Sherry (Tzu Hsien)Tang DESMA 9 Blog

  Event 1 I attended an online and in person hybrid event hosted by the Sociology Department at UCLA covering the topic on the history of Ultra Processed Foods. From the beginning of the seminar, the speaker introduced us to a variety of foods chemicals, their history and how they are integrated in processed foods we see today for instance yogurts, or other processed meats. A majority of the seminar was dedicated to discussing emulsifiers and the risks they have towards our health. Emulsifiers are defined as any of the chemical additives that encourage the suspension of one liquid in another for instance the mixture of oil and water in margarine, ice cream and salad dressing. Majority of those mentioned in this seminar are very commonly seen in the foods we see in our daily lives now, but have only been more common after industrialization and the rise of science. The most common emulsifiers are derived from algae as well. While listening to these examples, I thought back to my d...

Industrialization and Art Industrialization has been part of why society is this convenient and developed since humans starting integrating science and scientific method of thinking into our lives. From the ancient invention of printing press to more recent developments on Artificial intelligence and robots, humans have never stopped in seeking industrialization. With the integration of AI in our daily lives and work environment, the trend these two years seen in Investment Banking and Consulting especially has been more layoffs and more people finding it challenging to find jobs. AI has slowly replaced jobs with higher efficiency and lower cost. I think society has always been welcoming towards industrialization and praised the development of science but these few years there has been more focus on whether or not we need industrialization at such a high speed and if robots would replace the human warmth and emotions that relationships stem on.   Fobes Animation of AI Referencing ...

       As a kid who didn’t enjoy mathematics growing up, this week’s lecture shown new perspectives on how I understand the correlation between art and math in our world. My biggest takeaway throughout this week’s content is that anything could be considered as art, with deliberate and creative presentation.   One reference would be Leonardo’s personal sketches and drawings for example the drawing on human ratios as mentioned during Professor’s lecture this week. It simply is considered as a reflection on what ratios would look perfect for human’s leg and arm length but through math concepts. Rather than showcasing an abstract human portrait, Da Vinci combined concrete ratios and fractions into a beauty concept, highlighting the mysterious and beautiful characteristics of math.  Another example would be the vanishing points in 2D paintings as mentioned by Marc Frantz. Artists incorporate the usage of specific angles and vanishing points to present sce...

  Two cultures  As a double major student I walk from north to south campus almost on a daily basis for classes all the way at Anderson to Psychology or coding classes at Boelter Hall. Not only do the buildings remind me of this divide between humanities and science focused subjects, but also the students', their facial expressions and even clothing details. North campus classes and students focus on collaboration, creativity and tend to dress in more vibrant colors and patterns. South campus classes tend to emphasis on mastery of skill and practice and students dress also in solid darker color schemes. After reading and watching over the lectures, I gained a refreshed perspective on this topic of “two cultures” or the divide between arts and sciences. As mentioned by C.P Snow, the author believes that the lack of understanding and communication between people in these two fields stem from the the lack of appreciation. Adding on to this point, Vesna mentions the a potential ...