Week 1: Two Cultures

Three years ago, I was applied to colleges when my mother shot down the idea of me going to art school, so I chose my more "acceptable" passion—medicine. When I read about the "two cultures" in Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between, it was described as the "divide between the sciences and literary humanities". This was always a concept that I struggled to understand, as I always saw art and science converge in my academic and personal life. 
Geometry and Art (http://www.graphicine.com/the-geometry-of-an-art-wenzel-jamnitzer/)
For instance, one of my favorite subjects in high school was geometry. I was fascinated by how art can be created with a few simple shapes, and at the same time, amazed by how precise this art can be through gaining a mathematical understanding. On the other hand, in AP Studio Art class, I saw the convergence of art and technology, as we were required to use some form of camera to first capture the reference for our paintings. 
Even food maps divide campus into two spheres (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivDZcvaWECHOVBR_3VLbd56zJdFdzcTmQmCQ7J8Gf9EPEfmjtrWv0Q9k7VkYOhZIooHxuvSjijB9gYf-T9l8t3InvABvog49aE_jgTr41zALN-Ojhcqm3cb7Y_EW0KiYAMcQjzMf_BdQY/s1600/restaurants11.png)
When I first became a student at UCLA, I was confused by the geographical isolation between the humanities and STEM buildings. While I understand the convenience for students, it also discourages exploration of the other field. I find myself having very little opportunities to interact with a lot of North campus students, and would not be surprised if this leads to the "curious distorted image of each other" that C.P. Snow mentioned in The Two Culture and the Scientific Revolution. 
The scientific method is a process of thinking that can be utilized in both traditional STEM classes and humanities classes (https://d1ca4yhhe0xc0x.cloudfront.net/Files/5084/7/2013-updated_scientific-method-steps_v6_noheader.png)
Every quarter at UCLA, I try to take at least one humanities class on top of my Life Science major requirements, because I find that I think differently in these classes. The skills I learn from North campus classes teaches me to be a better thinker and writer, which are both important for my South campus classes as well. As Bohm wrote in On Creativity, "certain kinds of things can be achieved by techniques and formulae, but originality and creativity are not among these". While I can spend my days mindlessly chugging away at formulas and memorizing random scientific facts, it is more important that I keep an open mind during learning, in order to find new and creative ways to solve problems. 

1) Bohm, D. “On Creativity.” Leonardo, vol. 1, no. 2, 1968, www.jstor.org/stable/1571951.
2) Grisworld, A. Big Data in Healthcare: Opportunities and Challenges. February 11th, 2019. 
3) Snow, Charles Percy. The two cultures and the scientific revolution: The Rede Lecture, 1959. University Press, 1959.
4) "The Implicate Order". Youtube. Online Video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c1qvkOube4.
5) Vesna, Victoria. "Toward a third culture: being in between." Leonardo 34.2 (2001).



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