Week 3: Midterm Project

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6Y79UUzQ6rMVm1iOU13emZvWUk/view?usp=sharing

Week 2: Medicine+Technology+Art

In the lecture video by Professor Victoria Vesna, I was introduced to how medicine, technology, and art are related with one another. It was interesting how medicine was first considered as art and an individual using any sort of tools or technology means that the individual is not a doctor. After learning about X-rays and how they came about, I became very intrigued at how far medical technology has advanced.

According to Josep Anton Planell, the director of the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), "in the future, it will be possible to design intelligent biomaterials that, when placed where damaged tissue needs to be regenerated, will be able to stimulate the stem cells to do what we want them to do" (ScienceDaily). The study of stem cells especially piqued my interest when I took Biology in 9th grade. Takanori Takebe and his colleagues in the Department of Regenerative Medicine at Yokohama City University "succeeded in generating mini-livers, or liver buds, from stem cells that were taken from human skin and reprogrammed to an embryonic state" (McGowan). In other words, these individuals were able to create a working organ. I wonder what the future holds. With further research and experiments, would we not be able to just create a new organ for an individual with a failing organ? Can we prolong human life in this way? Can we save more lives?

Here is a video of researchers creating a beating rat heart using stem cells.

However, the research of stem cells comes with some controversial concerns. The way of researching stem cells involved destroying the human embryo. This raised concerns as people began asking "Does life begin at fertilization, in the womb, or at birth? Is a human embryo equivalent to a human child? Does a human embryo have any rights?" (Learn.Genetics). I definitely understand these worries especially since studying human stem cells involves human life.

Overall, it was very interesting to see the relationship of medicine, technology, and art. I still find it fascinating to believe that artists use medical technology to impact art. I am very curious as to what the future holds both for medical technology and for art.

Sources:

1. "Advances In Medical Technology: What Does The Future Hold?" ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 16 June 2009. Web. 03 July 2016.
2. McGowan, Kat. "Scientists Make Progress in Growing Organs From Stem Cells." Discover Magazine. N.p., 7 Jan. 2014. Web. 03 July 2016.
3. "The Stem Cell Debate: Is It Over?" The Stem Cell Debate: Is It Over? Learn.Genetics Genetic Science Learning Center, n.d. Web. 03 July 2016.
4. Vesna, Victoria. "Medicine Pt2." YouTube. YouTube, 21 Apr. 2012. Web. 03 July 2016.
5. WayCurious. "New Heart Built with Stem Cells." YouTube. YouTube, 27 Apr. 2008. Web. 03 July 2016.

Images:

1. "Medical Technology Shaping the Future of Medicine - Medical News and Technology Advancements." Medical News and Technology Advancements. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 July 2016.
2. Press, Viva Sarah. "Stem Cells Might Heal Damaged Lungs." Israel21c. N.p., 14 July 2015. Web. 03 July 2016.
3. Toh, Kheng Ho. "Medical Technology and Corporate Research As Art." 123RF Stock Photos. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 July 2016.
4. "Why Stem Cells Are a Controversial Topic?" Stem Cells. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 July 2016.

Week 2: Robotics+Art

Walter Benjamin was analyzing how mechanical reproduction destroys or puts an end to uniqueness, authenticity, or aura. I completely agree with this statement. With the introduction of industrialization to America came mechanization and different technologies. For example, "in a study by Getty Images ' iStock with KRC Research called "Free the Creative, 63 percent of workers in the creative industry said they simply do not have the time to think about or reflect on original ideas" (Cummings). Cummings continues by stating "while some technology could be and is used for creative purposes, some just remains a distraction" (Cummings). From this article, it seems that technology serves as an obstacle to creativity or uniqueness as Benjamin puts it, by distracting people from coming up with original ideas.

Society has reacted in a variety of ways to the introduction of industrialization.

Firstly, society views industrialization as a form of entertainment. In the Disney film Big Hero 6, there is a scene in which two robots fight with each other. Although our technology has not advanced to the point where we fight with robots for our enjoyment. The scene in the movie depicts an ideal future that many people in society may be expecting sooner or later.

Secondly, many people have taken full advantage of industrialization especially in terms of factory owners. In one particular city in China, "a technology company has set up a factory run almost exclusively by robots" (Forrest). The company claims that "the robots have produced almost three times as many pieces as were produced before" (Forrest). In this example we can examine that industrialization has led to robots replacing the workforce. This is just one of many ways that people use technology for benefits.

Lastly, there are those who fear that industrialization may lead to our demise. A man named Stephen Hawking, a physicist and cosmologist, claims that "the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race" (Gaudin). Hawking is just one of many people who believe that human beings may be eliminated with the advancement of technology. It is interesting to think that robots can and may have a mind of their own as technology advances.

Overall, industrialization is seen as both a blessing and a curse. In many ways industrialization has led to more productive lives and in other ways it may lead to both our mental and physical destruction.

Sources:

1. Cummings, Kelsey. "Cummings: Technology Stifles Creativity, Original Thought." Iowa State Daily. N.p., 17 Dec. 2013. Web. 03 July 2016.
2. Forrest, Conner. "Chinese Factory Replaces 90% of Humans with Robots, Production Soars - TechRepublic." TechRepublic. N.p., 30 July 2015. Web. 03 July 2016.
3. Gaudin, Sharon. "Stephen Hawking Fears Robots Could Take over in 100 Years." Computerworld. N.p., 14 May 2015. Web. 03 July 2016.
4. Storyteller, The. "Big Hero 6 "Hiro's Robot Fight" - High Quality (FULL SCENE)." YouTube. YouTube, 04 Feb. 2015. Web. 03 July 2016.
5. Vesna, Victoria. "Robotics Pt1." YouTube. YouTube, 15 Apr. 2012. Web. 03 July 2016.

