Week 1: Two Cultures

Prior to learning about the topic of “two cultures” I had never realized this over arching idea of art and science.  Snow argues in The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution that separating both art and science from each other will only cause a conflict. I agree with what Snow suggests that by uniting ideas from both philosophers and scientist great things can come.  A great example of this combination is the research that I have been involved with during my summers.

Like Bohm explains in On Creativity, creativity just happens and is hard to explain with words. This whole time working with scientists designing research projects, never had I realized how the combination of art and science made a creative research project. I believe this concept is the reason why I had never thought about art and science as “two cultures.” 

(Figueroa, 2014)

Designing different methods to reduce sea turtle bycatch, accidental capture, on gill net fisheries integrates these “two cultures.” Finding the right color as a deterrent for sea turtles and avoid reducing the capture rate of the target fish based on visual cues includes both art and science concepts (Wang, 2010).

(Maduro, 2013)

Our second project involved a complex fishing net with an escape door for sea turtles. The artistic design effectively captured fish below and released sea turtles above. This is an effective fishing tool based on scientific knowledge that fish will remain at the bottom and sea turtles will rise for air.

(The Coaching Educator)

Before my passion for geography and the marine environment, I was an engineering student and well deep into the south campus of UCLA. There is a clear boundary between north and south campus at UCLA. However, during my transition I had the opportunity to take a variety of intro courses. Now I am realizing how these “two cultures” are integrated in economics, physics, philosophy, archeology; only some of the majors I encountered. But now that I am in the Geography and Environmental Studies major, I will effectively use my philosophical and scientific knowledge when designing my next research project.

Citations

Bohm, D. “On Creaticity.” Leonardo 1.2 (1968): 137-48. MIT Press. Print.

Figueroa, Antonio. Antonio Figueroa Turtle Picture. 2014. Ocean Discovery Institute Database, San Diego, CA. Photograph.

Madura Dirve. Loggerhead_Ted-NOAA. 2013. Dive Magazine, n.p. Photograph.

Seminoff, Jeffrey A., and Tomoharu Eguchi, “Loggerhead Sea Turtle Abundance at a Foraging Hotspot in the Eastern Pacific Ocean: Implication for At-sea Conservation.” Impact Factor 2.26 (2014): 207-44. Endangered Species Research. Print.

Snow, C. P. “Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution.” 1959. New York: Cambridge University Press. Print.

TCE. Confusing Crossroads. N.d. President Leadership Class, The Coaching Educator. Photograph.

Wang, Jh, S. Fisler, and Y. Swimmer. “Developing Visual Deterrents to Reduce Sea Turtle Bycatch in Gill Net Fisheries.” Marine Ecology Progress Series 408 (2010): 241-50. Print.