Week 1: Two Cultures


    In “Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution,” Snow argued that science and technology are critical to addressing many of the world's pressing problems, but they cannot be fully understood or effectively utilized without an in-depth understanding of the cultural, historical, and ethical contexts in which they arise. He argued that the humanities could provide this broader perspective while the sciences offer various methods for investigating and solving problems.


Figure 1. The Divide Between Art and Science

    Congruently, in "Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between," Vesna Victoria argued that a third culture is emerging, seeking to bridge the gap between the humanities and the sciences. She contended that this third culture is not simply an integration of the two but rather a new way of thinking that incorporates both perspectives in a more holistic way.


Figure 2: UCLA Campus

    The difference between the humanities and the sciences at UCLA is evident through the physical division of the North and South campuses, leading to various stereotypes developments that exacerbate the gap between the two cultures. Nonetheless, a growing number of interdisciplinary programs at UCLA aims to bridge this divide by facilitating the exchange and incorporation of ideas from both the science and humanities sides.


Figure 3: Cognitive Science Interdisciplinary 

    I, a cognitive science major, fall under one of these interdisciplinary that incorporates both the arts and science into my way of viewing the world and solving problems. The emerging interdisciplinary field of cognitive science seeks to bring together multiple perspectives in order to better understand the mind and how individual interacts with the world and technology. Cognitive science draws on insights from various departments of both sciences and arts, including psychology, linguistics, philosophy, neuroscience, computer science, and anthropology. The study of cognitive science showed me how irreversibly intertwined the science and art realm is. Through this interdisciplinary, I learned the importance of incorporating a holistic perspective into my thought process and problem solving— relayed in both Vesna Victoria and C.P. Snow's articles. 



Sources:


  1. Armijo, Alli. “Merging design, tech, and cognitive science | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology.” MIT News, 20 January 2022, https://news.mit.edu/2022/ibuki-iwasaki-design-cognitive-science-0120. Accessed 7 April 2023.

  2. Badve, Neeti. “A UCLA Cog Sci Major's Guide To Cognitive Science.” Her Campus, 31 January 2023, https://www.hercampus.com/school/ucla/a-ucla-cog-sci-majors-guide-to-cognitive-science/. Accessed 7 April 2023.

  3. Jung, Justin, and Nitya Tak. “A campus divided | PRIME.” PRIME, https://prime.dailybruin.com/justinnorth&southcampus. Accessed 7 April 2023.

  4. Snow, C. P. “Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution.” Reading. 1959. New York: Cambridge UP, 1961. Print.

  5. Vesna, Victoria. “Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between.” Leonardo 34.2 (2001): 121-25. Web.


Images:

  1. Casper, Vinu. “The divide between art and science - Vanguard.” PSU Vanguard, 15 June 2018, https://psuvanguard.com/the-divide-between-art-and-science/.

  2. Jung, Justin, and Nitya Tak. “A campus divided | PRIME.” PRIME, https://prime.dailybruin.com/justinnorth&southcampus.

  3. “5 Reasons why you should consider Cognitive Science for your degree at Edinburgh -.” - School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences, 5 November 2018, https://www.blogs.ppls.ed.ac.uk/2018/11/05/5-reasons-why-you-should-consider-cognitive-science-for-your-degree-at-edinburgh/.

Comments

  1. Audrey LeApril 9, 2023 at 3:40 PM

    Hi Kristie, I really liked your explanation on how the Cognitive Science major represents an interdisciplinary field that exists within the concept of "two cultures". Since I don't know many Cognitive Science students, it was hard to fully understand what the major embodied, but your insight helped me understand how the science and art realm is intertwined in this discipline. It would be interesting to learn what major requirement classes you have taken at UCLA that address science and the humanities field specifically—I would love to learn more in the future!

    ReplyDelete
  2. LaVon Nightingale SmithApril 24, 2023 at 12:46 PM

    Hi Kristie, I think it's really interesting how as a cognitive science major you fall into both categories of both arts and science. I completely agree with you in how cognitive science represents an interdisciplinary field within "two cultures" but I also think it's one of the interdisciplinary fields that fall under a "third culture", helping balance the divide of Science and Art.

    ReplyDelete

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