Math/Science vs. Social Studies/Humanities

Post Reply New Topic

Social studies (history, psychology, sociology, literature, philosophy, religion, etc.) are generally more popular and considered to be the "fun" subjects. And this is where a lot of people end up majoring in. Though Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) are the subjects that are in most demand. Most of the top ranked jobs are within STEM fields.

A 4-year degree in Engineering has far more opportunities than a 4-year degree in Sociology or Philosophy. Of course, no degree is useless in itself (it depends entirely on what a person wants to do with it), and there is grad school for majors which are less useful. But the limited demand of the social sciences compared to the large amount of people wanting to pursue them can result in a glut. Of course, there are people who can easily be very successful with a B.A. alone in Sociology, the students at the very top, though because of competition, a lot of other students may have very few job opportunities that weren't available to them before they entered college. In that case, a free library card would have been better than an expensive university.

STEM subjects have and require objective precise answers. There is a right or wrong, and there is no credit for effort alone. In social studies, there are a lot of gray areas, but you can get credit for an answer that sounds intelligent, even if it may be wrong. Also, STEM subjects tend to be more difficult.

I am certainly not demeaning people who do study humanities and social studies, as many of those people are intelligent and hardworking. Not everyone is fit to be a scientist or a doctor, and shouldn't become one if it isn't for them. But people should keep in mind which majors have the most opportunities and the risks of going into a major with less opportunities. Generally, everyone should consider these factors before deciding what they want to study.

Agree or disagree? Discuss.

Thank you very much, Dubya-
it's a subject that's weighed heavily on my mind lately, as I'll be attending college this fall (at the tender age of 23 >.<).

I'm extremely drawn to the social sciences, but I have to consider that,
with my parents' age, and the very real possibility I won't ever find a partner,
it's not so melodramatic to say that at some point in the future,
I could be faced with being homeless if I don't make the right educational/career choices NOW.

I was always good at math and, LOVED physics (at least, insofar as it could be relates to astronomy)
but I'm not sure how to pursue a career in a hard science-
I think subconsciously I always 'planned' after graduation with a social science degree
that I would hang around the college and become a Professor's assistant or something indefinitely.

Anyway, sorry for blogging up your thread.

Hmm, interesting topic for a discussion.

I think I agree with some of the things you say and disagree with others. I certainly think anyone getting into a field needs to be aware of the career opportunities it may or may not afford, although I do not necessarily think that is the most important consideration.

When you say that in the social sciences

I would like to respectfully disagree. That should not be the case. A wrong answer in the social sciences that "sounds intelligent", but by implication is not, deserves no marks. However, there are some grey areas and possibilities for answers that say the wrong thing but go the right way about it, or the right thing but go about it the wrong way. This isn't foreign to the hard sciences either. i might point out that in math an answer that uses formulae in the right ways and does everything right, but gets the wrong answer at the end because, for instance, a decimal was misplaced can still get some, or most, of the marks available.

Secondly, "STEM subjects tend to be more difficult". Again, I think this is misleading. Firstly, there's the issue of preference and ability. Some people find math easy and English hard. Others the opposite. This kind of generalisation has no objective basis that I can think of. Is the basis the marks people get? Because the marks all still fit on the bell curve. Is it the general intelligence of humanities scholars versus hard science scholars? There's no testable distinction. I, personally, found the hard sciences very easy and humanities very difficult, but I don't think that makes the humanities harder than the hard sciences.



I find these two sentences objectionable. You say you are not demeaning them, but then you do so immediately by implying that people who study humanities and social science are "not fit to be a scientist or a doctor". I can see your intention is not to demean, but I think that you do so unintentionally. I studied humanities, not because I was bad at science, but because I was interested in the humanities. I had the grades to get into Medical School, Law School; whatever I wanted. I followed my passion and studied English literature. I've never regretted it.

Their similarities become more marked, I think, in more theoretical fields (for instance, astrophysics) where higher mathematics seems to rejoin in spirit the philosophical mode of thought it originally sprang from.

It's impossible to discuss an individual's likely choice of study/career in higher education without examining the aptitudes and deficits he has come to believe he has based on the previous 12+ years of education.

