ABSTRACT
This chapter is about art and science and some of the links between them. It is named after the section in a library sandwiched between the pure sciences (the 500s) and the fine arts (the 700s). It is partly autobiographical, partly historical and partly about Mr Dewey, who devised the absurdly ambitious classification system for all human knowledge that libraries round the world have used ever since. My favourite part of any public library has always been this large amorphous section usually simply labelled ‘The Useful Arts’. It contains everything from rocketry to crochet, engineering, hobbies, cookery, etc. Mr Dewey has become a hero of mine. There are many connections between the arts and sciences, but his one seems particularly strong.
