Week 1: Two Cultures

The existence of two cultures has a significant impact on the world and the society we live in today. CP Snow was the first to introduce this idea of two cultures in his 1959 lecture about literary intellectuals and natural science. Growing up a high-level tennis player, I can say with confidence that my forte was never in the literary intellectuals or scientific fields. I never realized how much the two cultures influenced an individual until I began seeing a sports psychologist in an attempt to enhance my mental skills and abilities.

Before starting this class, I have to admit I am guilty of “Contributing to the stereotypes that increase the division between the two cultures” as Victoria Vesna said in Two Cultures pt 2 video. I saw literary intellectuals and scientific fields as two completely different things, but once I started seeing a psychologist, I realized how significant of a role science and art play in the profession. Psychology has components of it that are strictly devoted to understanding the human brain through experimentation, but there is also a notable amount of judgement and intuition involved which makes it an art as well.

https://blog.admissions.ucla.edu/2012/05/17/an-interesting-approach-to-therapy/img_1476/

I believe psychology is a perfect example of a bridge that combines the two cultures together. In fact, UCLA's Franz Hall (the department of psychology) is commonly known as the middle ground between North Campus (arts and humanities) and South Campus (math and sciences.)

In 1963, Snow added a new essay, "Two Cultures: A Second Look" where he suggested that a third culture would emerge and close the gap between scientist and literary intellectuals. According to Kevin Kelly, This new third culture is "an offspring of science. It's a pop culture based in technology, for technology." In my opinion, this culture is going to be the most beneficial to me and my classmates at UCLA. Being millennials, we are growing up in an era where technology is excelling at a high-speed rate, which is creating endless opportunities for us to shape the future.

Sources:

Kelly, Kevin. “The Third Culture.” Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 13 Feb. 1998, science.sciencemag.org/content/279/5353/992.full.

Wong, Deborah. “The Inverted Fountain in Front of Franz Hall-Photo Credit: UCLA Undergraduate Admissions.” Your Insight into UCLA Admission, Campus Life, and Our Students!, 17 May 2012, blog.admissions.ucla.edu/2012/05/17/an-interesting-approach-to-therapy/img_1476/.

Online, UC. “TwoCultures pt2.” YouTube, YouTube, 31 Mar. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUr4xxZ_0gw.

Vesna, Victoria. "Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between." Leonardo. 34 (2001): 121-125. Print.

Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. New York: Cambridge UP, 1959. Print.