Is it low brow to criticize humanities majors?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For what it is worth my father's BA was sociology. Then he got an MA in history. Then a JD. Then an LLM. Became a judge.

Between enrolling in a college you have NEVER heard of, and becoming a judge, he held such "low brow" jobs as day laborer, farm hand, and infantryman. Two wartime deployments.

Go ahead and tease sociology majors all you want. They'll be living their life regardless of what you think.

Your dad sounds amazing. But you know as well as anyone that the experiences of someone 2, 3 generations ago is not comparable to today's students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For what it is worth my father's BA was sociology. Then he got an MA in history. Then a JD. Then an LLM. Became a judge.

Between enrolling in a college you have NEVER heard of, and becoming a judge, he held such "low brow" jobs as day laborer, farm hand, and infantryman. Two wartime deployments.

Go ahead and tease sociology majors all you want. They'll be living their life regardless of what you think.

Your dad sounds amazing. But you know as well as anyone that the experiences of someone 2, 3 generations ago is not comparable to today's students.

My DC majored in sociology and was employed at graduation. Loves the workplace, has been promoted. Probably will do an advanced degree at some point, but so far, no complaints. Everyone learns more in their first week on the job than even the most industry focused degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From my experience, the people who criticize humanities majors, saying things like “have fun working at Starbucks” and “that’s a waste of time,” are from lower social classes and are overall less polished. On the other hand, those who are accepting of humanities majors tent to be more educated, wealthy, and well spoken.

I mean, those people are just projecting their insecurities. The joke’s on them because humanities majors are best positioned to thrive in an AI-disrupted economy. Human creativity is going to command a premium in the workplace. It is already true.

Humanities majors aren't human creativity. They are spectators to human creativity.

But enjoy coping. While English majors get replaced by ChatGPT writing marketing copy.

Humanities majors learn to think. That's what reading, analyzing, and presenting and defending your analyses in discussions, presentations and in writing does. You get a broad based education and learn to think deeply and communicate.

English majors don't just write. They think. That's why their skills are so valuable in so many fields.

Do you think CS/eng majors don't "think"? LOL

NP. This is a genuine question bc I’ve never taken a CS class in my life, but does CS allow for multiple-things-true-at-once thinking? Or is it inherently binary?

Yes, I know what binary code is, and that this is by definition binary. I am not talking about coding. I am wondering more about the kind of broader, big-picture thinking that wades through the messiness of conflicting ideas, shifts in and out of different lenses and perspectives, and considers the “no right answers” questions.

Not judging, just trying to better understand the kind of thought processes involved, and if/how it is different from other kinds of thinking one encounters at university — from the hypothesis formation/testing of the scientific method, to logical reasoning, to convergent/divergent thinking, etc)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From my experience, the people who criticize humanities majors, saying things like “have fun working at Starbucks” and “that’s a waste of time,” are from lower social classes and are overall less polished. On the other hand, those who are accepting of humanities majors tent to be more educated, wealthy, and well spoken.

I mean, those people are just projecting their insecurities. The joke’s on them because humanities majors are best positioned to thrive in an AI-disrupted economy. Human creativity is going to command a premium in the workplace. It is already true.

Humanities majors aren't human creativity. They are spectators to human creativity.

But enjoy coping. While English majors get replaced by ChatGPT writing marketing copy.

Humanities majors learn to think. That's what reading, analyzing, and presenting and defending your analyses in discussions, presentations and in writing does. You get a broad based education and learn to think deeply and communicate.

English majors don't just write. They think. That's why their skills are so valuable in so many fields.

Do you think CS/eng majors don't "think"? LOL

NP. This is a genuine question bc I’ve never taken a CS class in my life, but does CS allow for multiple-things-true-at-once thinking? Or is it inherently binary?

Yes, I know what binary code is, and that this is by definition binary. I am not talking about coding. I am wondering more about the kind of broader, big-picture thinking that wades through the messiness of conflicting ideas, shifts in and out of different lenses and perspectives, and considers the “no right answers” questions.

Not judging, just trying to better understand the kind of thought processes involved, and if/how it is different from other kinds of thinking one encounters at university — from the hypothesis formation/testing of the scientific method, to logical reasoning, to convergent/divergent thinking, etc)

Think about the software you use on a day to day basis, or social media, AI, etc... Some of it can do very complex things.

So, yes, software can be quite complex, which requires some creative, outside the box thinking at times. Sometimes it also does require big picture thinking but that's more on the architecture/design part of the software.

