UCLA’s campus is split between a North and South campus. The South campus is home to students under STEM majors, including me. As a Psychology major, I’d say im on the science side of the divide. The North Campus represents more of the humanities and literacy majors. The Northside is more secluded and has a cozy feel when strolling through. Even though the South Campus is where I call home, the North Campus is where I feel interconnected because of my creative side. Walking across the campus I notice the disconnect between literacy and science.
[Figure 1] North Campus Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden
[Figure 2] South Campus Court of Sciences
Reading C.P. Snow’s “The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution” I understood that this divide comes from separating literacy and science into their own groups. The divide stems from having “a gulf of mutual incomprehension sometimes hostility and dislike, but most of all lack of understanding” (Snow 4), from both groups. Victoria Vesna had the same outlook in her article stating that the root of the disconnection is that “most of the philosophers under attack in the scientific community do not work closely with scientists and scientists are equally isolated from the movements of philosophical thought and contemporary artistic expression” (Vesna 124).
When Snow wrote his second edition he envisioned a third culture that would bridge the divide. The third culture arises with the help of technology. Stephen Wilson talks about how technology affects both groups commonly since it “respects processes of trial and error, hunches, inspiration, discovery through craft, play, and invention in addition to careful theory-based experimentation and respect for paradigms” (Wilson 2000).
[Figure 3] The Relationship Between Art and Science
An example of the third culture are the events “Maps for the 21st Century” and “Formulae for the 21st Century” hosted by John Brockman in collaboration with HUO (Hans Ulrich Obrist). The hosts commissioned 50 artists and scientists to produce pieces and described the outcome as “enlightening, the results marvelous” (Brockman 2011).
This perspective changes my thinking because for years there has been this idea that it was mandatory to pick a side. As society reaches the third culture, thanks to technology, we no longer have to pick a side. Kevin Kelly states in his article, “scientists would measure and test a mind; artists would contemplate and abstract it. Nerds would manufacture one” (Kelly 1998), in other words, we’ll all play a role in working together.
Works Cited
Kelly, Kevin. “The Third Culture.” Edge.org, 27 Feb. 1998, https://www.edge.org/conversation/kevin_kelly-the-third-culture.
Snow, C.P. "Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution." Cambridge University Press, 1961.
Vesna, Victoria. “Toward a Third Culture: Being in between.” Leonardo, vol. 34, no. 2, 2001, pp. 121–125, https://doi.org/10.1162/002409401750184672.
Wilson, Stephen. "Myths and Confusions in Thinking about Art/Science/Technology." 2000, http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~swilson/.
Graham-Rowe, D. "John Brockman: Matchmaking with science and art, WIRED." 2011, https://www.wired.co.uk/article/matchmaking-with-science-and-art.
[Figure 1] "Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden." Hammer Museum, 1967, https://hammer.ucla.edu/collections/franklin-d-murphy-sculpture-garden. Accessed April 6, 2024
[Figure 2] Safdie Rabines. "UCLA Court of Sciences Student Center." SAFDIE RABINES Architects, 2012, https://www.safdierabines.com/portfolio/ucla-court-of-sciences-student-center/. Accessed April 6, 2024.
[Figure 3] "Noticing, Wondering, Creating in the Science & Art Classroom." Provo City School District, 2021, https://employee.provo.edu/employee-news/noticing-wondering-creating-in-the-science-art-classroom/. Accessed April 6, 2024
Hi! I enjoyed reading your post. I feel similarly, as I am also a STEM major and spend most of my time taking classes on the South side of campus, but I find myself going to North campus more as it feels more secluded and creative. I think that this separation has hindered a lot of connections that can be made between disciplines. I agree with you, for so long my perspective has been that I have to pick a certain side in terms of education. I think your point on technology is so interesting. Its increased relevance in our lives today has allowed us to work towards bridging the gap in this disconnect, and becoming more educated on different topics as a whole. Specifically, I think social media has played a big in role in this, as we constantly are being fed new information and able to gain more of a creative outlet.
ReplyDeleteHi Jhoredin! I definitely agree that the north side of campus feels much more cozy. The openness, as well as the art and nature on the north side definitely brings out more positive emotions and sense of comfortability. Contrary to that, the south side, which is also where my major identifies with more, feels more corporate business like, and gives more of a serious feeling whenever I am there. As I stated in my blog, I definitely identify with the idea of the third culture that we learned about this week. Art and science can definitely coexist, and as a Statistics & Data Science major, visualizations are a huge part of how we interpret and display the results of our data.
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