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From: weemba@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (Matthew P. Wiener)
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Re: It could have been worse.
Message-ID: <12283@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Sun, 9-Mar-86 05:29:05 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.12283
Posted: Sun Mar  9 05:29:05 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 11-Mar-86 01:38:10 EST
References: <678780@<860222195435> <60000003@ism780>
Sender: usenet@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: weemba@brahms.UUCP (Matthew P. Wiener)
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Lines: 47

In article <60000003@ism780> jimb@ism780 writes:
>
>
>>> But the thing I find most offensive about this posting is the slam
>>> against people with liberal arts backgrounds. Perhaps some of the
>>> semi-literate chemists and physicists I've known can study their
>>> culture, instead of taking classes on overspecialized topics that tell
>>> them nothing about why they're narrow-minded, asocial, and incapable
>>> of communication. Liberal arts bigotry is as ridiculous and offensive
>>> as hard science bigotry, n'est-ce pas? Sheesh.
>
>>  While it is uncommon to cross the two cultures, it is usually the
>>  scientist who tries/succeeds.
>
>> =  Bill Ingogly
>
>>> = Matthew P. Weiner
>
>Bullsh*t!  As someone who is more-or-less tri-cultural (hard science, social
>science, the arts), I find that tolerance/acceptance/understanding across the
>chasms is pretty low all the way around.  But in general, more of the liberal
>arts types will admit that they don't understand scientific/technical points
>of view and are willing to be educated.  More "techies" either *think* they
>have a superior understanding of social sciences/liberal arts or discount it
>as meaningless.  (The pure arts people seem to be in their own world; even I
>have trouble relating to some of them.)
>
>A side consideration is what society values and labels intelligence.  At this
>point in history, math and verbal skills are "in," leaving people with other
>kinds of intelligence sucking hind tit.  The "techies" dominate in the
>math-oriented skills and the liberal arts types dominate in the verbal,
>leading to all sorts of "Tastes great!  Less filling!" confrontations.
>Personally, I benefit from this; my abilities are such that I move
>among both groups with moderate ease and I earn a very decent living
>essentially acting as an intepreter between the two groups.  From a more
>distant perspective, though, "Feh!"  Society is the less for the division and
>many individuals are poorer for it in terms of unfulfilled potential.
>
>			     -- from the musings of Jim Brunet
>
>			     ima/ihnp4/ism780
>			     hplabs/hao/ico/ism780
>			     sdcsvax/sdcrdcf/ism780



ucbvax!brahms!weemba	Matthew P Wiener/UCB Math Dept/Berkeley CA 94720