Red Helen in science and art

Red Helen in flight

In a garden, the artist asks about a butterfly:
Entomologist: Papilion helenus.
Artist: And its common name?
Entomologist: Red Helen.
Artist: And who was Helen?
Entomologist: Helen was… Helen.
Artist: Means you don’t know.
Entomologist: Maybe. But I can tell you there are about a dozen subspecies. Swallowtailed. See, he flutters his forewings and the hindwings stay fairly still.
Artist: Helen is a male?
Entomologist: Helens are male and female.

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Voice-over
Scientists like taxonomies. As taxonomists, they compare, contrast and categorize. That is how they view the world.
Artists focus on features. Writers seek stories. That is how they explain the world.
Great scientists can tell stories and great artists can suggest the underlying science. They are scientist and artist. Look at Linnaeus. Look at Leonardo. Both were both.
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