Week 1 – Two Cultures



WEEK 1 - TWO CULTURES

Royce Hall - at the center of divide between the two
cultures at UCLA.
https://luskinconferencecenter.ucla.edu/your-guide
-to-visiting-the-ucla-campus/
In his 1959 Rede Lecture at Cambridge, C. P. Snow claims, “the intellectual life of the whole of western society is increasingly being split into two polar groups… Literary intellectuals at one pole – at the other scientists” (4). A half-century later, we still see this divide both within society as well as within academic institutions. Specifically, here at UCLA there is a clear distinction made with so called “South-campus” and “North-campus” majors. In addition to this clear geographical partition, there are often stereotypes attached to the different groups, especially in relation to personality and intelligence.

Graphic design artist utilizing specialized hardware and
software.
 http://www.vault.com/industries-professions/
professions/g/graphic-designers.aspx
But even with the continued division of the two cultures, it must be mentioned that a third culture has emerged since Snow’s lecture. V. Vensa mentions that with the development and spread of technology, artists are now utilizing computers and other technologies to create work inspired directly from innovations and discoveries taking place in science (121). This is evident with graphic design artists who use specialized software to create visual work often for science or engineering purposes. Moreover, in his article “Why Do So Many Scientist Want to be Filmmakers?” K. Berger discusses the connection between science and art through film. Movies such as “Interstellar” and TV shows such as “The Big Bang Theory” often have science experts advising the director, actors and script writers, clearly suggesting a connection between the two cultures into a third. Finally, J. Brockman argues that, “Scientists are communicating directly with the general public,” (WIRED.co.uk) through books, public lectures and interviews, implying that the third culture is already present in the form of modern-day scientists.

Scene from the famous science fiction movie Interstellar.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/google-promotes-
christopher-nolans-interstellar-738067
Personally, I have been influenced directly by this third culture intellectuals. I was inspired to pursue my undergraduate education in Physics because of books Brockman describes, by the films Berger describes, and by the artists Vesna describes. Nevertheless, Snow’s original ideas of the separation of the two cultures still exist today despite Berger’s and Brockman’s disagreement. I believe overtime the degree of separation will diminish, but this will only come through the further development and reinforcement of the bridge between the two cultures.

Sources:
- Berger, Kevin. “Why Do So Many Scientists Want to Be Filmmakers?” Nautilus, 22 Mar. 2018, http://nautil.us/issue/58/self/why-do-so-many-scientists-want-to-be-filmmakers.
- Graham-Rowe, Duncan. “John Brockman: Matchmaking with Science and Art.” Wired UK, Feb. 2011. www.wired.co.uk, https://www.wired.co.uk/article/matchmaking-with-science-and-art.
- Kohn, Marek. “Laboratories against the Literati.” Edge.Org, 24 Mar. 2000, https://www.edge.org/documents/independent.html.
-Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. 7th ed., Cambridge University Press, 1961.
- Vesna, Victoria. “Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between.” Leonardo, vol. 34, no. 2, 2001, pp. 121–25. JSTOR.

Comments

  1. It’s definitely interesting to see how scientific advisors are being asked to contribute to renown works like "Interstellar" and "The Big Bang Theory," especially because the nature of these types of content are considered to be more of a creative and artistic in practice rather than scientific. I think that’s why it’s all the more important for filmmakers to work hand-in-hand with specialist from a myriad of interdisciplinary fields of studies, bridging the gap between literary intellectuals and natural scientists. In today's day and age, accounting for both originality and realistic nature of content is becoming a big priority because there’s so much criticism in regards to the authenticity of films and their content.

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  2. I find that sci-fi movies such as "Interstellar" attract crowds with all types of interests, not just people who are keenly interested in the sciences. I was also inspired by such films to pursue an undergraduate degree in astrophysics. The further in I go in my field, the more I see the connection between the literary intellectuals and the scientific intellectuals. I do believe a unification between the two disciplines should emerge, however it will be difficult with the competitive nature of UCLA. If more UCLA students were to take this class, perhaps they will be enlightened with how these two disciplines should go hand-in-hand with each other.

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