At a young age, I soon discovered that (in comparison with my peers) I was seemingly-DISABLED when it came to comprehending math. I struggled mightily to consolidate variables within an equation, for instance (embarrassing to mention now). This was before I took the initiative to study math on MY terms, in a totally autodidactive way, divorced form the methods the teacher preached. Of course, after learning how it made sense TO ME, I had to translate the process BACK into a tedious step-by-step proof representative of the way I was SUPPOSED TO understand.

So, after being in the bottom math group (I still feel ashamed thinking of it ) when I was a kid and being considered for "supplemental" instruction, by high school, I was at the head of my advanced calculus class. What's sad is that throughout that time, I would be CHASTIZED for finding answers through methods other than the holy "right way", but when I'd see other students who were blindingly lost, I would explain "the easy way" and usually they'd light up with understanding.

The implication, to me, is that people who find one field, or a cluster of related fields, difficult to grasp are to at least some extent ascribing to themselves inherent cognitive deficits that are not THEIRS, but belong to a school system that treats millions of brains as identical-I read an excellent book about the gap between boys and girls math scores in the US versus countries like Japan (where the gap is smaller, statistically negligible, or in some cases, REVERSED). It seems quite obvious that the educational system would better serve students if it was founded on individualist learning styles, taking into account sex, non-normative neurologies like Autism, and so on and so forth.

I don't find 'hard' sciences as a whole to be interesting, still- but I think developing my own means of understanding as opposed to floundering and hating those subjects outright lends itself to be able to honestly say I prefer social science, and it widens my options as far as careers I'd be CAPABLE of doing.


"Fitness" aside, those studying the human condition through the use of empiricist methodology ARE scientists,
many of them DOCTORS in their field.

I agree but there are always exceptions to the rule. Knew someone that got a History degree and wrote computer games cuz computer programming was his passion and the guy knew more about CS than most professors while in High School.

From my experience, overall the harder sciences build more on each class compared to the humanities meaning if you don't grasp a topic its gonna hurt you down the road in another class more. Answers are more subjective in the humanities while the harder sciences require the right answer. For example, what is the symbolism of a bag of peppermints in The Bear, compare that to what is the answer to integrating 2xdx? As for the Social Sciences, not too much experience, a lot of regurgitation from what I remember.

College should teach you how to think critically and demonstrate a person's ability to start and finish something. A Bachelors degree is just scratching the surface in whatever field one studies. There is too much to know. You could spend 40 years on one math equation or spend 40 years dissecting the works of one author.

Humanities were easy for me while science was more difficult, primarily cuz I came from a Liberal Arts family, had good English teachers in H.S. and lacked the discipline required and the math skills, however I ended up getting a Bachelors of Science. Just be aware of the cost/benefits of choosing a field of study where the best opportunities are at the PhD level cuz PhD openings are not that numerous at the university level. And, be aware of fields where the wrong answer could cost lives. I moved away from engineering for this simple reason. Wouldn't dream of medicine, but that might be an Aspie thing.

Good Luck to all those going to college and remember plans can to get messed up so keep a backup plan in mind.

I uderstand that most of the higher-demanding careers are in the fields of science and technology. While I have somewhat of an interest in science, I have no intention of majoring in either of those fields because I simply don't have enough interest in them, and because they tend to be the subjects I struggle the most in.

I've always been told that people should major in something that genuinely interests them, as opposed to majoring in something that they think will result in a more lucrative career.

Don't apologize. I value your contribution to this topic.

You misinterpreted what I wrote. I did not write that Humanities and Social Sciences are only for people who are not smart enough to get into Math and Science. As you said, there are many brilliant people who are capable of being strong Engineering students, but go into Sociology for example because it strongly interests them. What I meant was that science and math are not for every single person. Some people are comparatively weak in those fields and would be better off studying Humanities/Social Sciences while others are highly skilled in Math/Science are simply not apt to study humanities.

I do agree that there seems to be more opportunities available today in our society for stem fields. That is one of the reasons I tried to change my major to Biology. After one semester though, I was literally in tears wishing for my beloved Social Sciences/Humanities back. I study my obsessions in school (well two of them): religion and culture. I love what I study. I am just not a science person, and I can't focus on things that I don't like, so I'm through with that now.

studying my obsessions (which are related to psychology......my major now) is the only way I have the motivation to study at all

The Sokal Affair probably best expresses my view of the difference and interaction between the two realms of thought.