Images:

1. Knight, Helen. "Humans and Robots Work Better Together following Cross-training; Swapping of Roles Improves Efficiency." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 11 Feb. 2013. Web. 03 July 2016.
2. Konrath, Jill. "Technology Driving You to Distraction? LifeHealthPro: Life & Health Insurance News & Sales Tips. N.p., 20 Dec. 2014. Web. 03 July 2016.
3. Nisen, Max. "Toyota Is Becoming More Efficient by Replacing Robots with Humans." Quartz. N.p., 07 Apr. 2014. Web. 03 July 2016.
4. "Robots Taking over the World." Y2M Youth to Marketing. N.p., 19 Mar. 2013. Web. 03 July 2016.
5. Taylor, Daniel. "How Is Technology Changing Our Society? | CSGlobe." CSGlobe. N.p., 25 May 2013. Web. 03 July 2016.

Week 1: Math+Art

I never really realized how mathematics and art were related with each other. I guess I just assumed that artists just drew from whatever they imagined, but I was completely wrong.

Out of the many things I learned from lecture, the first was about linear perspective. Filippo Brunelleschi was the first person to make a correct formulation of linear perspective. He understood that there should be a vanishing point in which all parallel lines in a plane converge and with that knowledge, he was able to correctly compute the relation between the length of an object and the length of the picture depending on its distance to the plane of the canvas using mathematical principle. He controlled precisely the position of the spectator so that the geometry was guaranteed to be correct.

The second idea I learned about was from Al Haytham who gave the first correct explanation of vision. He showed that light is reflected from an object in the eye and studied the complete science of vision influencing Renaissance artists 300-400 years later.

Next, Piero della Francesca showed that painting has three principal parts which are drawing, proportion, and coloring. Drawing means the outlines and contours contained in a thing. Proportion is the outlines and contours positioned in proportion in their places. Coloring gives colors as shown in the things, light and dark according to the light that makes them vary.

Lastly, Luca Pacioli studied the golden ratio which is the ratio a:b=b:(a+b). He also studied regular and semiregular polygons. His studies were important to architectural design and contributed to one of his famous works known as Divina proportione in which he included figures from his studies.

I believe that the juxtaposition of mathematics, art, and science is like building a house. You need a strong base foundation in order to build a sturdy and effective house. The foundation would be mathematics and the house is art.

Sources:

Falco, Charles M., and Aimee L. WeintzAllen. "Painted Optics Symposium." N.p., n.d. Web. 24 June 2016.

Frantz, Marc. "Vanishing Points and Looking at Art." N.p., n.d. Web. 24 June 2016.

O'Connor, J. J., and E. F. Robertson. "Luca Pacioli." Pacioli Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 June 2016.

Vesna, Victoria. "Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov." Cole UC online. Youtube, 9 April 2012. Web. 24 June 2016. <http://www.youtube.com/watchv=mMmq5B1LKDg&feature=player_embedded>

Watson, Paul F. "Piero Della Francesca." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 May 2016. Web. 24 June 2016.

Week 1: Two Cultures

Throughout my life, I always believed that the humanities and sciences were separate entities and that there could be no sort of connection between the two. However, after watching the lecture videos and reading the two articles, "Third Culture: Being in Between" by Victoria Vesna and "The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution" by C.P. Snow, my perspective has changed. I believe now that the two cultures have many shared characteristics. I believe the vast majority of society had the same idea that I had before. Many people believed that the arts and sciences are completely different and should be separated. This is shown through the location of the humanities buildings with the science buildings at UCLA. Among the students, we separate them even further by regarding the humanities as part of North campus and the sciences as part of South campus.

My perspective has shifted in that now, to me, the humanities and sciences are just two cultures and I believe that cultures can and are mixed as seen through the experiences of my life. As an individual who lives in America, I was introduced to many different cultures as I grew up. The friends that I made were not always one specific race or nationality and thus, through my multi ethnic friends, I was exposed to a wide range of cultures. One example could be in terms of food. In the past, I would only eat Korean food, but now I enjoy foods from different cultures.

   Moreover, when I was in high school, I was required to take a foreign language class and so, I chose Mandarin. As I was taking the class, I not only learned how to read, write, and speak in Mandarin, but I also learned about the Chinese culture and even some history of China. Through the learning of Chinese culture, I also found many similarities between Chinese and Korean culture. Overall, I realize now that the humanities and sciences are two cultures that can and have been mixed and share many similarities with each other.

Sources:

Snow, C. P. “Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution.” Reading. 1959. New York: Cambridge UP, 1961. Print.

Vesna, Victoria. “Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between.” Leonardo 34.2 (2001): 121-25. Web.

Hua, Sara Lynn. "4 Reasons To Learn Chinese." 4 Reasons To Learn Chinese. N.p., 5 Aug. 2015. Web. 22 June 2016.

Admin, InternChina. "Differences between Chinese and South Korean Culture." InternChina. N.p., 9 Dec. 2013. Web. 22 June 2016.

"The World & I Diversity in America." The World & I Diversity in America. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 June 2016.