Even low level programmers have to think critically and logically to be able to write a piece of code that is efficient and scalable. Are there some programmers who are terrible at this? Of course, but even mediocre SWE do "think" about how to write the software that does what it needs to do, works efficiently and is scalable.

Sometimes it requires new ideas or designs to address the business needs; other times, they just come up with something off the top of their heads and start creating something brand new.

Software programming is all about logic and algorithms, but it also requires some creative thinking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For what it is worth my father's BA was sociology. Then he got an MA in history. Then a JD. Then an LLM. Became a judge.

Between enrolling in a college you have NEVER heard of, and becoming a judge, he held such "low brow" jobs as day laborer, farm hand, and infantryman. Two wartime deployments.

Go ahead and tease sociology majors all you want. They'll be living their life regardless of what you think.

Your dad sounds amazing. But you know as well as anyone that the experiences of someone 2, 3 generations ago is not comparable to today's students.

My DC majored in sociology and was employed at graduation. Loves the workplace, has been promoted. Probably will do an advanced degree at some point, but so far, no complaints. Everyone learns more in their first week on the job than even the most industry focused degree.

Congrats to your DC. But, I knew a sociology major from a UC school who ended up getting an MBA because they couldn't find a decent paying job after graduation. Sociology majors don't make that much without a graduate degree.

[Anonymous]

No, not really. It depends on what you do with it and where you got it. Humanities at many SLACs are harder than anything else. Tons of grade deflation and a lot harder to ChatGPT your way through. I know people with political science majors who went on to law school and make a great salary as a first year and do impactful work. I know stem majors who dropped out of med school applications to do a masters of some kind. I think the degrees that aren't "less impressive" but seem to lack actual practicality or rigorous coursework are marketing, communications, and psychology (unless used as a track to some sort of med school program)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From my experience, the people who criticize humanities majors, saying things like “have fun working at Starbucks” and “that’s a waste of time,” are from lower social classes and are overall less polished. On the other hand, those who are accepting of humanities majors tent to be more educated, wealthy, and well spoken.

I mean, those people are just projecting their insecurities. The joke’s on them because humanities majors are best positioned to thrive in an AI-disrupted economy. Human creativity is going to command a premium in the workplace. It is already true.

Humanities majors aren't human creativity. They are spectators to human creativity.

But enjoy coping. While English majors get replaced by ChatGPT writing marketing copy.

Humanities majors learn to think. That's what reading, analyzing, and presenting and defending your analyses in discussions, presentations and in writing does. You get a broad based education and learn to think deeply and communicate.

English majors don't just write. They think. That's why their skills are so valuable in so many fields.

Do you think CS/eng majors don't "think"? LOL

NP. This is a genuine question bc I’ve never taken a CS class in my life, but does CS allow for multiple-things-true-at-once thinking? Or is it inherently binary?

Yes, I know what binary code is, and that this is by definition binary. I am not talking about coding. I am wondering more about the kind of broader, big-picture thinking that wades through the messiness of conflicting ideas, shifts in and out of different lenses and perspectives, and considers the “no right answers” questions.

Not judging, just trying to better understand the kind of thought processes involved, and if/how it is different from other kinds of thinking one encounters at university — from the hypothesis formation/testing of the scientific method, to logical reasoning, to convergent/divergent thinking, etc)

CS majors take other classes in college too. 🙂

120 credits aren't just in CS. But you already know this, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From my experience, the people who criticize humanities majors, saying things like “have fun working at Starbucks” and “that’s a waste of time,” are from lower social classes and are overall less polished. On the other hand, those who are accepting of humanities majors tent to be more educated, wealthy, and well spoken.

Those people can probably go work for the family firm or for daddy, so it doesn't matter what they study. It's easy to be accepting if you are rich and not worried how your child will make a living.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From my experience, the people who criticize humanities majors, saying things like “have fun working at Starbucks” and “that’s a waste of time,” are from lower social classes and are overall less polished. On the other hand, those who are accepting of humanities majors tent to be more educated, wealthy, and well spoken.

I mean, those people are just projecting their insecurities. The joke’s on them because humanities majors are best positioned to thrive in an AI-disrupted economy. Human creativity is going to command a premium in the workplace. It is already true.

Humanities majors aren't human creativity. They are spectators to human creativity.

But enjoy coping. While English majors get replaced by ChatGPT writing marketing copy.

Humanities majors learn to think. That's what reading, analyzing, and presenting and defending your analyses in discussions, presentations and in writing does. You get a broad based education and learn to think deeply and communicate.

English majors don't just write. They think. That's why their skills are so valuable in so many fields.

