In C.P. Snow’s The Two Cultures and Scientific Revolution, he discusses the break
between the disciplines of arts and sciences. He proposes that in order to
solve the major societal issues a new “third culture” must arise to bridge the
gap (Snow). John Brockman believed that the current generation of scientists
are in fact the third culture and that there was no need to establish
communication between art and science (Vesna).
There
is, however, a distinct divide between art and science. As students at UCLA,
this is most prominently seen in the delineation between north and south campus
where students are segregated based on the subject they are studying. It is sad
to hear a four-year north campus student ask where is PAB when I believe the
building has the most unique elevators on campus.
Because
of the gap between arts and sciences, stereotypes surrounding the two arise.
For me, this was most apparent when I began working as a designer at the Daily
Bruin. During my time there I failed to meet any other engineering majors and
many were amazed as to how someone in my major would like the design job.
However, I felt that working on the layout of the paper was like a giant puzzle
giving the task both scientific and creative aspects.
In
the future, Robinson claims that education must shift to promote divergent
thinking and work done in groups. This will increase creativity and allow for
the development of new solutions (Changing Education Paradigms). Working in lab
gives me the opportunity to collaborate with a large team on many problems that
have both a scientific and creative side. Together we work to brain storm a
wide range of solutions using materials ranging from high-tech centrifuges to
simple pieces of paper. Future education should promote more discussion based
education so that students can learn from those with a variety of experiences
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