Week 1: Two Cultures

Snow brings up the important idea of society considering art and science as two cultures. I am a Computational and Systems Biology major and have wondered if the two cultures can be used together to improve healthcare.

Two Cultures discusses society viewing art and science as two different subjects when they should be viewed as one. He states that the two fields are “comparable in intelligence” (Snow 2), yet each side has a “distorted image of each other” (Snow 4). These perspectives are influenced by our education system (TheRSAorg). Since our education is based on industrialization’s production line mentality, people do not question the segregation when schools teach art and science separately, but view it as a norm. Thus, the idea of two cultures is engrained into their minds. 

UCLA Royce Hall, a building in between north and south campus
Two cultures are portrayed at UCLA, where north and south campus are divided based on students’ majors. STEM majors spend most of their time in south campus and humanity majors in north. This divide allows students to continue to think that science and art do not have any correlation.



3D Brain Model, used to look at different sections of the brain

It is important to bridge the two cultures together to get a better understanding of human life. Steven Pinker says there are some things scientists cannot understand in which literary intellectuals can and vice versa (Beautyandtruth09, Interview with Pinker). Thus, it is significant for society to move towards a third culture (Vesna). I believe working towards creating a third culture can significantly improve the quality of health through research because scientists can use 3D models to visualize biological models and use them to understand the underlying problem and search for a cure. 

Interaction between people with different backgrounds and ideas 

It is important to bridge society together to work towards a better future. However, it is important to fully understand both art and science to form a third culture (Williams). If there is not a good foundation in both art and science, it could lead to consequences, such as ethical issues in research. If art and science are fully understood, the third culture will only help society grow.




References:
Beautyandtruth09. "SEEDMAGAZINE.COM Two Cultures Steven Pinker." YouTube. YouTube, 18 May 2010. Web. 08 Apr. 2017.

Snow, C. P. The two cultures and the scientific revolution. New York: Cambridge U Press, 1961. 1-54. Pdf.

TheRSAorg. "RSA ANIMATE: Changing Education Paradigms." YouTube. YouTube, 14 Oct. 2010. Web. 08 Apr. 2017.

Vesna, Victoria. Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between. Leonardo, Vol. 34, No. 2. (2001), pp. 121-125. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0024-094X%282001%2934%3A2%3C121%3ATATCBI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-3

Williams, Christopher M. "Academy EBriefings." A Dangerous Divide | The New York Academy of Sciences. The New York Academy of Sciences, 24 July 2009. Web. 07 Apr. 2017.

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 10, 2017 at 3:37 PM

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  2. UnknownApril 10, 2017 at 3:38 PM

    I really enjoyed reading your post! I agree with you that art and science together (the third culture) can benefit healthcare through biological models. A lot of scans, for example, use some type of contrasting color to identify certain abnormalities like tumors. Maybe technology will keep advancing in differentiating shades/saturation to better detect diseases.

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  3. UnknownApril 27, 2017 at 10:15 PM

    Vanessa,

    I really liked the points that you made. I resonated a lot with the first part of your post. The third culture is so fascinating to me! I like the distinctions you made, and the emphasis you put on the technological aspect of society.

    ReplyDelete

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