Week 1 Blog: Two Cultures

I thought it was strange that UCLA would offer a class that tries to bridge the gap between two subjects that I believed to be polar opposites: art and science.  It had never occurred to me that the disciplines of art and science diverged from the same origin, since I had always believed that art and science had been distinct disciplines for thousands of years.  When I learned that the word “science” did not appear in the Oxford English Dictionary prior to 1860, my belief of the parallel emergence of art and science quickly disintegrated.

I then decided to do some personal research on the Third Culture, which intersects art and science into a single discipline, particularly into famous figures who demonstrated an appetite for both art and science.  Quickly, Leonardo da Vinci popped into mind.  It is hard to believe that the man who created the Mona Lisa is also known for his exploits in mathematics, anatomy, and even geology and paleontology.
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/vinci.html

It is amazing to note that in a single piece of work, the Mona Lisa, da Vinci highlighted his membership of the Third Culture by integrating artistic beauty with a manipulation of human perception.
http://sciencenetlinks.com/science-news/science-updates/mona-lisas-smile/

The Mona Lisa smile integrates art and scientific perception.  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Mona_Lisa-restored.jpg/396px-Mona_Lisa-restored.jpg

I had always viewed myself as a member of the scientific culture.  Throughout high school, I was known for taking every science class my school had to offer.  Even when I was forced to take an art class, I opted to take photography because I enjoyed the technology.

http://www.cheresources.com/content/articles/other-topics/chemistry-of-photography

A darkroom for developing photographs requires lots of technology.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dark_room.jpg

However, since attending UCLA, I have begun to embrace my place in the cultures of both art and science.  Although, the famous North vs. South Campus rivalry gives UCLA a bad name on the accord of separating the two cultures, I believe that UCLA serves as a counter example to C.P. Snow’s conjecture that university curriculum is the source of the separation.
http://dailybruin.com/2011/02/24/students_north_and_south_campus_tshirts_greeted_with_high_student_demand/

               

North and South campus t-shirts.

http://michaelmohlman.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/southcampusfull.png

http://www.kotisdesign.com/aws/ibuys/products/7/9/1/8/79188-8-1-b.jpg

For example, the CS Department, of which I am a member, offers courses in computer graphics, animation, and video game design.  These disciplines allow computer scientists to demonstrate their creativity while expanding their technical knowledge.

Course Descriptions

http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/schedule/subdet.aspx?srs=187720200&term=13F&session=

http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/schedule/subdet.aspx?srs=187827200&term=13F&session=

http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/schedule/subdet.aspx?srs=187722200&term=13S&session=

Who knows?  Computer geeks could be the third culture that John Brockman and C.P. Snow had in mind.

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/279/5353/992.full

-Arthur Wolf

Citations:

Haslego, Chris. "Chemistry of Photography - Other Topics - Articles - Chemical Engineering - Frontpage - Cheresources.com." Cheresources.com. N.p., 8 Nov. 2010. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.

Kelly, Kevin. "The Third Culture." The Third Culture. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.

"Mona Lisa's Smile." Science NetLinks. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.

Strutner, Suzy. "Student’s North and South Campus T-shirts Greeted with High Student Demand." Daily Bruin. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.

Waggoner, Ben. "Leonardo Da Vinci." University of California Museum of Paleontology. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.