The idea of two
cultures has been prominent in both my academic life and my personal life. I am from a traditional Chinese family;
though my parents encourage artistic ventures, such as piano and art,
ultimately, they prefer that my career choice be based in some technological
field. My academic life has revolved
around math and science, which contributed to my decision to become a computer
science major. However, being in this
major has also opened new opportunities to explore the artistic world as well.
This week's topic
has encouraged me to look deeper into the relationship between art and
science. In my opinion, computer science
serves as an intersecting point between the two disciplines in modern society. In a TedxTalk, Cole Wiley, an artist and a
software engineer, claims he did not start "making real strides in either
until I started mixing them together."
He describes several of his projects, including "new media art and
interactive installations" (Wiley).
I believe this type of work is a clear example of the rising 'third
culture', a term coined by C.P. Snow and described in John Brockman's The Third Culture.
TedxTalk - Cole Wiley on "The creative interface: connecting art and computer science"
I am especially
interested in the video game industry.
The founders of Blizzard Entertainment, home to many major online games
such as World of Warcraft, were all engineering majors at UCLA. Their work in computer science and electrical
engineering led to the creation of entire virtual worlds with elaborate
character and background design. Some
may say this is the result of scientists working with art while others may say
this is from artists working with technology.
Overall, this reflects the type of work that has resulted in
"freedom to reinforce the delicate bridge" between art and science
(Vesna 122).
2015 'Legion'
expansion of the World of Warcraft game
As mentioned in
Professor Vesna's lecture, the idea of art and science as two separate areas is
relatively novel. However, though
people's mindsets are changing to accept the two disciplines as one again, the
merge is made difficult by existing stereotypes, hence the analogy of a
"delicate bridge" (Vesna 122). C.P. Snow makes note of such stereotypes, claiming "they have a curious distorted image of each other" (Snow 4). From a young age, children are already engrained with the contrasting
images of the 'scientist' and the 'artist'.
This mentality will influence them in their academic lives and future
careers by dictating how they view the choices for their future. From personal experience, I find this mindset
to be very dangerous to the development of their later interests and ambitions. Therefore, I believe that the modern education system is in dire need of some reformation.
A depiction of the stereotype of scientists being left-brained and artists being right-brained
Bibliography
Graham-Rowe, Duncan. "John Brockman: Matchmaking with Science and Art." WIRED UK. 2011. Web. Accessed 22 June 2016.
Snow, Charles Percy. Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. 1964. Print.
Takahashi, Dean. "Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime on the Last 25 Years of Games — and the Next 25." VentureBeat. 2016. Web. Accessed 22 June 2016.
Vesna, Victoria. "Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between." 2001. Web. Accessed 22 June 2016.
Vesna, Victoria. DESMA 9 Lectures on Two Cultures. 2016. Video. Accessed 20 June 2016.
Hi Emily! After reading your blog post, I was reminded that even in video games, art and science come together. I definitely agree with your last statement that the modern education system should be reformed. We are taught that art is different from science and that they have no relation with each other when that is actually false. I really enjoyed reading your blog post!
ReplyDeleteI was just wanted one question. How do you think that the education system should be reformed? Also, in which part of the education system should the reform take place? In other words, at which level of education should the reform be?
ReplyDeleteI don't have a specific area of the education system that I think should be reformed. However, having said that, I believe that we should change in a way that prevents stereotypes such as the ones I mentioned above from being embedded at such early ages. Young people should feel free to explore the arts, the sciences, or both. (For instance, a student should not turn away from the arts just because this field is supposedly less rewarding as a career).
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