Week 4 | Medicine + Technology + Art |

I find it fascinating that doctors who used instruments and technology were not considered a doctor in society until the 20th century because these methods were considered art (according to Victoria Vesna).  Comparatively today, the word of a doctor alone would seem invalid if he or she was not use the technology that we have to support the diagnosis.

MRI Image of Labral Tear

Unfortunately, I have had many injuries throughout my athletic career.  After tearing my labrum in my right shoulder, MRI images were taken and these were further enhanced by injecting a colored die directly into the shoulder muscle in order to create a greater contrast in the image and to make it clear where the tear was.  This technique draws deeply from its artistic roots as a rich change in color laid right on top of a dull image pops off the screen to show abnormalities in the muscle.

Meditation using Virtual Reality

The piece of material that influenced me most this week was the TED talk about the connection between technology and pain.  I find it very exciting that virtual reality is as effective as opioids in treating short term pain (according to Diane Gromala, and I look at the great potential associated with using less highly addictive pain killers in the treatment of diseases.  There is controversy today regarding the use of pain killers in sports because of their addictive qualities according to Dennis Romboy.  If technology could be used instead of physical medications to treat pain, then athletes would not have to worry about the harmful side effects of treatment.

Works Cited

Goergen, Stacy, Prof, and Maurice Molan, Dr. "Gadolinium Contrast Medium (MRI Contrast Agents)." Gadolinium Contrast Medium (MRI Contrast Agents). N.p., 1 May 2009. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.insideradiology.com.au/pages/view.php?T_id=38#.VTv8FVz4ulI>. 

Khosla, Vinod. "Technology Will Replace 80% of What Doctors do." Fortune Technology Will Replace 80 of What Doctorsdo Comments. N.p., 04 Dec. 2012. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://fortune.com/2012/12/04/technology-will-replace-80-of-what-doctors-do/>. 

Romboy, Dennis. "Painkillers, the Dark Side of Sports." Desert News. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.deseretnews.com/article/695222184/Painkillers-the-dark-side-of-sports.html?pg=all>. 

Tabral Tear. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <sikerimaging.com>. 

"Virtual Reality." Transforming Pain. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.confrontingpain.com/projects/vr/>.

Week 3: Robotics + Art When the day comes where robots can do jobs more efficiently than humans, what will happen? Kuka Robot This day has already come.  Today, automated machines mass produce millions of goods every day that would take humans a lifetime to create.  There are positives to this, as more goods can be produced, but there are also negatives as jobs are also taken from workers as they are replaced by robots who do not require a salary. In the movie iRobot (first storied by Isaac Asimov), robots are massed produced with the goal to give every citizen their own helper-bot.  The robots are given three rules which they are required to follow: iRobot Trailer Link A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. However, the movie takes a twist when one of the robots becomes unique and is able to break the fundamental laws set by the programmers of the bots.  This idea of uniqueness makes the robot special, and the main character (played by Will Smith) recognizes the bot's potential and the possible repercussions that could occur if all robots could think and make decisions for themselves without a set of rules.   Walter Benjamin Walter Benjamin also writes how uniqueness is very important, "The authenticity of a thing is the essence of all that is transmissible from its beginning, ranging from its substantive duration to its testimony to the history which it has experienced."  This quote reflects the idea that an object retains value based on being individual and being associated with a specific place in time (The Work of Art in The Age of Mechanical Reproduction).  The ideas of robots and mass production have been around for centuries, but we are now beginning to witness the effects that technologically advanced robots will have on the world.

Works Cited

I, Robot. Perf. Will Smith. 20th Century Fox, 2004. DVD.  "Isaac Asimov." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov>.  Kuka. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kuka.com>.  Osborne, Peter. "Walter Benjamin." Stanford University. Stanford University, 18 Jan. 2011. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/benjamin/>.

Week 2: Math and Art

The connections between the worlds of math and art are seemingly endless.  Despite most people being brainwashed into believing they need to pick one discipline or the other, the two are really intricately interwoven together as explained by Victoria Vesna in her lecture.  I wasn't aware of how advances in subjects like geometry and physics made real improvements for artists in attaining more realistic and accurate artistic portrayals. Linda Dalrymple Henderson explains in "The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidian Geometry in Modern Art: Conclusion" that Einstein's Theory of Relativity literally changed the way artists paint by giving them a better understanding of how dimensions work.  In the Four Dimensions Audio and Video Performance from Nathan Selikoff, the geometry and shapes playing in the LED screes work in sync with the music to provide a captivating experience.

