Week 1: Two Cultures

http://interchangeproject.org/2011/10/07/
the-marriage-of-technology-and-the-liberal-arts/

C.P. Snow’s notion of “two cultures” resonates deeply in me. As an electrical engineering student, I personally feel the separation of literary and scientific cultures in my life. Being raised in a family of all engineers, I never really got the chance to explore the fields of humanities or arts. My cultural and educational backgrounds direct my attention and interests to a narrow domain, and I gradually lost my confidence and even interests in pursuing other fields. Even at UCLA, I didn’t get to step out of my comfort zone as UCLA readily divided for me the engineering life at south campus and the humanities world at north campus.  However, there have been plenty of times in my life that I’ve felt the thirst for connecting to other people and other worldviews.

In 1959, C.P. Snow, the British governmental science adviser and novelist, delivered a lecture at Cambridge University in which he identified separation of what he called “the two cultures” as a serious issue in the English society. Snow argued that ignorance of science and technology within the literary community and the vice versa would impose a far-reaching danger on humans progress. However, as Paula Apsell asserted at New York Academy of Sciences, the problem today does not limit to lack of communication between literary intellectuals and scientific community, but it has expanded to a gap between science and the public as well.

http://www.sfu.ca/fcat.html

As a student, I now better understand the importance of bridging the gap between science, arts, technology, and the people. Fortunately, according to John Brockman, there are many scientists who are currently trying to tackle this task. They are the ones who have generated the "third culture."

Reading Kevin Kelly’s article on the emerging “culture of nerds” opened a new perspective to me and filled my heart with hopes. I now hope that I can use my expertise in engineering and technology in future to create opportunities for connecting science to our daily life and people. I’m also eager to incorporate artistic elements in technical designs. As John Lasseter, an American animator, once said, " the art challenges the technology , and the technology inspires the art." 

http://inspirationfeed.com/articles/technology-articles
/the-merging-of-art-and-technology

Sources

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

2. Kelly, Kevin. "ESSAYS ON SCIENCE AND SOCIETY:The Third Culture." Science 279.5353 (1998): n. pag. Web.

3. Williams, Christopher M. "Academy EBriefings." EBriefings at the Academy | The New York Academy of Sciences. N.p., 24 July 2009. Web. 07 Apr. 2017.

4. Graham-Rowe, Duncan. "John Brockman: Matchmaking with Science and Art." John Brockman: Matchmaking with Science and Art | Edge.org. N.p., 3 Feb. 2011. Web. 07 Apr. 2017.

5. "The Connection Between Art and Technology." PIXAR. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2017.