Over the last eight weeks, more so than ever in my life, I have integrated technology and the arts as I prepare for a year long road trip around North America. Like Charles Percy Snow, I have friends who fall under both fields of study, literature and the arts, and technology and the sciences. Where I fulfill Snow’s hypothesis though, is that in the my three years at UCLA, I have hardly set foot into the science/math/technology side of campus. It is only now, as I plan for my first year out of college, that I have found great importance in the integration of science and art.
Snow has offered a new perspective to me as he harps on the importance of bridging a gap with a third culture. The photos above give some perspective into my current “third culture” undertaking as I have spent months now working with a contractor and woodworker measuring, researching and planning for the ultimate roadtrip vehicle (the photo on the right shows what the end result may resemble). The question we are asking ourselves is, “how can we design and build a vehicle that is beautiful and inspiring, as well as aerodynamic and virtually earthquake-proof?”
Integrating mathematics, science and the arts has convinced me of the great importance of both fields. I think also of my favorite movie, Good Will Hunting, that captures a relationship between a painter and therapist, with a tormented and talented mathematician. Just as Snow writes, “between the two is a gulf of mutual incomprehension”, it takes effort and time for the two polar fields to coexist and come to a more holistic and healthy understanding of the world.
Feinblatt, Erin. "Worn Wear Wagon." Web log post. Stills + Motion. N.p., 2015. Web. 2 Apr. 2016.
Good Will Hunting. Digital image. The Telegraph. The Telegraph, 15 Aug. 2014. Web. 2 Apr. 2016.
Kelly, Kevin. "The Third Culture" Science 13 February 1998: Vol. 279 no. 5353 pp. 992-993. Web.
Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. New York: Cambridge UP, 1959. Print.
Vesna, Victoria. “Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between.” Leonardo 34.2 (2001): 121-25. Web.
Paul,
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool trip you have planned! I'm curious to learn more about where you are going and why. As a person who is interested in graphic design, and ultimately all things aesthetically pleasing, I really love that you are integrating math and science into your design to optimize your vehicles efficiency and its appearance. When it comes to projects like these, it is so necessary that art and science come together to form something to interesting, useful, and beautiful. C.P. Snow's third culture is so present in your design and I find that science and the humanities are blended quite well in our society--especially in projects like yours! Modern day art is so influenced by science and it makes me excited for the future and what's to come for this "third culture."
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ReplyDeleteWell done, Paul! This vehicle design does a great job of combining visually pleasure and mentally stimulation in my taste. I found your blog post to be helpful in proving a broader significance as to why bridging the "Third Culture" is important. Have fun on your adventure!
DeleteP.S. I accidentally posted a comment that was incomplete, I apologize.
-Joshua