Geometrics Shapes make Art

The golden ratio can be seen in Leonardo Da Vinci's "The Annunciation".  Compared to a usual painting, Da Vinci's mathematical and scientific knowledge of how to use the golden ratio allowed him to create a piece with many layers and depth, without any item becoming distorted, of the incorrect size, or out of place.  The painting is balanced because of the careful mathematical work put into the size and placement of each object.

Golden Ratio in The Annunciation

One of my largest take aways from the content this week was that mathematicians helped artists before the age of computers.  I never consciously acknowledged how scientific advancements, in what seem like basic mathematics today, were changing the way in which artists work and were significantly improving and altering their style and perspective.  

All lines go to the same "Vanishing Point"

There is a common juxtaposition made with math, art, and science because subjects that on the surface seem to oppose each other really work to help each other.  Advances in the field of mathematics help in the progression of art just as art can open up a broader way of thinking for scientists.

Works Cited

"Four Dimensions - Real-time Audio-visual Performance - Nathan Selikoff." Nathan Selikoff. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://nathanselikoff.com/works/four-dimensions>. 

"Golden Ratio in Art Composition and Design." Phi 1618 The Golden Number. N.p., 04 May 2014. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://www.goldennumber.net/art-composition-design/>. 

Meisner, Gary. The Annunciation. Digital image. The Golden Number. N.p., 4 May 2014. Web. 11 Apr. 2015. 

Rieser, Anne. One Point Perspective. Digital image. Pintrest. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2015. <https://www.pinterest.com/annerieser/one-point-perspective/>.

Week 1: Two Cultures

C.P. Snow’s interesting perspective on the Two Cultures is unique because he is a member of both worlds.  Being a scientist as well as a writer, Snow is able to compare and contrast both lives.  He notes that both sides are equally as smart in his book, The Scientific Revolution, despite popular belief.

C.P. Snow sits in between both cultures

Dr. Victoria Vesna sees many similarities in the way artists and scientists think and she notes that they share the same creative process in her piece, "Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between". Her video lecture is shown below.

I see the separation of the two cultures everywhere around UCLA’s campus.  The first and most obvious division can be seen in the split between North and South Campus.  Those who study on North Campus are discovering the arts and social sciences, while those residing in South Campus through all hours of the night are slaving away on meticulous scientific and mathematics challenges.  These divisions in the areas where students study prevent the third culture in learning by not allowing for collaboration between schools of thought.

A clear rivalry

The piece of material that influenced me the most in this week’s agenda was the Changing Education Paradigms video.  This way of thinking makes me question the education system that I was brought up in and makes me wonder if I have been molded away from my natural interests by my environment.  With these new ways of thinking about learning, I see great potential for improving my study habits.  If the natural environment for learning is indeed in groups, as in accordance with the ideas of Sir Ken Robinson, then this should be a strategy I implement on a more frequent basis.  A separation of two cultures has been the norm for centuries, but the potential for collaboration between the two cultures is what excites me for the future.

Works Cited

N.d. Scientific American Global RSS. Web. 05 Apr. 2015. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/an-update-on-cp-snows-two-cultures/>. 

N.d. Twitter. Web. 4 Apr. 2015. <"BruinWalk." Twitter. N.p., 13 May 2013. Web. 4 Apr. 2015. .>. 

Robinson, Ken, Sir. "Changing Education Paradigms." RSA. Web. 4 Apr. 2015. <https://www.thersa.org/discover/videos/event-videos/2008/06/changing-paradigms/>. 

Snow, Charles P. "The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution." Nature 184.4684 (1959): 411-12. Web. 4 Apr. 2015. 

Vesna, Victoria. "Toward a Third Culture: Being in between." Leonardo, n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2015. <http%3A%2F%2Flinks.jstor.org%2Fsici%3Fsici%3D0024-094X%25282001%252934%253A2%253C121%253ATATCBI%253E2.0.CO%253B2-3>. 

Vesna, Victoria. "TwoCultures Part1." University of California. Web. 4 Apr. 2015. <https://cole2.uconline.edu/courses/346337/pages/unit-1-view?module_item_id=6472132>. 

Vesna, Victoria. "TwoCultures Part2." University of California. Web. 4 Apr. 2015. <https://cole2.uconline.edu/courses/346337/pages/unit-1-view?module_item_id=6472132>. 

Vesna, Victoria. "TwoCultures Part3." University of California. Web. 4 Apr. 2015. <https://cole2.uconline.edu/courses/346337/pages/unit-1-view?module_item_id=6472132>.