Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Playing with definitions. When the term "liberal arts" is juxtaposed with the term STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math), which is what the post I was originally replying to did, then the implication is that physics and math are not in the liberal arts group.
I agree that more precise terms would be the mathematics, physical sciences, and engineering at one end, then the biological sciences, then the social sciences, then the humanities, and then the fine arts on the other end.
Playing with definitions. When the term "liberal arts" is juxtaposed with the term STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math), which is what the post I was originally replying to did, then the implication is that physics and math are not in the liberal arts group.
I agree that more precise terms would be the mathematics, physical sciences, and engineering at one end, then the biological sciences, then the social sciences, then the humanities, and then the fine arts on the other end.
Hardly. I used the term engineering to avoid this confusion. I used the term "liberal arts" correctly to mean exactly what it means.
You were the first person in this subthread to compare the groups labeled "STEM" and "liberal arts".
Actually, I tried to clarify this in post #2 of this very thread. The OP used liberal arts and humanities together. We know that liberal arts includes mathematics and sciences. However, humanities has a different focus. You should read the thread you are posting in.
STEM majors are good at math, but so are liberal arts majors. I can't say much about humanities because my only strong area of study in that space is anthropology. However, I didn't complete a full program there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by IDoPhysicsPhD
Hardly. I used the term engineering to avoid this confusion. I used the term "liberal arts" correctly to mean exactly what it means.
Putting aside the use of a crisis to justify a position, I'm more interested in the implication that STEM majors don't learn critical thinking skills. We've even seen that argument posed here in CD. What is the basis for this belief?
Jealousy.
When somebody is more successful than you, you have to compensate by pointing out their flaws in other respects whether or not they are true.
Actually, I tried to clarify this in post #2 of this very thread. The OP used liberal arts and humanities together. We know that liberal arts includes mathematics and sciences. However, humanities has a different focus. You should read the thread you are posting in.
I don't think that people are stupid enough to think that liberal arts majors don't do well in math when compared to other majors such as engineering and medicine. It's true that humanities doesn't have as challenging of a math requirement as many liberal arts programs.
Incidentally, the terms "liberal arts" and "applied arts" are terms oriented towards employment and economic considerations.
The terms "quantitative fields" and "verbal fields" better map to cognitive differences.
The buzzword "STEM" most cleanly maps to "quantitative fields", although employability is a major consideration.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
