Week1 Assignment: Two Cultures

    I would agree with professor Snow's point that people had gone too far in pursuing differentiated achievement in art and science and causing misunderstanding between these two group of people, which he described as "a sheer loss to us all"(Snow 12). In Sir Ken Robinson's video about changing education paradigms, art is described as victims, and contemporary education system is modeled on the interest of industrialization (RSA Animate).

    However, the idea of third culture gets most of my enthusiasm, called the "nerd culture" by Kevin Kelly in his article "The Third Culture", that "nerd"starts to generate culture and impact. It reflects spirit of both science and art. I would consider it as a negating example of Snow's point because it shows the barrier between science and art is nonexistent. The third culture abandoned restricted approach of classical scientists and reject the abstract and irrelevant artwork. J. Brockman,a literary agent to many bright scientists, writes, “Unlike previous intellectual pursuits, the achievements of the third culture are not the marginal disputes of a quarrelsome mandarin class: They will affect the lives of everybody on the planet.”

    Moreover, these nerds are having great impact on the world. A famous example is the Internet we are using. Specifically, Facebook, the world's largest online social sites, is launched by Mark Zuckerberg using the efficient algorithm and advanced technology support. Now, 70% of U.S. population has a Facebook account with 1.1 billion active users (Facebook.Inc). Online social network has developed their own culture, which penetrates our lives to every aspects. Tesla, a booming automotive company, combines technology and art perfectly by making their electric cars. People start to realize that science is not that far from our lives, technology can also make pretty stuff.

Source from www.recinet.org

Nowadays, no many people can isolate from social media completely

Tesla Model S : 2013

www.autoweek.com by Jake Lingeman

Also, the artist starts to accept this third culture and mix it into their artwork.

Ring of Fire

chamber of mystery

    These two pictures above are the artwork by Mathieu Briand in Glow on Santa Monica Beach. Inside the chamber, it created varying psychological experience when we approach the screen. And the ring above the chamber represents the sun.

Reference

C. P. Snow, The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution(Cambridge Univ. Press, New York, 1959). 

Facebook Inc., Annual Report. Menlo Park: Facebook Inc., 2012. Dec. 31st, 2012. http://investor.fb.com/annuals.cfm

Kelly, Kevin. "The Third Culture." The Third Culture. Science and Society, 13 Feb. 1998. Web. 04 Oct. 2013.

J. Brockman, The Third Culture (1996). Available at www.edge.org/3rd_culture/index.html.

RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms. Adapt. Abi Stevenson. Perf. Sir Ken Robinson. YouTube. YouTube, 14 Oct. 2010. Web. 05 Oct. 2013.