Are language arts/the humanities EASIER than math and science?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>And I don't mean which one YOU think is easier for YOU. :)</p>

<p>lol I mean, which one, do you suspect is generally less demanding of intelligence and concentration, etc.</p>

<p>...yeah...</p>

2

<p>It’s certainly easier to BS…</p>

3

<p>I think to be beastly at writing at say, the Nabokov level, takes more intelligence than being beastly at many levels of math.
It doesn’t seem that most high school humanities classes ask very much of students. Writing is seen as an art and being good at it a talent or a gift. It’s to be rewarded with consistent 100s but not to be expected as part of the course, whereas similar levels of skill are expected in objective courses.</p>

4

<p>Obvious answer: both at higher levels.</p>

5

<p>Difficulty is subjective, and more people have trouble with math and science than they do with humanities (at the non-professional level), so I’d say math and science.</p>

<p>But, like Millancad said, writing that is truly and universally moving and logical and beautiful must be much more difficult to create. When it comes to the professional level, both subject areas are, I believe, roughly equivalent.</p>

6

<p>This is an interesting discussion.</p>

<p>I’ll add my opinion since I’m an Science/English person. I agree with Millancad and AeroEngineer. I’m more of an English person, but humanities classes in high school do seem to expect less than objective courses.</p>

<p>I took chem AP last year and scored a 5 on the AP test. I’m currently taking calc BC as a junior (got an A first semester).</p>

<p>Chem AP and Calc BC do require more work and thinking than my English honors classes. I can write an essay pretty easily and receive a 95+. However, creative writing is definitely challenging. I entered Scholastic Art and Writing this year and spent a lot of time editing and revising my entries (I did win something though, not sure what yet).</p>

<p>Generally, humanities classes allow more room for error. Mistakes are interpreted as creativity; lack of logic is seen as part of the “art.” Still, I think that people who write good fiction (Tolstoy, Austen, etc) are very intelligent (creativity counts too). Take a math major and ask him to write a good novel. He probably won’t be able to do it.</p>

<p>But in the modern world you have to be well-rounded. Math and science majors are expected to know how to write a good paper. Most top writers have a basic understanding of math and science. From my experiences, learning humanities helped me to learn math and science. And vice versa.</p>

7

<p>Agreed wholeheartly with the statement that humanities are much easier to BS.</p>

8

<p>I’m exactly the opposite to everyone here. Math and science are easier than English. I’m a non-native speaker. DAMN.</p>

9

<p>I say Arts/Humanities is easier, although difficulty is somewhat subjective. Math and Science are way more ‘exact’. If you get an answer wrong, you definitely get it wrong. There’s no, oh, you contradicted yourself but you still get a 75.</p>

10

<p>

</p>

<p>No partial credit? That sucks</p>

11

<p>It would depend on the class but in math classes I’ve had if you had the answer wrong, partial credit wouldn’t give you 75% of the credit.</p>

12

<p>Yeah, and there is no “specific” answer for English though, exception for multiple choice tests. It’s better to have one specific answer to find than write something of wide interpretation. I always get impugned by my teachers in my papers; no matter how hard I try, I always end up with the same grade. Math and science are practicable. It’s easier for me.</p>

13

<p>^^Tell me about it…My AP Bio teacher didn’t curve the mid-terms. Class Avg: 69</p>

14

<p>Both are pretty much the same, I think.</p>

<p>History is the humanities equivalent to Science
-You have to memorize stuff
-You have to see connections between the event
-etc</p>

<p>English is the humanities equivalent to Math
-Prove stuff
-Demonstrate thought process
-etc</p>

15

<p><a href=“http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/impostor.png[/url]”>http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/impostor.png&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

16

<p>

</p>

<p>Oh, I don’t know about that. In a lot of real math classes, getting the right answer is almost secondary. I’ve had, say, 11/12 for an incorrect answer but 12/20 or even 1/5 for a correct answer.</p>

17

<p>^
It depends. Multiple choice, obviously, is right or wrong. But I have a lenient teacher. He grades if you show correct approach to the problem and only takes partial points off for the wrong answer.</p>

18

<p>Humanities are more interesting. But I’m not denying that humanities are easier to BS.</p>

<p>But you still need a decent science background. For Psychology, you need to know a lot about the brain, and human biological systems. For Anthro, you need a lot of Biology and a lot more if you go into Physical Anthropology.</p>

19

<p>I don’t know what you’re calling a “real” math class… I haven’t taken Analysis or anything, but in the sort of general, everyone takes them, math classes, in my experience that’s not been the situation.</p>

20

<p>Random question: Wouldn’t it be smarter to offer a Calculus class in high school rather than a Honors Pre-Calculus class?</p>