Week 1: Two Cultures
The division of natural scientists and literary intellectuals into
two different cultures is an issue discussed by C. P. Snow in his Rede lecture
at Cambridge in 1959. Snow especially disapproved
of the way literary intellectuals approached science, going as far as to call
them “natural Luddites” (Snow). He believed
that society would benefit if the two cultures were able to overcome their
differences and come together.
Kevin
Kelly proposes that this connection between scientists and intellectuals has
come together in a third culture which he refers to as nerd culture. This “pop
culture based in technology” has served to bring science from the edge of society
to the forefront of culture (Kelly). This shift has made it so a large part of culture is influenced by the science and technology that has become an essential part of our lives.
In
my personal experience at UCLA, scientists and intellectuals are still very
much divided from one another. The humanities and the sciences are taught in
two different parts of campus that look extremely different from one another.
However,
there are plenty of people I have met that fall into this third culture. For
example, a computer science major who spends his free time making games or an
English major who is fascinated with robotics. These are people who cannot
simply be defined as simply just a scientist or an intellectual.
As
for myself, I am a Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics major with
a minor in Political Science who also is a contributor for the video section of
the Daily Bruin. While I am not sure if I fit in the third culture outlined by
Kelly, I do believe that I am influenced by both the humanities and the
science. I used to think that my humanities education, while personally fulfilling,
would not be useful in my career goal of becoming a doctor. However, as I was
reading up on medicine and art, I found an article on Forbes on the benefits a
humanities can have in developing doctors. Studying the humanities can help
with problem solving, visual pattern recognition, and understanding different
perspectives, all qualities that are important to modern medicine (Glatter).
It
turns out that by being influenced by both cultures, I may have unintentionally
worked towards my professional goals.
Works Cited
Collini, Stefan. "Science: Two Cultures: Still Natural
Enemies?" The Independent. Independent Digital News
and Media, 15 Nov. 1993. Web. 04 Apr. 2015.
Week 1: Two Cultures
However, there are plenty of people I have met that fall into this third culture. For example, a computer science major who spends his free time making games or an English major who is fascinated with robotics. These are people who cannot simply be defined as simply just a scientist or an intellectual.
As for myself, I am a Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics major with a minor in Political Science who also is a contributor for the video section of the Daily Bruin. While I am not sure if I fit in the third culture outlined by Kelly, I do believe that I am influenced by both the humanities and the science. I used to think that my humanities education, while personally fulfilling, would not be useful in my career goal of becoming a doctor. However, as I was reading up on medicine and art, I found an article on Forbes on the benefits a humanities can have in developing doctors. Studying the humanities can help with problem solving, visual pattern recognition, and understanding different perspectives, all qualities that are important to modern medicine (Glatter).
It turns out that by being influenced by both cultures, I may have unintentionally worked towards my professional goals.
Works Cited
Collini, Stefan. "Science: Two Cultures: Still Natural
Enemies?" The Independent. Independent Digital News
and Media, 15 Nov. 1993. Web. 04 Apr. 2015.
Glatter, Robert. "Can Studying Art Help Medical
Students Become Better Doctors?" Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 20 Nov. 13. Web. 05
Apr. 2015.
Snow, C. P. The
two cultures and the scientific revolution. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1959. Print.
Vesna, Victoria. "Toward a Third Culture: Being in
between." Leonardo 34.2
(2001): 121-25. JSTOR. Web. 04 Apr. 2015.
I completely agree that even a science-oriented person such as yourself can learn from the studies of humanities. I am personally someone with very broad interests, I draw a lot in my free time, but am attempting to get into the engineering school at the same time. I agree that taking on two very different subjects such as art and science helps broadens one's perspective. By looking at things in a different way we become better convergent thinkers.
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