Week 1: Two Cultures

Art and Science: The Inextricably Linked Two Cultures

When I was young, I remember being deeply enthralled in the world of art, specifically drawings. I would draw many things, ranging from whales to airplanes. I remember being talented, often receiving praise from friends and family for my drawings.

As I grew up, I noticed that my teachers, my parents, and my peers began to criticize and even ridicule those with gifted artistic capabilities. This pressured me to abandon an aspect of my life that was so influential in my childhood. Of course, I understand my shift away from art cannot be blamed mostly upon the system. Researchers know for a fact that younger children have "more imagination" than adults, so it is inevitable that they experience a proclivity towards art (“Why Are Younger People More Creative Than Adults?”). However, the growing divide between the arts and science is a big problem identified by many noteworthy intellectuals.

In an abstract sense, it seems as though, from my personal experience, the world has shifted more to

prioritizing science over art. CP Snow's notion of "two cultures" is pertinent to what my personal experience has demonstrated to me, which is that the divide between art and science is troubling. CP Snow belabors the tragedy of both cultures failing to fully grasp the purpose and work of the other (Snow 12). Likely, the prioritization of science over art that I alluded to earlier is a consequence of this.

Professor Vesna adroitly furthers the analogy of "two cultures" in introducing the idea that a third culture may be necessary to facilitate the discourse between scientists and artists which is so necessary in our technology-dependant world (Vesna 121). Even the very idea of creativity cannot be fully understood without first defining the notions of pragmatism and predictability (Bohm 137). The idea of a third culture stemming from the intersection of science and art is not entirely unique; there has been a reference to a possible nerd culture, which consists of "pop culture based in technology" (Kelly). Much like how the left side of the brain controls logic and the right side creativity, or how UCLA's South Campus covers STEM fields and the North covers arts/humanities, the two cultures of science and art are inseparable.

     

Going forward, it is now clear to me that, despite being an economics major, the artistic aspect of my life that I left behind during my early childhood would greatly benefit my studies going forward. 

Sources:

Bohm, D. “On Creativity.” Leonardo, vol. 1, no. 2, The MIT Press, 1968, pp. 137–49. JSTOR,                            doi:10.2307/1571951.

Kelly, Kevin. "The Third Culture." The Third Culture. N.p., n.d. Web. Feb. 1998

Snow, Charles Percy. The two cultures and the scientific revolution: The Rede Lecture, 1959. University              Press, 1959.

“Why Are Younger People More Creative Than Adults?” Slate Magazine, Slate, 6 Aug. 2016, slate.com/human-interest/2016/08/why-are-younger-people-more-creative-than-adults.html#:~:text=Answer%20by%20Paul%20King%2C%20director,thought%20that%20serve%20them%20well.

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

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