April 8, 2017
Two Cultures
C.P. Snow seems to take the perspective that scientists are protected from the rest of the world. He takes the side of art over science. “As one would expect, some of the very best scientists had and have plenty of energy and interest to spare, and we came across several who had read everything that literary people talk about. But that’s very rare” (Snow). Snow discusses the strong separation between humanities and sciences and why that is a barrier to solving the world’s problems.
An apparent separation of these two cultures on campus here at UCLA is the divide between north and south campus. South campus is for the sciences while north campus is for the arts. The students at south campus are seen as the smartest students. There is a stereotype that they separate themselves socially and intellectually from the rest of the students on campus. Kevin Kelly says, “Yet science has always been a bit outside society’s inner circle.” (Kelly). I think that more people are beginning to realize that we need humanities and science to work together in order to progress further. Graham-Rowe states, “I am interested in people who can take the materials of the culture in the arts, literature and science and put them together in their own way” (Graham-Rowe).
Sources
Graham-Rowe, Duncan. "John Brockman: Matchmaking with Science and Art." WIRED
UK, 23 May 2016. Web. 08 Apr. 2017.
Kelly, Kevin. "The Third Culture." Science. American Association for the Advancement
of Science, 13 Feb. 1998. Web. 08 Apr. 2017.
Snow, C.P. “The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution.” New York: Cambridge
University Press, 1959. Print.
Vesna, Victoria. "Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between." Leonardo 34 2001:
121-25. Print.
Wilson, Stephen D. "Myths and Confusions in Thinking about Art/Science/Technology."
College Art Association Meetings, New York, New York, 2000. Print.
I thought that it was really interesting how you said that south campus majors are seen as the "smart ones." That perfectly shows the divide of science and art because there is a social construct that people who are in science are smarter, but brilliance can really be an excellence in any sphere. It is disappointing that people buy into this stereotype because there are many north campus majors that are absolutely brilliant, just in a different way whether it be politics, writing, or even painting.
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