Week 1, Two Cultures

My name is Stephen Fisher, and I am a transfer student at UCLA. I am coming up on my senior year as an Economics major, and I am interested in integrating a career in finance with my sincere passion for coffee to one day open my own coffee shop. Because most of my studies are oriented toward the sciences of society, I hope to incorporate a more holistic viewpoint of the world around me with this class.

In his 1959 lecture, “The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution,” Snow professes his viewpoint: a clear dichotomy between the western cultures of scientific and literary intellectuals, where each group lacks proficiency in the opposite arena, forming great problems such as wealth division in society.  Personally, I do not find this claim to be universal or even necessary for that matter. From an economic perspective, it makes sense for those with a comparative advantage (specialization) to focus on that field to benefit those lacking that particular prowess, that they might focus on their specialization to benefit society.

At the same time, I find that western cultures are not lacking in their Renaissance education. Each of us UC students must take general education requirements for our college degrees, including physical and biological sciences as well as courses in English, foreign language, and art. Though they might not be concentrated in those disciplines, a general understanding is provided.


Personally, I can see the ideas of science and art merge when I work with coffee. To me, each beverage is a form of art that uses espresso machine technology to provide its beauty. Internationally, latte art has taken the coffee world to a new level of expertise for baristas, incorporating proper balance of temperature, pressure, and artistic ability to craft a beautiful beverage. This video displays a bit of what goes into this art-technology combination: Watch

As Snow and other academics assess, it is essential that the sciences and humanities merge to harmoniously provide a progressive environment. Victoria Vesna assesses that harmony is much more likely to be in effect between these spheres when communication is properly conducted. “The work of artists working with technology demands interaction with scholars from a wide variety of disciplines.... Bridging and synthesizing many worlds while composing ‘something else’ becomes the art.” Thus, harmony between science, art, and humanities is more fluid when intellectuals consult those who specialize in the field of question, rather than forming conclusions on their own.

 Works Cited:

"C. P. Snow." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 June 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._P._Snow#mediaviewer/File:C._P._Snow.jpg>.

"MIT Economics: About the Department." MIT Economics. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 June 2014. <http://newsoffice.mit.edu/sites/mit.edu.newsoffice/files/images/2012/20120619160818-0_0.jpg>.

"The New Paideia." 3 AM Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 June 2014.
     <http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/
     science-vs-humanities.jpg>. 

Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. 7th ed. London: Syndics of Cambridge UP, n.d. Print.

Vesna, Victora. "Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between." Leonardo 34.2 (2001): 121-25. JSTOR. Web. 29 June 2014. <http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1577014?uid=3739560&uid=2134&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21103915056361>.

World Best Latte Art - SWANS. Youtube. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 June 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fciMe4bWOqg>.