<p>Besides, think of it this way. If what you are saying is true, then why, as you pointed out, does MIT even bother to mention ‘Social Sciences’ in the title of “School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences” (HASS)? After all, if social sciences are really part of the humanities anyway, then mentioning social sciences along with humanities is redundant. It would be like me saying “The United States and Massachusetts”. Hence, if nothing else, apparently MIT seems to believe that the social sciences are distinct from the humanities.</p>
<p>You’re right, then. I have wide definition of “the humanities.” I know that functionally, when people here say “humanities” they refer to “things not technical,” and I’ve adopted that definition in my day-to-day usage.</p>
<p>I’m sure Chomsky gets paid just as much as the science bigshots. This applies to the other prominent humanities professors as well. From what I’ve overheard from discussions here (surprisingly, a lot – why are business decisions discussed so often in public places?), professors are just as shallow as everyone else - the primary reason that profs move from one school to the next is the cash.</p>
<p>^^only if the dept. they are moving to is about the same level as the one they are leaving. UPenn has been desperately trying to steal chemistry faculty members by breaking the bank and have only been moderately successful because they don’t have a top 10 chem department.</p>
<p>If y’all haven’t read the famous physicist Richard Feynman’s hilarious autobiography “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!” yet, you really should. Anyhow one of the stories he tells is about UChicago offering him a huge salary to work there instead of teaching at Caltech. He turned down the offer at UChic telling them that with all that money, he’d do what he always wanted: to get himself a mistress and give her an apartment. The problem is he’d argue with her, and inevitably end up unhappy and distracted from his work. In short, what he had always wanted would have been bad for him, so he had to turn down their offer.</p>