We all remember these great Apple commercials!
I thought this was a very interesting debate including some highly astounded scientists and literary figures.
My favorite quote from one of the scientists:
"If you can't explain your experiment to a completely lame person, then the science may not be worth doing. And if you are able to do that, it will inform the science that you are about to do. I think that we have not done that well [as scientists]. " He continues on to say how he believes that scientists should make their science not elite and actually understandable, and this will make it more effective.
I think that this is a very good point. If scientists can explain their work, they know that it will be applicable and worth doing, and that people will be more keen to discuss it no matter what their education level is.
"By the time our students get to the university level they are already speaking different languages. We must go back much earlier-to the roots...we specialize way to early."
What he is saying here is that the current Western education system makes everyone specialize way too early, and that we should continue to allow people to explore all areas of education. In my experience, I have always leaned towards the math and sciences and shied away from the arts and humanities. Because of this, I have chosen an educational path focusing more on the sciences rather than a general education as a whole. While this type of education is good for me knowing about science, it is not good for my general knowledge because I do not get a broad enough perspective to make better decisions.
I thought this was an interesting photo depicting the stereotypical "left-right brain" model.
At Ucla, there is a huge separation between the arts and sciences. Firstly, there's a spacial separation between North and South campus. Also, there are different societies that focus only on certain groups i.e. "Co-Ed Fraternity for Pre-Med students" or "Co-ed Fraternity for Pre-Law students". This makes it really hard to become friends with a lot of people that are not in your area of campus unless you are involved in other things such as sports or greek life.
In the readings/videos for this week, I thought that I really got a lot out of the "Changing Education Paradigms" video.
I think that no matter what we debate about sciences or art being better or whether one came out of the other they all root back to changing our current education system- and this video does a really good job highlighting that.
Professor Vesna's article about the transition to a "Third Culture" had a lot of insight into defining the separate sectors of the education system as well as defining how similar they are when closely looked at.
Works Cited:
Arts vs Science- Can One Exist without the Other? Perf. Professor Lord Robert Winston, Professor David Lodge, Professor Kate McLuskie, Professor Paul Smith, and Bonnie Greer. YouTube. University of Birmingham, 27 May 2011. Web. 26 June 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcJMbj0hbwo>.
Arts vs. Science. Digital image. Songs from the Wood: Vignettes From A Quotidian Life. Songs from the Wood, 18 Oct. 2011. Web. 26 June 2014. <http://hobbesdutt.com/blog/books/two-themes-on-science-vs-art/>.
Left- Right Brain. Digital image. Cms Wire. Cms Wire, 5 June 2013. Web. 26 June 2014. <http://www.cmswire.com/images/artbrain1.jpg>.
RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms. Perf. Sir Ken Robinson.YouTube. The RSA, 14 Oct. 2010. Web. 26 June 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U>.
Vesna, Victoria. "Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between." Leonardo 34.2 (2001): 121-25. Web.