Do you think CS/eng majors don't "think"? LOL

NP. This is a genuine question bc I’ve never taken a CS class in my life, but does CS allow for multiple-things-true-at-once thinking? Or is it inherently binary?

Yes, I know what binary code is, and that this is by definition binary. I am not talking about coding. I am wondering more about the kind of broader, big-picture thinking that wades through the messiness of conflicting ideas, shifts in and out of different lenses and perspectives, and considers the “no right answers” questions.

Not judging, just trying to better understand the kind of thought processes involved, and if/how it is different from other kinds of thinking one encounters at university — from the hypothesis formation/testing of the scientific method, to logical reasoning, to convergent/divergent thinking, etc)

CS majors take other classes in college too. 🙂

120 credits aren't just in CS. But you already know this, right?

Yes, of course I know this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From my experience, the people who criticize humanities majors, saying things like “have fun working at Starbucks” and “that’s a waste of time,” are from lower social classes and are overall less polished. On the other hand, those who are accepting of humanities majors tent to be more educated, wealthy, and well spoken.

I mean, those people are just projecting their insecurities. The joke’s on them because humanities majors are best positioned to thrive in an AI-disrupted economy. Human creativity is going to command a premium in the workplace. It is already true.

Humanities majors aren't human creativity. They are spectators to human creativity.

But enjoy coping. While English majors get replaced by ChatGPT writing marketing copy.

Humanities majors learn to think. That's what reading, analyzing, and presenting and defending your analyses in discussions, presentations and in writing does. You get a broad based education and learn to think deeply and communicate.

English majors don't just write. They think. That's why their skills are so valuable in so many fields.

Do you think CS/eng majors don't "think"? LOL

NP. This is a genuine question bc I’ve never taken a CS class in my life, but does CS allow for multiple-things-true-at-once thinking? Or is it inherently binary?

Yes, I know what binary code is, and that this is by definition binary. I am not talking about coding. I am wondering more about the kind of broader, big-picture thinking that wades through the messiness of conflicting ideas, shifts in and out of different lenses and perspectives, and considers the “no right answers” questions.

Not judging, just trying to better understand the kind of thought processes involved, and if/how it is different from other kinds of thinking one encounters at university — from the hypothesis formation/testing of the scientific method, to logical reasoning, to convergent/divergent thinking, etc)

Think about the software you use on a day to day basis, or social media, AI, etc... Some of it can do very complex things.

So, yes, software can be quite complex, which requires some creative, outside the box thinking at times. Sometimes it also does require big picture thinking but that's more on the architecture/design part of the software.

Even low level programmers have to think critically and logically to be able to write a piece of code that is efficient and scalable. Are there some programmers who are terrible at this? Of course, but even mediocre SWE do "think" about how to write the software that does what it needs to do, works efficiently and is scalable.

Sometimes it requires new ideas or designs to address the business needs; other times, they just come up with something off the top of their heads and start creating something brand new.

Software programming is all about logic and algorithms, but it also requires some creative thinking.

Thank you for this answer. Bit of a black box for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From my experience, the people who criticize humanities majors, saying things like “have fun working at Starbucks” and “that’s a waste of time,” are from lower social classes and are overall less polished. On the other hand, those who are accepting of humanities majors tent to be more educated, wealthy, and well spoken.

Those people can probably go work for the family firm or for daddy, so it doesn't matter what they study. It's easy to be accepting if you are rich and not worried how your child will make a living.

Those people think it's low brow to have to work for a living, and probably only find certain types of jobs to be "high brow". Being a SWE is not prestigious enough for certain people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From my experience, the people who criticize humanities majors, saying things like “have fun working at Starbucks” and “that’s a waste of time,” are from lower social classes and are overall less polished. On the other hand, those who are accepting of humanities majors tent to be more educated, wealthy, and well spoken.

I mean, those people are just projecting their insecurities. The joke’s on them because humanities majors are best positioned to thrive in an AI-disrupted economy. Human creativity is going to command a premium in the workplace. It is already true.

Humanities majors aren't human creativity. They are spectators to human creativity.

But enjoy coping. While English majors get replaced by ChatGPT writing marketing copy.

Humanities majors learn to think. That's what reading, analyzing, and presenting and defending your analyses in discussions, presentations and in writing does. You get a broad based education and learn to think deeply and communicate.

English majors don't just write. They think. That's why their skills are so valuable in so many fields.

Do you think CS/eng majors don't "think"? LOL

NP. This is a genuine question bc I’ve never taken a CS class in my life, but does CS allow for multiple-things-true-at-once thinking? Or is it inherently binary?

