C.P. Snow’s perspective felt familiar to me as I have also occupied space in the humanities and the sciences. I have always been interested in topics across disciplines: as a kid I enjoyed drawing as well as logic puzzles, in high school I wrote music for my band while also participating in Mathletes, and currently I am working towards a major in Applied Math alongside an emphasis in the Arts.
Map of UCLA, a campus where humanities and science buildings are separate (Porter)
From an early age, I was pushed to commit to one interest or way of thinking, and the fabricated oppositional binary between humanities and sciences was constantly enforced. As Snow writes, most literary intellectuals “dismiss [scientists] as ignorant specialists,” pitying them for their naivety surrounding the important things in life. On the other hand, Stephen Wilson points out that scientists doubt that “artists have much to tell them about their business.” These remarks ring true to my experiences; artists tell me shamelessly that they cannot add fractions while mathematicians dismiss me for approaching problems with an artistic framework. These dismissive attitudes are silly and ultimately detrimental to both sides; as David Bohm points out scientists and artists are ultimately similar, their common goal to “create something new that is whole and total, harmonious and beautiful.”
Illustration highlighting the common motivation between sciences and the arts (Vick)
Kevin Kelly and Victoria Vesna both assert the existence and need for a Third Culture. While Kelly sees the Third Culture as synonymous with nerd culture, Vesna emphasizes the role of modern artists with work based in technology in bridging the gap between the Two Cultures. While Vesna's idea of the Third Culture is slightly more specific, both agree that it will be people who create and tinker with modern technologies who are situated in this in-between. I agree, and see the role of the Third Culture as not just fostering mutual respect, but communication and collaboration between humanities and science. I truly believe my greatest strength as a mathematician is my artistic ability and my greatest strength as an artist is my understanding of math. Having multiple frameworks with which to approach a problem makes you a better problem solver in any discipline; in my mind, the Third Culture must not just bridge the gap but dissolve it.
Example of art being used to explore mathematical concepts (Muspratt)
Sources:
Bohm, David. “On Creativity.” Leonardo, Vol. 1, No. 2, 1968, pp. 137-149.
Kelly, Kevin. “The Third Cultrue.” Science, https://science.sciencemag.org/content/279/5353/992.full. Accessed 1 April, 2021.
Muspratt, James. "The Art of Mathematics." Tangible Math, http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/tlcm/index.php/case-studies/gallery/the-art-of-mathematics#1.
Porter, Dolph. Ldngardener.com, 2020, https://ldngardener.com/campus/ucla-campus-map.
Snow, C.P. “The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution.” Cambridge University Press, 1961, pp. 1-58.
Vesna, Victoria. “Toward a Third Culture: Being in between.” Leonardo, Vol. 34, No. 2, 2001, pp. 121-125.
Vick, Danielle. Copy for Change, https://copyforchange.com/2015/10/30/when-art-and-science-collide/.
Wilson, Stephen. “Myths and Confusions in Thinking about Art/Science/Technology.” College Art Association Meetings, 2000.
I resonate with your juxtaposition of artists and scientists/mathematicians who reject or undermine the skills often employed by the opposite discipline. It's interesting to hear people readily admit their lack of another discipline's basic skill as if they are attempting to distance themselves from that opposite discipline. However, the failure to associate artists with mathematic skills or mathematicians with artistic skills is seriously detrimental when recruiters or corporations assume the individual won't fit a certain role due to their diverse or 'scattered' resume. I think it's great that you are pursuing both!
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