Week 1- Two Cultures

From a very young age, I have always been drawn to art. My mother was an art major in college and used to show me various pieces that she had created over the years. I was fascinated by this aspect of life until I was exposed to the wonders that science held.

Fast forward to high school, by this time I had taken every engineering and art class offered by my school, and I was a proud member of the robotics club. I was able to take all the fun things I had learned about art and use them in engineering classes. My classmates and I were able to help input and design the arena used in robotics competitions to make it look more fluid and pleasing.

Heading into college I expected to enjoy the same freedoms in class choices that I previously had in high school. I thought I could reach into both sides of the culture and take what I wanted. Yet, unfortunately, CP Snow's idea that the two cultures are polar opposites was even more correct in college. I instead was forced to make a decision on what I wanted to do with my college path. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, I decided to major in economics. This to me felt like neither art nor science. The black and white graphs would put me to sleep in lectures. The colors reminded me of the divide between what I wanted to do, and what I needed to do.

I struggled to make sense of it all until I realized that in these clusters of data that economics brought, is art, art that needs to be brought to the light. Much like paintings need a little color here and there, data needs a little manipulation and some color on a graph to tell a story. With the right flow and path, something as black and white as numbers in a chart can tell the story of a painting. Now, I have a broader understanding and knowledge to dive into the "third culture" that is present.

Sources:

1. Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures ; and the Scientific Revolution. University Press, 1959.

2. How to Make Excel Graphs Look Professional & Cool, 12 Sept. 2021, https://www.exceldemy.com/make-excel-graphs-look-cool-professional/. Accessed 30 Mar. 2022.   

3. Vesna, Victoria. "Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between." Leonardo. 34 (2001): 121-125. Print. 4. Wilson, Stephen D. “Myths and Confusions in Thinking about Art/Science/Technology.” College Art Association Meetings. New York, New York, 2000. Print.  

5. Configuring Prism so New Bar Graphs Don't Have Fill Patterns, 23 Apr. 2011, https://www.graphpad.com/support/faq/configuring-prism-so-new-bar-graphs-dont-have-fill-patterns/. Accessed 30 Mar. 2022.