Unit 1 - Two Cultures

 Right Brain or Left Brain by Sheila Connolly.

I am an engineer. My degree will display “Calvin Cam - Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering” to the world. Although I find digital systems and electromagnetism mind-stimulating, I am also interested in how business concepts and law history affect emerging technology.

C.P. Snow, author of “Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution”, would look at my degree and define me as a scientist. In his lecture, he mentioned that there are two cultures, the literary intellectuals and the scientists. The two cultures are similar in intelligence, race, social origin, and income, but had so little in common that “hostility and dislike, but most of all lack of understanding” separated them drastically (Snow 3-5). He would profile Calvin Cam as an individual who displayed an optimistic drive, high social skills, and strict morals, but could not communicate with literary intellectuals even if his life depended on it. People are not so two dimensional though. In Professor Victoria Vesna's segment, “Towards a Third Culture: Being In Between”, she believed that “because our work and tools are in constant flux... this creates room for an active dialogue with both humanists and scientists... which creates a triangle and promises the emergence of a third culture” (Vesna 121). This third culture is especially prominent at UCLA.

UCLA campus color coded by Vending Services.

In a physical sense, UCLA is a divided campus. The geography is logical to save time for both the professors and students. This separation, however, labels students as “North” or “South” campus students, the former majoring in the humanities while the latter in the sciences. Students would tease each other about how different they are and because of this, the culture of North and South campus students can be seen as, in theory, similar to Snow's two cultures. But as I stated before, people are not two dimensional. Past the teasing, there is an underlying respect. UCLA is a top university and I believe the reason is because UCLA admits well-rounded diverse students. I have met South campus students pursuing the arts and vice versa, each with no problems in collaborating. UCLA debunks Snow's two cultures and supports the Vesna's third culture. The third culture is seen with new majors like Digital Humanities in which art and science are combined.

 UCLA Center for Digital Humanities Logo by Digital Humanities.

I enjoyed reading Snow's entertaining lecture. I believe it is too shallow though. Intellectuals in any culture are more complex, especially living in a constantly evolving world.


Yours truly,
Calvin Cam




Works Cited
Connolly, S. "Right Brain or Left Brain." poesdeadlydaughter.blogspot.com. Blogspot, 3 May. 2013. Web. 6 Oct. 2013. <http://poesdeadlydaughters.blogspot.com/2013/05/right-brain-or-left-brain.html>.

Digital Humanities. "What is DH?" cdh.ucla.edu. Center for Digital Humanities, Jun. 2012. Web. 6 Oct. 2013. <http://www.cdh.ucla.edu/about/what-is.html>.

Snow, C.P. “Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution.” Cambridge University, Cambridge. 1959.

Vending Services. "Vending Machine Services." vending.ucla.edu. UCLA Housing, 2013. Web. 6 Oct. 2013 <http://www.vending.ucla.edu/housing_site/vending/vendingmap.htm>.

Vesna, Victoria. “Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between.” Leonardo 34.2 (2001): 121-25. Web. 6 Oct. 2013