Yes, I know what binary code is, and that this is by definition binary. I am not talking about coding. I am wondering more about the kind of broader, big-picture thinking that wades through the messiness of conflicting ideas, shifts in and out of different lenses and perspectives, and considers the “no right answers” questions.

Not judging, just trying to better understand the kind of thought processes involved, and if/how it is different from other kinds of thinking one encounters at university — from the hypothesis formation/testing of the scientific method, to logical reasoning, to convergent/divergent thinking, etc)

Of course. Coding is an art, there are always multiple solutions to solve a problem; all with trade offs. Software architecture is like traditional architecture in this way.

There is almost always a solution or answer, the question is if the drawbacks are acceptable.

I was a BA philosophy major before switching to CS. The reality is that there are simply fewer people who can do real science and engineering vs the humanities; hence why it pays more.

Of course if you have a trust fund or wealthy parents then pay is irrelevant and you should study your passions. If you weren’t born to privilege and want to have a comfortable life, you should study something that pays well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From my experience, the people who criticize humanities majors, saying things like “have fun working at Starbucks” and “that’s a waste of time,” are from lower social classes and are overall less polished. On the other hand, those who are accepting of humanities majors tent to be more educated, wealthy, and well spoken.

I mean, those people are just projecting their insecurities. The joke’s on them because humanities majors are best positioned to thrive in an AI-disrupted economy. Human creativity is going to command a premium in the workplace. It is already true.

Humanities majors aren't human creativity. They are spectators to human creativity.

But enjoy coping. While English majors get replaced by ChatGPT writing marketing copy.

Humanities majors learn to think. That's what reading, analyzing, and presenting and defending your analyses in discussions, presentations and in writing does. You get a broad based education and learn to think deeply and communicate.

English majors don't just write. They think. That's why their skills are so valuable in so many fields.

Do you think CS/eng majors don't "think"? LOL

NP. This is a genuine question bc I’ve never taken a CS class in my life, but does CS allow for multiple-things-true-at-once thinking? Or is it inherently binary?

Yes, I know what binary code is, and that this is by definition binary. I am not talking about coding. I am wondering more about the kind of broader, big-picture thinking that wades through the messiness of conflicting ideas, shifts in and out of different lenses and perspectives, and considers the “no right answers” questions.

Not judging, just trying to better understand the kind of thought processes involved, and if/how it is different from other kinds of thinking one encounters at university — from the hypothesis formation/testing of the scientific method, to logical reasoning, to convergent/divergent thinking, etc)

Of course. Coding is an art, there are always multiple solutions to solve a problem; all with trade offs. Software architecture is like traditional architecture in this way.

There is almost always a solution or answer, the question is if the drawbacks are acceptable.

I was a BA philosophy major before switching to CS. The reality is that there are simply fewer people who can do real science and engineering vs the humanities; hence why it pays more.

Of course if you have a trust fund or wealthy parents then pay is irrelevant and you should study your passions. If you weren’t born to privilege and want to have a comfortable life, you should study something that pays well.

Philosophy majors can make great SWE because of that logic and critical thinking skills. DH is an engineer, pivoted to SWE, and he said the best SWE he met was a philosophy major. I also knew a Phil major who switched to SWE.

A lot of people don't seem to realize what goes into being a SWE. It requires a lot of logical thinking, and use of algorithms, hence why CS majors are required to take several advanced math classes, and why many are dual CS/math majors.

[Anonymous]

it is inappropriate to criticize any major.

if you don't have anything nice to say ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From my experience, the people who criticize humanities majors, saying things like “have fun working at Starbucks” and “that’s a waste of time,” are from lower social classes and are overall less polished. On the other hand, those who are accepting of humanities majors tent to be more educated, wealthy, and well spoken.

I mean, those people are just projecting their insecurities. The joke’s on them because humanities majors are best positioned to thrive in an AI-disrupted economy. Human creativity is going to command a premium in the workplace. It is already true.

Humanities majors aren't human creativity. They are spectators to human creativity.

But enjoy coping. While English majors get replaced by ChatGPT writing marketing copy.

Humanities majors learn to think. That's what reading, analyzing, and presenting and defending your analyses in discussions, presentations and in writing does. You get a broad based education and learn to think deeply and communicate.

English majors don't just write. They think. That's why their skills are so valuable in so many fields.

My literature major did a great job of preparing me for law school and life. Happily making $3M/year as a big law partner. Prefer to hire associates who have a liberal arts background.

Not if they graduated in the bottom half of law school. Don’t exaggerate