I'm not one for over-the-top problem solving. I can when I want to, but my natural inclination is to only solve the problems that I feel really matter, and to leave the rest to other people. My primary aims are ending paradigms, I guess. I like shattering the way other people think, having people see things in new lights. I like the same reaction in me. And that's something that art and art alone can do. I'm not mystical about it: I just care about that idea of the artistic statement, sort of a declaration of intent. So that's what I focus on.
Beyond that, however, Finnegans Wake is just the most incredible piece of art I've ever seen. If you like solving puzzles, that's a book for you. It's the hardest book on the planet, and it's beautiful. A single sentence in that book blows away most literature I've read, period. Understanding it in its entirety is near-impossible. That's why I'd take that over the billion dollars.
(Mind you, I'd take a billion dollars over most other things. I like earning money a lot.)
Very cool stuff unalone, you're consistently one of my favorite commentators here. I'd toss out there that science and philosophy also shatter paradigms, but I'm with you on art. From your description of Finnegans Wake, I'll add it to my things to read list - thanks.
I think that the proper route is to learn both science and art. I don't know that much about various individual fields of science, though I'd really like to, but I know that there's definitely an art to the way math works, and I'm sure it extends to other stuff too.
Oh, and a severe note of warning: Finnegans Wake is extraordinarily tough to read. It's online, so you might want to take a look at it before you go out of your way to read it.
Beyond that, however, Finnegans Wake is just the most incredible piece of art I've ever seen. If you like solving puzzles, that's a book for you. It's the hardest book on the planet, and it's beautiful. A single sentence in that book blows away most literature I've read, period. Understanding it in its entirety is near-impossible. That's why I'd take that over the billion dollars.
(Mind you, I'd take a billion dollars over most other things. I like earning money a lot.)