Week 1: Two Cultures

As a bioengineering major, I am quite familiar with the overarching concept of two radically different cultures that seem to divide communities C.P. Snow mentioned in his 1959 lecture. In my case, this is how I understood medicine and engineering before I was introduced to my major bioengineering. Prior to the inception of this major, engineering students would focus on the technical aspects that make a device’s design possible and medical students would concentrate on the human body and simply using the tools engineers would devise. However, with the need for medical devices to be compatible to the intricate nature of the human anatomy, engineers need to be more cognizant of the biological barriers that threaten the integrity of their devices over time. Similarly, healthcare practitioners need to understand the capabilities and available technology that can change the way they diagnose and treat their patients. The beautiful intersections of how these two fields merge has led up to the formation of my major, or a “third culture.” 

Just as I have come to more fully appreciate the merging of medicine and engineering, I want to further appreciate the merging of art and science. Coming to a school like UCLA, however, the stark awareness of two cultures is apparent in how the campus is organized by north and south campus. Because of this strike dichotomy, I find myself fitting to the stereotypes that surround science majors, making me question whether I am obtaining the best quality education by seemingly neglecting to embrace the arts, a pivotal aspect of our society. 

Therefore, in merging the disciplines of art and science, I hope to gain a more holistic approach in understanding the world around me. Going back to Ken Robinson’s talk and Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers, I want to improve my divergent thinking as a means to strive in being aware in aspects beyond what society thinks is important. Although this may mean forcing myself to take additional classes that may not seem very relevant at first to other engineers, I think it would help me gain a better sense of wonder in the world.

References:

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

-Vesna, Victoria. "Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between." Leonardo. 34 (2001): 121-125. Print.

-theRSAorg. “RSA ANIMATE: Changing Education Paradigms.” YouTube, YouTube, 14 Oct. 2010, www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U.

-uconlineprogram. “TwoCultures pt2.” YouTube, YouTube, 31 Mar. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=335&v=GUr4xxZ_0gw.

-Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: the Story of Success. Back Bay Books, Little, Brown and Company, 2013.