Re:In Tough Times, the Humanities Must Justify Their Worth
by evgen on Tuesday May 19, 2009 @08:41PM
(#617893)
> The study of math, physics, logic, will greatly improve your ability to come up with convincing arguments.
As will the study of history, philosophy, rhetoric, and psychology. Let's be honest here. Physics has no place in that list, logic is a subset of math, and a strong case could be made that math is just applied philosophy/epistemology (and the reverse is also true.) There is a reason that math is considered a liberal art and not an engineering discipline...
There is a difference between real "higher math" and the applied math that engineering students learn as a part of their vocational training. The former is useful for enhancing critical thinking, the latter is not.
As will the study of history, philosophy, rhetoric, and psychology. Let's be honest here. Physics has no place in that list, logic is a subset of math, and a strong case could be made that math is just applied philosophy/epistemology (and the reverse is also true.) There is a reason that math is considered a liberal art and not an engineering discipline...
There is a difference between real "higher math" and the applied math that engineering students learn as a part of their vocational training. The former is useful for enhancing critical thinking, the latter is not.