Two Cultures

This week’s topic is two cultures. According to C.P. Snow, society has been split by two cultures, which are literature and natural science. He also believes that education is the main thing separated our way of thinking. This just reminds me of my high school life back to China. After the first year of high school, I was forced to choose the subjects I would take in the future high school study. I chose to focus on science part. This means I would not have the chance to take history or political science classes any more. I have science classes every day until my graduation. This is the first time I realized that science and literature are completed separated, and I believe that this is not the only case.  Snow’s opinion can also be easily revealed at UCLA campus. Every Bruin knows there are North and South campus at UCLA. I am a math major student, and most of my classes are at South Campus. Most of my friends are math or engineering major since I have classes with them. However, I barely have chances to know people from North Campus.

  art vs science

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdBCQ8z0INs

North Campus and South Campus students are competing during the fund-raising event.

                                                      http://www.facebook.com/UCLAFund

    

In addition, science researches also tend to tell people that these two cultures are separated.  In my linguistics class, I learned that left and right hemispheres of the brain are used for different things. The left side of the brain is considered to be good at logic, language and analytical thinking. The right side of the brain is best at art and music.

      

            Two Hemispheres of human brains are considered to be in charge of different things. 

                                               http://www.lefthandersday.com/tour2.html

According to the above examples, two cultures seem to be separated. However, should they be really separated? Professor Vesna gives us a good answer. She believes that Art should be the third culture to reconnect science and humanity.  This idea is confirmed by the John Brockman and Kevin Kelly. They believe that the third culture will require both two cultures.  Bohm also points out that creativity can come from both sides. 

                                        Eiffel Tower - a perfect combination of two cultures.

                                         http://www.eiffel-tower.us

Works Cited 

Bohm, David. "On Creativity." 1968.       Leonardo, Vol. 1, pp. 137-149.Print. 

Brockman, John. The Third Culture. 1996. 

(www.edge.org/3rd_culture/index.html)

Kelly, Kevin. "The Third Culture." Editorial. Science 13 Feb. 1998:992-993. The Third Culture. Science. Web. 4 Oct. 2013.

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

Vesna,Victoria. "Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between." 2001. Leonardo, Vol. 34, No. 2.pp. 121-125.Print.