<p>Hey guys, I'm currently an junior undg student planning to go to law school. I've been really focused these past semesters, but my father's death completely shook my entire family and me. I've been having such difficulty concentrating, especially because the people closest to my father are hurting us financially and socially, although there have also been kind people helping to take care of my family. What I realized from all of this is the value of the humanities...I know this may sound a bit strange, but every time I walk out of a humanities class, for example philosophy or English, I become more aware and more critical about people around me as well as the world in general...It helps clarify "right" and "wrong." I know that the humanities have a bad name here on CC but whatever major you pursue, you still have to have character...and I think the humanities really do that, they really make you think about this world and how it can be better...The people who have been "closest" to my father are the ones now hurting him, and it's so evident that they, although they are well-educated in the sciences, are not educated in terms of character. I don't know, I just feel like if we have more people paying attention in the Humanities classes- no matter the major- they can still be well-rounded and intelligent. As a matter of fact, humanities majors score very highly on the MCATs and get paid very highly (residency) because they not only crunch numbers or memorize formulas, but also are in touch with humanity...What do you guys think?</p>
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They also show you it can be worse.
I’ve known plenty of inconsiderate humanities major. Just because you are well-educated in science doesn’t mean you lack character.</p>
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<p>Paying more attention to the humanities does not make a well-rounded character. After all, how many humanities major do you see pay attention to the sciences like physics, chemistry, and whatnot? Being well-rounded is not about just taking humanities classes.</p>
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I wasn’t aware they crunched numbers at all, or memorized formulas. I guess they did memorize the quadratic formula to pass College Algebra. Once you get past basic math/physics, memorizing formulas is not exactly the way to go. Especially in math. Take an analysis class and memorize “the formulas” and see how far you get. Likewise for physics or chemistry. </p>
<p>Believe it or not, there’s more to science and math than just crunching number.</p>
<p>Like I mentioned before, though, try applying the same criticism to humanities major. How many of them are well-learned in the sciences or math? Does that fit your definition of well-roundedness?</p>
<p>I did not insult or say anything bad about math/science majors. Just like you know plenty of inconsiderate humanities majors, who probably take it because they believe it is easy and have no real interest, so I know plenty of pre-med and engineering students who focus on memorizing formulas, laws, etc, to get by on their tests and make their parents proud. I am not disparaging math and sciences; I personally do not only take humanities classes, but still stack up on chemistry and biology classes, although they have nothing to do with my ultimate goal (pre-law), simply because I personally wish to be well-rounded and have an interest in the sciences.
And you’re right that the humanities can show you that the world can be worse. But if we have more educated people who are knowledgeable about the situation at hand, then can’t they make the world better? Why wouldn’t they be able to?
And please don’t tell me “Take an analysis class and memorize ‘the formulas’ and see how far you get.” I never said anything negative about mathematics or the sciences, since I do have a keen interest in them myself; since I have the interest and the dedication, I know that I can get pretty far.</p>
<p>So people from both fields are at fault, then we should be able to conclude that it’s not about studying humanities or science, it’s about being well-rounded. Telling people to take humanities to be well-rounded is equally as good as me telling to take math/science classes to be well-rounded. In either case, there’s no point to single out humanities or math/sciences. The point is to emphasize well-roundedness.</p>
<p>Despite all these, I know both sides hate general education credits. Even I hate general education credits.</p>
<p>As for saying negative things about math/science, that last line about crunching numbers struck me as an insult. Ignorance of people leads them to calling any action in a field with a quantitative side as “crunching numbers”. So if I’m quick to judge, I apologize in advance.</p>
<p>I suppose I was aiming this at people who look down upon the humanities so much and only wish to focus on one subject, but it is absolutely true that this is the fact in both instances. I have a friend who wishes to pursue law, and is going to double-major in philosophy and political science, and minor in English. I told him that I was minoring in chemistry as well as a foreign language, and he gave me the strangest look! I basically do not think that people should only focus on one side of the picture.
