Consilience - the Unity of Knowledge

This all seems very reminiscient of CP Snow's infamous lecture on the "Two Cultures". Did you have this in mind at all when you wrote the OP?The Two Cultures - WikipediaIt still strikes me as odd that some humanities students seem to take an almost snobbish pride in their lack of scientific and mathematical knowledge. I have never understood this but I think it does still exist even today.

I do think science courses are "harder". But I think there is more to this than just that. There are some incredibly intelligent and learned individuals who are genuinely enthused and excited by ideas but who have an almost perverse pride in their ignorance of some areas of human knowledge. Scientific and mathematical areas.It is almost as if the arts and humanities are deemed by some people to be higher forms of knowledge whilst science is looked down on as a sort of advanced exercise in plumbing or welding. Undoubtably useful. But with litttle to say about anything of much intellectual consequence or interest.It is an attitude borne of ignorance. But is still prevalent to some degree at least IMHO.Edited by Straggler, : No reason given.

In my bid for dramatic effect I may have exaggerated the issue. I think where humanities and arts students misunderstand science is in a perceived lack of creativity. If it isn't "creative" in a more obvious sense then it just isn't that interesting. That sort of mentality.Personally I would argue that in many ways science requires a high degree of creativity. But it also requires a foundation of understanding and knowledge from which that "creativity" can be launched.Edited by Straggler, : No reason given.

So what do you make of CP. Snow's lecture? Does it have any relevance at all today? Or Not?