's producing it, and the reflections being what it can and cannot recognize about the nature of its own existence; like a mirror held up to nature, it is what one may call "consciousness".

[alloutofthyme]

More than just inspiring, art is communication, entertainment, and many other things.

[Vynzent]

Thank goodness we have some musicians who do more with music than attracting mates.

[awimachinegun]

Person: "What's the evolutionary purpose of--"
Me: "I'm gonna have to stop you right there."

[AmpsforBuddha]

Can you submit questions here? …Mr. Bill, can you explain consciousness. What is consciousness? Why are we conscious?

Great video! …Sometimes, "I don't know", is the best answer.

[freshh]

"So carry on, Michael. Turn it up loud."

[classlesssystem]

I'd say music is a very powerful evolutionary tool for a species so emotional. One song can change your whole outlook on a day, and who knows what you may not have done if you hadn't caught that spark.

[teemuntubetus]

The way to impress females, communicate, tell stories, warn dangers, bring people together, use it as a healing element, orchestrate movement, keep predators away, etc..