Week 1: Two Cultures

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We need not look far to find evidence of a two-culture system at UCLA. As a computational biology major at UCLA, I often feel as though I take a diverse course load, yet this "diversity" is restricted to the south campus ecosystem that has become my identity. Snow mentions in his essay on the cultures of science and art that the separation between science and art becomes less bridgeable as time goes on (19). It's easy to see that at UCLA, where students are primed by tour guides, encouraged by peers, and pushed on by the university itself to promote this division of art and science.
North and South Campus Division Encouraged by UCLA
http://eamailer.support.ucla.edu/Images/Project/5160/email_header2.png
Though STEM is successful at training technique and ability, creativity and originality cannot be learned from a textbook (Bohm, 148). Kary Mullis, who won the Nobel Prize for the discovery of PCR, reported that creativity through use of LSD led him to his discovery. Creative expansion allows for the fusion of form and function as seen in architecture, computers, clothing, cell phones, and innumerable other objects (Wilson, 2).
Kary Mullis' Novel on Discovering PCR
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Considering the information I've gained from the reading on this topic, I'm inclined to believe we are beginning to overcome the two culture system. It's no surprise to me that it's been so difficult, since it seems inherent to human nature to separate objects and people into groups. Indeed, our brains have evolved with separation between the two hemispheres. The cross-talk between these two hemispheres, which have evolved to specialize in different tasks such as science/math, creativity, language, and more, is absolutely essential to our human experience (Wolman, 2). I'm even more encouraged to break out of my south campus identity, and I'm optimistic that we will be able to follow our brains and bridge the ever-shrinking gap of art and science.

Brain Lateralization and Effects on Cognition
https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-81ba5b8236ebd941f28de22c78a1b9ae-c
Sources
Bohm, D. "On Creativity." JSTOR. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Oct. 2013.

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.

Wilson, Stephen. “Myths and Confusions in Thinking about Art/Science/Technology.” Art and Research - Stephen Wilson, 2000, userwww.sfsu.edu/swilson/papers/wilson.caapaper.html.

Wolman, David. “The Split Brain: A Tale of Two Halves.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 14 Mar. 2012, www.nature.com/news/the-split-brain-a-tale-of-two-halves-1.10213.

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