[will4274]

He's also one of those people who fetishizes the humanities. See his article "If I Didn't Laugh I'd Cry: An Essay on Happiness, Productivity, and the Death of Humanities Education"

> Productivity has become the raison d'etre of Western capitalist societies, supported by its fundamental principles, quantity and impact. Both of these principles have taken hold in universities, and both place" useful" applications of knowledge above exploration of the human condition, above doubting, questioning, and wondering. The predominance of this ethic has forced humanities faculties into the awkward position of either repackaging their offerings so as to support the productive ethic or insisting on their integrity and facing charges of irrelevance. Though the strategy suggests choice, both options lead to the same end: the elimination of genuine humanities education. No wonder humanities professors are unhappy. If we are going to learn once again what a genuine and robust education in the humanities is about, we're going to have to explore that strange thing on which humanities education ultimately rests--our humanity

I find such essays to be bland to the point of absurdity. Humanities advocates repeatedly claim that "only the humanities" provide certain skills like "critical thinking" without really presenting any evidence to the point. In my (admittedly anecdotal) experience, engineers took classes outside of engineering and found them thought provoking but lacking in rigour while humanity majors simply found engineering classes too hard. My advice for those seeking a well-rounded education is simple: study engineering and take electives in humanities. Don't major in the humanities, because you'll surround yourself with people who look down on the hard sciences, and end up with a distinctively not well-rounded education.