North and South

This week I reflected on how our lives and interests are shaped by the "two culture". Are you right or left-brained? A common question we are asked growing up, you can never bridge the two. I was most influenced by "Third Culture: Being in Between" by Victoria Vesna. I see these two cultures on campus every day, being a UCLA student comes with one major question,"North or South campus?". It is not uncommon to be places in a box after answering this question no matter your level of interest in both sides. The perspective that universities are often the place that people try to bridge this gap was an eye opening perspective from Vesna. This perspective is beneficial to me as an individual who gets a taste of both sides of campus. Studying Linguistics but also Computer Science I always fight that stigma that you can only enjoy one side of campus.

Working in academia is often a start for people in Linguistics and it is beneficial for a more North major to have access to South major individuals so the bridge can be built and advances in both fields can be made. This weeks lectures in tandem with the perspectives of the authors supported my understanding of the "two cultures". In "A Dangerous Divide", I thought it was a great point that scientists have a duty to explain their findings in an accessible way in order to minimize the divide between the "cultures". I also enjoyed learning in "The Third Culture", about how the success of science has ironically minimized its popularity with the innovation of television and cell phones. I was confused by some explanation of how scientists and others problem solve in "Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution", claiming that scientists are quick to solve and others are content. And finally, "Myths and Confusions in Thinking about Art/Science/Technology", I was influenced in my perspective on this concept when Wilson explained that artists and scientists approach things very differently even when they are at times interconnected. 

 Works Cited

 “A Dangerous Divide | the New York Academy of Sciences.” Nyas, 2021, www.nyas.org/ebriefings/a-dangerous-divide/?tab=overview. Snow, C P. Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. 2018. “The Third Culture | Edge.org.” Www.edge.org, www.edge.org/conversation/kevin_kelly-the-third-culture. Vesna, Victoria. “Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between.” Leonardo, vol. 34, no. 2, 2001, pp. 121–125, links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0024-094X%282001%2934%3A2%3C121%3ATATCBI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-3. Accessed 8 Apr. 2023. Wilson, Stephen. Myths and Confusions in Thinking about Art/Science/Technology. 2000. ‌