Unit 1 - Two Cultures

I feel I’ve bounced back and forth between the two cultures. As a child I showed an interest in art and music, and adults would praise me for being right brained. I had the most fantastic science teacher in seventh grade, so I excelled in the class. Now, as an adult and a psychology major I am being praised for being left brained even though most of my hobbies are artistic, and the left-brain right-brain theory is a myth.

Why the left-brain right-brain myth might never die by Christian Jarrett.

The atmosphere on the UCLA campus is very pleasant between the two cultures. It’s not difficult to make friends across majors. However, it feels funny being lost on campus, but it is easy to find someone willing to help you. In the campus family housing, with mostly graduate students and fellows, everyone is always interested in hearing about others' degrees and their pursuits. Because of these experiences, I have found UCLA students to be progressive in their thinking and appreciation of individual strengths. I feel this could lead people across the two cultures to more collaboration in the future. 

Science and Storytelling by Jesy Odio.

The students in the schools are open minded and progressive but the curriculum in schools and universities is flawed like C.P. Snow claimed. He said that the curriculum is to blame for the separation of the two cultures because it is too specialized (Snow 19). Once children begin understanding and showing an interest in one discipline over another teachers and parents want to pigeonhole them. So in order for better collaboration between the two cultures the curriculum needs to change.

In Part I of the Two Cultures Lecture, I found it compelling that Professor Vesna made the point that C.P. Snow’s first title for The Two Cultures was The Rich and the Poor, and this was important because he was concerned about the wealth gap (which has since increased drastically). His ideas to have more developed and educated counties help others catch up seemed optimist to me, but it made complete sense. “Peace, food, no more people than the earth can take that is the cause” (Snow). Professor Vesna said this was his “central and urgent” argument. I believe it should still be all of our concern. 

Indicators of Higher Education Equity in the United States by Michael Muskal.

Works Cited

Jarrett, Christian. “Why the Left-Brain Right-Brain Myth will Probably Never Die.” Psychology Today. 5 July, 2012. Web. 3 April 2015. < http://io9.com/5923595/why-the-left-brain-right-brain-myth-will-probably-never-die>.

Muskal, Michael. “In earning college degrees, gap between rich and poor has grown, study finds.” LA Times, 3 Feb. 2015. Web. 3 April 2015. < http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-poor-rich-students-college-report-20150203-story.html>

Odio, Jesy. “Science and Storytelling.” UCLA Magazine, 28 Jan. 2015. Web. 3 April 2015. < http://magazine.ucla.edu/exclusives/science-and-storytelling/>

Snow, C.P. Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. Cambridge University, Cambridge. 1959.

Vesna, Victoria. “Two Cultures-pt1.” UC online program. Youtube, 30 March 2012. Web. 31 March 2015. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMmq5B1LKDg&feature=player_embedded>.