Week 1 Two Cultures Blog
Week 1 - Two Cultures
The divide between the two cultures has been a prevalent part of my life, influencing many decisions
and conversations about the future. During my debate between becoming a music major or a science major,
the conversation always seemed to boil down to one question from my peers and family: which career path
is going to result in a future of stability?
In these debates between the two career paths, I’ve been exposed to the different labels society places on
the two fields. Similar to C.P. Snow’s observations in “The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution” that
“non-scientists tend to think of scientists as brash and boastful”, I have had many conservations with
musicians who view scientists as arrogant and lacking creativity. On the flip side, Snow also comments on
the scientist’s view point that “the literary intellectuals are totally lacking in foresight”, which I have also
observed from conversations with scientists of our time. The opinion that artists are blind to the instability a
career in the arts will cause them to face is one that has been voiced often. Because most of these
conversations have dominated my education thus far, I have only more recently begun to see the
interdependency between the two cultures.
Milgrom-Elcott, T. (2019, November 07). When stem BECOMES steam, we can change the game.
Hi Hailey! I thought it was really interesting how you introduced the topic of changing the name of STEM to STEAM to highlight the importance of art and the interdependency within the two cultures. When reading your post I found that I can relate to how you have passions in both the arts and the sciences, but chose to follow the path of stability.
ReplyDeleteHey Hailey! I also played a lot of music and really love listening to music! I think that art is a really good productive way to help people learn any subject! We make songs so that we can memorize certain facts, and we draw pictures to show how something happened/happens. I really like your reference to changing STEM to STEAM to show that art is really important in bridging two cultures.
ReplyDeleteHey Hailey! I thought your comment on the quote you referenced about making a living was very insightful. It is a widely shared view that a career in the arts is very unstable, whereas a career in the STEM field guarantees stability. However, that really isn't the case, as you said. I also liked how you brought up the idea of stereotypes, a topic that was discussed in the recorded lectures. All these stereotypes about the two cultures prevent them from understanding each other. Once people are able to look beyond these views, I feel like the gap between the two could be bridged.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your comment on stability: if you only consider data gathered from the past, you are absolutely correct; the sciences offer a better chance at stability. The wildcard of the present is the advancement of AI. Fields where analytical outcomes are sought based on a set of predictions and subsequent deductions will be heavily impacted by the technology. Along with truckers losing their jobs, technical specialists (mainly any job that uses a computer) will also find themselves in a state of unemployment. The more difficult tasks to achieve for an AI are those of creative necessity. It seems as though the creatives in the future will have the upper hand, as they will be more in demand than human scientists. It is difficult to predict the future, so my advice to all who are wrestling with the question of a career path is to find what you love and just do that! Maybe you'll make a lot of money, or you could be relying on universal basic income to pay the bills. This is unknown and there is no point stressing over it. What is known is that if you do what you love you will have a better chance of enjoying life, which is more important than money anyway.
ReplyDelete