VOX POPULI: Best of luck to everyone taking university entrance exams

C.P. Snow (1905-1980), an English novelist and physical chemist, is known for his pioneering 1959 lecture in which he called attention to the “gulf between science and the humanities.”

Lamenting that Western society had become polarized into “literary intellectuals” and “scientists,” with both sides refusing to understand each other, Snow ruffled a few feathers when he noted that the latter group’s ignorance of the “Second Law of Thermodynamics” was just as bad as the former’s never having read a work by William Shakespeare.

Snow himself was a product of a “balanced blend” of science and the humanities, having studied physical chemistry at university while writing a novel.

Interestingly, he blamed Britain’s “excessive specialization of education” for how far it had allowed the divide to grow. And he insisted, in his lecture, that the only solution lay in reconsidering the British educational system.

In Japan, too, the “wall” between science and the humanities has been a problem for quite a while. And the most unreasonable aspect of it is that the senior high school curriculum is designed with university entrance tests in mind.

Specifically, since elective courses come into play for second-year students at most schools, this forces them to make their choices while they are still in their first year.

But let me ask: How may 16-year-olds really know their area of aptitude? Not many, I’d say.

The Common Test for University Admissions, which starts on Jan. 18, includes a new test this year called “Joho 1” (Information 1) that is said to be helpful for all students, regardless of their course orientation.

Created in keeping with the new curriculum guidelines, it deals with subjects such as data analysis, programming and information ethics.

I tried the test, and was acutely reminded of how times have changed.

Global warming. Infectious diseases. Energy problems. Amid globalization and advances in information technology, inter-disciplinary research fields are expanding.

Now that a fusion between science and the humanities is in demand, I hope young people will be able to imagine their future when they choose their course at university.

Around 496,000 people are taking this year’s university entrance exams. I wish them the best of luck, and pray that they will stay healthy and not get the flu that’s going around.

–The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 18

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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