Week 1 Blog - Au Vo
Au Vo
DESMA 9
Dr. Vesna
05 April 2024
Week 1 Blog: Two Cultures Merged
Since the advent of the Internet and the start of the technological revolution, art and science have been pushed into a nuanced, dichotomous relationship. Reflecting on this relationship between the two disparate cultures, C.P. Snow commentates on the aftermath of a growing divide between the arts and sciences. His perspective is cautionary, warning that the growing chasm between the sciences and humanities will be a major obstacle to solving arising global issues. Other authors and academics have elaborated and built on top of Snow’s commentary and arguments, asserting that it is crucial for the two disparate disciplines to work together to advance each other (Snow 20). In his article “On Creativity,” David Bohm builds on these arguments as he investigates the role that creativity plays in both sciences and humanities. In doing so, he argues that creativity is required for both fields, transcending the imaginary boundaries that we have placed on them. He implies that the division between sciences and art is imaginary as creativity is required for both (Bohm 3). This division is further elaborated by John Brockman in his interview with Wired, where he also suggests ideas to help bridge the gap between science and art. He brings up the idea of a “third culture” that sits in between the two cultures of science and art, stating that these solutions can possibly bring together individuals in art and science to encourage a collaborative environment (Graham-Rowe 1).
The ideas brought up by Brockman are especially important because, as a society, we are currently facing a potential loss of history, arts, and humanities. This phenomenon is thoroughly discussed in Corey Olsen’s and Martin Willis’s videos below.
They address the decline of humanities in education over the past few decades, explaining why this can cause a negative impact on the scientific community (Olsen 1:21; Willis 31:39). This can especially be seen on college campuses such as UCLA, where students are increasingly choosing topics of study in STEM over the arts and humanities. Many students at UCLA forego cultural learning and enrichment in the arts for more popular fields like biology or computer science. However, completely ignoring the arts can have detrimental effects on the development of one’s scientific knowledge. Valerie Strauss, in her article in The Washington Post, reinforces this argument, stating that the skills and perspectives gained from humanities are crucial to solving scientific problems (Strauss 1). Every source encourages students and scientifically-inclined individuals to embrace the “third culture” as both artists and scientists “are involved in the work of intuiting change in perception and materializing it for others to experience” (Vesna 122).
This image from Scott Belsky can be viewed as a visual representation of the concept of a “third culture” discussed by Vesna (Belsky 1). These two sources summarize how my perspective has shifted after engaging with this week’s materials. It is important to be well-rounded in the arts even while I focus on my studies in science. Learning more about the arts can help foster a more holistic perspective and encourage nuanced approaches to my studies and future career.
Works Cited
Bohm, David. On Creativity, 29 Aug. 2003, https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203194713.
Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures and The Scientific Revolution. Cambridge University Press, 1987.
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