[ThrowawayR2]

Yet another dubious claim that "skills of close reading and critical questioning" are the products of a liberal arts education. Students can gain such things just fine in a STEM field if they care enough and aren't the sort who are just doing the bare minimum to get the sheepskin.

[creesch]

> a STEM field if they care enough and aren't the sort who are just doing the bare minimum to get the sheepskin.

That's the thing though, part of it is about caring. Part of it is being exposed to other things in order to realize there is more out there. I honestly think that STEM field education would benefit from including Liberal Art related courses exactly because of that. Basically as a way to broaden students world view and the way they might interact in it.

The same is probably true the other way around as well btw.

[wannabe44]

Nietzsche, Norse havamal, Greek epics and the Vedas of India did teach me some critical thinking skills on how we take certain types of morality and virtue for granted in the current society.

All this critical thinking runs opposite to the monoculture of liberal arts departments. Anyone would be better of studying them by themselves.

[mdp2021]

> Students can gain such things just fine in a STEM field

As long as you do not claim that "living only on proteins or stones and without carbs or leaves would be a good idea".

[WalterBright]

Those with a liberal arts education do indeed look down on STEM educations as merely a trade.

What they miss is the joy of understanding how the world works. I remember many "aha!" moments like somebody turning on the lights in a dark cathedral.

Like when I found out how jet engines really worked, not the handwavy cartoons one usually sees. Or when suddenly all the pieces fit together and I knew how a computer worked. Or when Prof Gomez turned math from black+white to color when he taught me calculus.

[alephnerd]

> Those with a liberal arts education do indeed look down on STEM educations as merely a trade

Maybe it's a generational thing, but I haven't noticed this amongst my peers and those younger than me, but I do agree that there is some degree of ressentiment amongst humanities majors to STEM because of the earning trajectory.