Week 1: Two Cultures

Differences in left and right brain
https://ibrainandbody.com/left-brain-vs-right-brain/

There is no doubt that in the intellectual world around us, there are two types of people: logic and number oriented people, as well as creative and literary people. Even our brains separate the two types of thinking. C.P. Snow categorized these two types of people into the two cultures: literary intellectuals and natural science intellectuals. He also suggests the reason for the clear division of the arts/humanities and the sciences can be traced back to the universities. This division can be seen on UCLA campus, with the separation of the North and South. C.P. Snow then states that separation of the two fields cause capable minds to ignore science. I would have to agree with this. Growing up and being educated in some of the top private schools in the country, I have always been taught subjects through a keyhole. I learn scientific facts such as the laws of kinetic motion or number of electrons are in an atom shell, then I walk to another building to learn how to use iambic pentameter. Not one single class has shown me how these subjects are interrelated.

UCLA
North Campus is in yellow, South Campus in orange

This spring quarter, I started an environment class. In this class we will learn about the different aspects of food: molecular, political, social, and environmental factors, but mostly focus on the “spaces between them”, as my professor put it. In the current academic world, students are starting to realize the connections between the arts and sciences understanding the patterns and interrelationships between the two.

The Triple Bottom Line rule
shows the relationship between
social, environmental, and economic aspects. https://sustain.wisconsin.edu/sustainability/triple-bottom-line/  

Although C.P. Snow never addressed the third culture and people such as Brockton say the two cultures should be separated, I think many others have started to see the new possibilities there are with studying relationships instead of individual concepts. After reading Vesna and Kelly, I realize the two cultures will continue to cross over more and more, and so will my education. When Wilson stated, “science literacy will need to become much more widespread…[and] arts will need to be much more integrated,” I understood and agreed with this call to action. I think it is important for not only me, but for everyone to understand and acknowledge the importance of having a multifaceted perspective in every major, science or arts. 

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Sources:

Snow, C. P. “Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution.” Reading. 1959. New York: Cambridge UP, 1961. Print.

Snow, C.P. The Two Cultures: And a Second Look. N.p.: n.p., 1963. Print.

Brockman, John. The Third Culture. N.p.: n.p., 1995. Print.

Vesna, Victoria. "Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between." Leonardo. 34 (2001): 121-125. Print.

Kelly, Kevin. "The Third Culture" Science 13 February 1998: Vol. 279 no. 5353 pp. 992-993. Web.

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