Hi I'm Stella, and I'm a second year studying Computer Science and Engineering. Between the literary intellectuals and the scientists, I'm clearly more of a scientist. However, I remember in elementary school, when people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I confidently said "artist." Now 10 years later, here I am at UCLA, living the south campus life of physics, math, and engineering. What happened in those 10 years for me change my mind so drastically? In 2007, Ken Robinson talked at the TED Conference arguing that our education system has been remodeled for industrialization and is killing the creativity of children.
I can't help but agree with Robinson on some points, for I too, gave up my artistic ambitions for the structural industrial life, where small mistakes can cause big problems, and where there's always a right answer. On the other hand, I also believe there remains an overlap between the two cultures because art is nothing without a little science and science is nothing without a little art. In fact, my major actually stems from the arts. How else would the new iPhone, Skype, or Google Glass come about? Like Shantanu Sinha, President and COO of Khan Academy, says, "to teach computer science, start with creativity." To successfully build something that didn't previously exist, that is both an artistic and scientific wonder.
In his lecture, Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution, Snow claims that the two cultures have grown too far apart and "the separation between the scientists and non-scientists is [now] much less bridgeable." Though I agree that there will always be a gap between the two cultures, I think it's okay because, indeed, everyone's brain works differently. However, I also believe that our generation has the potential of being the third culture by embracing what the other culture has to offer. Though I am accustomed to patterns and equations, I admire the analytic minds of people who can find deep messages within one paragraph of text, or people who have endless stories about the history of the planet. Also to broaden my experiences, I joined one of UCLA's dance teams, an art form in itself. Here's their promo video from last year which you might enjoy:
Sources:
Artist. Digital image. MyKCS: Kelowna Christian School. Kelowna Christian School, n.d. Web. 25 June 2014. <http://kelowna.yourmoodle.com/course/view.php?id=11>.
Computer Science and Engineering. Digital image. UMBC: Computer Science and Engineering. UMBC, 7 Apr. 2012. Web. 25 June 2014. <http://www.csee.umbc.edu/2012/03/talk-correlation-aware-optimizations-for-analytic-databases/>.
Sinha, Shantanu. "To Teach Computer Science, Start with Creativity." Amplify.Amplify Education, Inc, n.d. Web. 25 June 2014. <http://www.amplify.com/viewpoints/teach-computer-science-start-creativity>.
Sir Ken Robinson: Do Schools Kill Creativity? Perf. Ken Robinson. Youtube. N.p., 6 Jan. 2012. Web. 25 June 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY>.
Snow, C.P. "Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution." Reading. 1959. New York: Cambridge UP, 1961. Print.
VSU Modern | First Day of School | UCLA 2013. Perf. Vsu Modern. Youtube. N.p., 21 Sept. 2013. Web. 25 June 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AveARFFLBL4>.
