Sunday, October 6, 2013

Two Cultures


This week's reading and concept called "Two Cultures" was very intriguing indeed. Stephen Wilson describes the two cultures of artists and technological people and how they differ. This reading showed me exactly why artists and inventors work so well together. They cover each other faults! While inventors are always so precise and strict with their work, artists are very open, creative, and not afraid to make mistakes. On the other hand while these artists creativity flows, they aren't able to take this creativity and extend it the global market. There's a clear separation between these two fields and when I thought about it, people who can possess the traits and qualities of both groups transcend what it means to be human and change the world.
Steve Jobs | Artist/Inventor | World Revolutionaryhttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Steve_Jobs_Headshot_2010-CROP.jpg


















Looking at my immediate world at UCLA there was a very obvious comparison staring right in front of me. North and South campus comprise themselves of two completely different social classes. North Campus is exactly like the artists described. People have unbelievable talent and creativity, but this creativity for most lies dormant in the confounds of UCLA while it should be shared with the world. South Campus is it's own social clique entirely, filled with brilliant science/math/engineering students who are all hoping their skill and talent will help them win the next Nobel Prize or invent the next Facebook.

UCLA South Campus
http://today.ucla.edu/portal/ut/artwork/2/9/3/6/5/229365/patio-prv.jpg

UCLA North Campus
http://www.tracygallagher.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/gardens-ucla-wide.jpg

I myself am a North Campus major and a future entrepreneur. Reading this gave me a huge change of heart. Throughout college I've been trying my best to network well in my major. I wanted to meet as many artists, dancers, actors, etc I could, because I believed it would help me in my life, but I now realize that's not the case. I'm breeding a contact list of people who think like me instead of meeting the people who could cover my faults and work well with me. I need to start meeting scientists, inventors, programmers, and more. Especially in this age of e-commerce and technology we're heading into. Why should I stick to the idea of Two Cultures when I can combine them and live with this third culture, a culture where everyone can work well together and understand each other. 

I was doing a bit of research and found a very interesting major in the University of Washington that I thought I should mention. They have a major called Human Centered Design and Engineering which focuses on creative engineering that teaches students how to program and create computer websites/programs/etc in the easiest, most user-friendly way possible. This college created a third culture, a culture where even inventors work creatively with people rather than slaving away at a computer alone. 

As our world grows and people continue to develop in different ways, I can only hope that the development will be a path towards integration rather than separation. When humans work together, we accomplish things that the world would not even deem possible, so why stop? 

Our World, The Canvas
http://www.artpause.com/upload/uppic/778-world-map-canvas-art.jpg
- Nick Lerman

Citations: 
Steve Jobs Headshot 2010 Crop. Digital image. Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Oct. 2013. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Steve_Jobs_Headshot_2010-CROP.jpg>.
Patio PRV. Digital image. UCLA Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Oct. 2013. <http://today.ucla.edu/portal/ut/artwork/2/9/3/6/5/229365/patio-prv.jpg>.
Gallagher, Tracy. Gardens UCLA Wide. Digital image. Tracy Gallagher. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Oct. 2013. <http://www.tracygallagher.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/gardens-ucla-wide.jpg>.
HCDE. Digital image. University of Washington. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Oct. 2013. <http://www.washington.edu/students/gencat/academic/hcde.html>.
World Map Canvas Art. Digital image. Art Pause. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Oct. 2013. <http://www.artpause.com/upload/uppic/778-world-map-canvas-art.jpg>.



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1 comment:

  1. POctober 9, 2013 at 12:33 AM

    Hello Nick,

    I really enjoyed reading your blog about the "Two Cultures" as well as your experience and opinions regarding the matter. As a south campus major, I found myself agreeing to a lot of statements that you made. For example, I completely agree with you that the art and technology compliment each other. They seem to fill in the gaps that each other needs, and that's often how great inventions and ideas (such as iPhones, like in your picture) are introduced to the world.

    While reading your blog, I also realized that my network of friends included more south campus majors than north campus majors. This, like you mentioned, is due to the fact that they relate more to my major, and hence may be more beneficial for my undergraduate experience. But I do realize now that networking with not only the "artists" but from people of all majors should be more appreciated and encouraged. Like you said, I would love to combine the two cultures and really create a mixed culture of my own where I would be able to interact with both freely. Fortunately, I think UCLA offers many ways of integration. For example, I think the GE requirement actually ensures that students get out of their departments and take classes that they would normally not take. Also, there are many "mixed" majors such as Psychobiology (which is my major), Human Biology and Society, and Anthropology which integrate both parts of the campuses pretty well in my opinion. What do you think about the GE requirements and the majors at UCLA?

    Again, I really enjoyed reading your blog and I look forward to your future posts.

    - Penelope

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