Two Cultures

Hello all! My name is Zach Thoennes (pronounced ten-ness) and I am a second year oboe performance major. Being in the field of music, I am very interested in the physical properties and intricacies of sound and music so this course seems like a cool way to learn about other arts and the 'science' behind them.

            The modern age shows little, if any signs of the marriage between the arts and physical sciences as described by C. P. Snow. He writes that the divorce between the two arose around the time of the industrial revolution, when public education came into play.

[public school does not cater to the needs of all]

Public education was catered to teaching individuals about the fundamentals of the physical sciences and that they were most important for being successful while the fine arts were merely arbitrary in a divertimento sort of way. Times have changed drastically, but the public education system, unfortunately, has hardly changed in principle, even widening the gap more between science and the arts.

[Pearl demonstrates the natural beauty of petals dancing in the wind being methodically calculated in real time]

 C. P. Snow wrote also that despite the estrangement between art and science, a new “third culture” would emerge as the bridge between the two other cultures.  It can be looked at as combining the two cultures in a way where knowledge of both is necessary to execute a truly masterful work of art. The ones that have an understanding of how the two cultures intertwine have the potential to advance that art/technology in new and creative ways according to Stephen Wilson. Pinker says that the third culture should not have to be the sort of ‘secret club’ it is now and that the marriage of science and art should be more prominent in order for the third culture to really blossom.

 

[the theremin is a product of arts and science being used together for music]

Robinson, Ken. "RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms." YouTube. YouTube, 14 Oct. 2010. Web. 30 Mar. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U>.

Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. New York: Cambridge UP, 1959. Print.

Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures: And a Second Look. Cambridge: U, 1964. Print.

Vesna, Victoria. "TwoCultures Part1." YouTube. YouTube, 30 Mar. 2012. Web. 02 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=146&v=VNI7dF3DIAM>.

Wilson, Stephen. "Myths and Confusions in Thinking about Art/Science/Technology." (2000). Print.