« Computer science vs. Computer programming | Main
March 09, 2007
Art or fake?
M.V. Simkin, Scientific inquiry in modern art, E-print, (2007).
I report the results of the test, where the takers had to tell true masterpieces of abstract art from the fakes, produced by myself. Every picture can be described by the fraction of the test takers, who selected it as a masterpiece. When judged by this metric, the pictures show no stratification between masterpieces and fakes, suggesting that they are of about the same quality.
Simkin's website reverent.org hosts the quiz itself, which you can take. I scored a dismal 75% accuracy (better than chance, but shameful considering how much time I've spent in art museums over the years). His site has several other quizes, too, and my self-esteem is mildly ausaged by the fact that I, at least, seem to be able to distinguish human art from non-human (bird poop vs. Jackson Pollock: 100%, human vs. ape: 100%).
posted March 9, 2007 10:54 AM in Humor | permalink