Two Cultures

Two Cultures

When looking at the issues presented in this weeks readings on Two Cultures, C.P. Snow notes that western society is being split into two polar groups. One pole is the literary intellectuals. Snow describes them as restricted and constrained to the voice of culture, and that they lack foresight or are unconcerned with their fellow man. At the other pole, there are the scientists. The scientists are seen as brash and boastful, loud and archetypal, and shallowly optimistic in the eyes of the literary intellectuals.

These two groups have a mutual incomprehension, hostility, and dislike but most of all a misunderstanding of each other. Their perception of each other is distorted.

Below is a link to a video that describes the divide between art and science:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpdLuqFZ_0Q 

http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cfm/-The-Two-Cultures--today-4882

(polar opposites but both are trees none-the-less) 

 The misunderstanding of the the sides is something that I experience here at UCLA. The relationship between students and student athletes is very similar to the differences between poles as stated by Snow. I constantly feel misunderstood as a student athlete by the regular students, as student athletes give off the brash and boastful stereotype. On the other hand, I know many athletes here at UCLA who believe that normal students have no social life because they are "restricted and constrained" by their school work. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOl9QJhtHaY

http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2014/aug/10/mark-emmert/ncaa-president-student-athletes-graduate-more-ofte/

(Student or Student athlete, both share the role as a student)

in conclusion, one initially becomes conscious of differences, and also begins to realize certain similarities. These realizations do not come from past knowledge, but rather new experiences. John Brockman suggests that there is a third culture that is capable of closing the communication gap between the literary intellectuals and the scientists

https://edge.org/conversation/the-third-culture

(learning to interact with each other is the key to understanding and closing the gap between the groups)

- Ty Moore

Works Cited

Brockman, John. Matchmaking Wtith Science and Art. United Kingdom: Weird Magazine, 2011. Web. 2 Apr. 2015.

Bohm, David. On Creativity. N.p.: MIT Press, 1968. 137-40. JSTOR. Web. 2 Apr. 2015.

Snow, C.P. The Two Culture And The Scientific Revolution. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1961. Web. 2 Apr. 2015.  

Williams, Christopher M. A Dangerous Divide. New York: New York Academy of Sciences, 2009. Web. 2 Apr. 2015.

Wilson, Stephen. Myths and Confusions in Thinking about Art/Science/Technology. San Francisco: n.p., 2000. Web. 2 Apr. 2015.