Here’s my main problem with the debate around “should people study liberal arts or STEM in college?” is that it portrays a false dichotomy. Until recently, there was little separation between engineering and the liberal arts. We really ought to go back to that. We need people with a familiarity with both science and humanities. In a perfect world, this is what high school should provide. In the current world, just as Oxford came up with PPE in the 20th century as a replacement for Greats (ie Classics—isn’t that an amazing name for a major?) some college needs to come up with a 21st century version that might be, like, Math, Econ & Literature. Or something. (France has a post-secondary curriculum, “Humanities and Social Sciences”, whose quadruple focus is philosophy, math, literature and economics/sociology. Not a bad education, I’d venture.)
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Pacal-Emmanuel Gobry.
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