Week 1

Karina Rodriguez

Two Cultures

When reading over the different articles posted for this week’s readings I found a common topic between them all. They focus on the two culture concept and how that in turn creates the idea of a third culture concept. In Professor Vesna’s article, “Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between”, she touches on the two main cultures; humanists and scientists.

The idea of Two cultures was credited to Charles Percy Snow who explains that “The ‘two cultures’ now refers to the divide between the sciences and literary humanities and frequently excludes what was originally analogized to science - art.” We then learn that once you step in between those two cultures you then create a third culture where you are not one or the other. The Third Culture “is not composed of the scientific elite as some propose, but will emerge out of triangulation of the arts, sciences, and humanities.”

On the other hand John Brockman refutes C.P. Snow’s prediction and instead states “that contemporary scientists are the third culture and that there is no need for trying to establish communication between scientists and literary intellectuals whom he calls ‘middlemen’.” We find that artist are the key between building and stabilizing the gap between the two cultures and that without them there would be no bridge or very much communication. Artists stabilizing the bridge between the two by utilizing new technologies and being active in dialogue. “By utilizing tools familiar to scientists and collaborating with the scientific community, we are getting closer to an atmosphere of collaboration and mutual respect.

As I reflect upon the UCLA campus and think about the idea of two cultures, I have come to realize its presence amongst the students and their interactions. I look specifically at the Student Resources building in Sunset Village. There are a couple of TVs set up in the room and every time I walk in there is always multiple interactions happening with the TVs. Sometimes there is people playing video games or watching TV, or sometimes there’s both happening at the same time. This made me realize how prevalent the connection between science and art is and the presence of the Third Culture.

Works Cited

“C.P Snow.” Goodreads , www.goodreads.com/author/show/16027416.C_P_Snow .

“Design as a Third Area of General Education.” Design as a Third Area of General Education , 5 July 2017, designobserver.com/feature/design-as-a-third-area-of-general-education/39616.

Graham-Rowe, Duncan. “John Brockman: Matchmaking with Science and Art.” WIRED , WIRED UK, 3 Oct. 2011, www.wired.co.uk/article/matchmaking-with-science-and-art .

Kelly, Kevin. “The Third Culture.” The Third Culture | Edge.org , 13 Feb. 1998, www.edge.org/conversation/kevin_kelly-the-third-culture .

Snow, Charles Percy. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution the Rede Lecture 1959 . University Press, 1962.

“UCLA Magazine.” UCLA Magazine , 1 Apr. 2009, magazine.ucla.edu/features/how_green_your_campus/index3.html.

Vesna, Victoria. Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between . 2001, links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0024-094X%282001%2934%3A2%3C121%3ATATCBI%3E2.0.CO%3 B2-3.

Wilson, Stephen. Myths and Confusions in Thinking about Art/Science/Technology