No, I did not mean “crunching numbers” to be an insult. It’s just that so many people I know see math and science like this, but my brother is actually someone who helped spark my interest in the mathematics a couple of years ago, because he always told me to see the “beauty” in how calculus flows rather than see it as something dull and mechanical. I apologize if this insulted you!</p>
<p>lebeg123, i completely agree with you. humanities deal with humanity and being human. it’s honestly sad when those majoring in humanities do it because it’s easy and take nothing away from it. but for some, they lack the ability to connect what they learn in classes like philosophy, literature, art history, to real life.</p>
<p>l’hopital, it was a turn off to read your responses. it seems like you were so quick to overanalyze and criticize what lebeg123 wrote, instead of just taking his or her opinions and thoughts at face value. This isn’t a competition of who is correct or who isn’t. The title of the posts reads “you know what I”, not “you know what everyone should…” or what have you. although i agree that humanities don’t always make a well rounded character, neither does the non-humanities. what makes a well rounded character is the person, and that person can become well rounded by life experiences. however i will say that non-humanities majors tend to not be exposed as much as humanities majors in comparing cultures and histories that deal specifically with being human. it still takes the ability to connect the dots(even for the humanity majors) to see the big picture that the humanities aim at.</p>
<p>There’s value in studying every subject, and everyone should study a variety of different things.</p>
<p>liek0806, don’t be turned off by his response, if he hadn’t responded then someone else would have. Even though it wasn’t lebeg123’s intention, what he said was insulting. I agree with your last point that non-humanities majors tend to not know as much about topics typically covered in humanities classes, but to be fair, I think more science/math majors take humanities classes than the other way around.</p>
<p>I think the title of this thread should be change to, “People with different majors need to stop ripping on each other and give each other’s field of study a chance.”</p>
<p>Thank you, liek0806 =) Yup, that was exactly what I was trying to say, that people who are not exposed to more humanities subjects should try to understand them and make way for them, because they are not b/s classes as long as you take something away from them and learn.</p>
<p>I do agree though that one must also appreciate all subjects, and give them all a try. The reason why I wrote this post was because many people on this site simply do not like the humanities, but it does work the other way around, as L’Hopital and you have said-- that people do not wish to expose themselves to the mathematics or the sciences, even though they are very important, especially these days. It’s a complex idea, but as you said, most people in the other subjects do not get to learn about culture, philosophy, or psychology, and some do not wish to. But to succeed in this world today, everyone should appreciate all subjects…I don’t know, that’s how I feel more and more when I see ignorance around campus…=)</p>
<p>Euler321, please don’t be insulted either. I’ll say this one more time: I wrote this because many people on CC look down on the humanities. I like well-rounded people and being well-rounded myself. You’re right that people like to take humanities courses if they are math/science majors, but that’s mostly because they’re considered “GPA boosters,” and people do not end up learning much about the subject.</p>
<p>By the way, Euler, I am a she not a he …:D</p>
<p>What school do you go to lebeg123. Sometimes I think the ignorance has to do with our culture, in general, or at least the values we’re raised under.</p>
<p>I will say that I agree with you that people should appreciate all subjects. The humanity majors should take science type classes or practical classes. It ends up making their humanity education more well rounded. I know if it wasn’t for the science requirements in me transferring to UCLA, I probably would have never taken Geology. I learned a lot, especially about natural disasters and rocks, instead of being some uneducated person who doesn’t really understand how the science of the environment works.</p>
<p>When I read L’Hopital’s response, I thought to myself “Goodness, how quick to disparage” and then I found out what (s)he was responding to, and it was justified looking at the exact wording which did use the terms “crunching numbers”.</p>
<p>I think we should take the OP’s actual message though, which is that one should expand one’s mode of thinking. Note that this means that studying some mathematics is a valuable resource, because even humanities majors who took some math have told me their reading and writing skills improved as a result. There’s simply something healthy about getting into the mood to figure out precisely why something being intuitively true leads to absolute truth based on certain axioms. Just as there is something healthy to examining the language we use in everyday conversation both through philosophy (in a more theoretical sense) and literature (through its realizations). </p>
<p>Personally, though, while I know fewer humanities majors who look down on engineering/sciences/math (these ones might just be plain dumb), I think there are also fewer who make a serious attempt to actually get into these fields. Making a little foray into the humanities is possible, but it’s hard to “just do” a little math or engineering.</p>
<p>liek0806, I go to Rutgers U (New Brunswick/Piscataway). There are some pretty ignorant people on campus, actually, so I agree with you. Actually, there is a whole mix of people who vary in terms of their intelligence and motivation. There are the really competitive students, and then there are those who just…party. A lot. I guess that’s the worst part of going to RU. And you’re completely right: Everyone should just give a chance to a subject they may be frightened of. They’ll learn a lot! And as long as you <em>choose</em> to work hard, who says your GPA will drop?</p>
<p>mathboy98, I agree with you about the importance of mathematics. I find that when I do straightforward problems in, for example, chemistry, I find that when I sit to write a paper or analyze a lecture, everything seems much more clear-cut. And I believe that more humanities majors are frightened of taking math/science courses because they did not have a solid background in them, and also because to take a math or science class, one must go through many prerequisites, simply because one cannot understand a concept without taking a certain class. It is not the same for humanities classes; many of these classes do not have prerequisites, but many people still fail to appreciate the concepts of the humanities classes.</p>
<p>And you know what else? I believe that the U.S. is so strong in its education because of its high investment in research (the sciences) and its dedication to the humanities. This is not very readily found in other countries, especially the developing ones…I think that with both, one is able to think more critically…It is just a matter of taking advantage of what one has at their reach…</p>