3 ms·

I think it is worthwhile to know that a liberal arts degree when done right teach you how to think, and therefore how to effectively formulate problems and eval

I think it is worthwhile to know that a liberal arts degree when done right teach you how to think, and therefore how to effectively formulate problems and evaluate solutions. A classic liberal arts education is therefore generate reliable value for the holder in the same way as the sciences, because you would be a perfect fit for complex jobs in running our government and corporations. Professor Drout makes a great argument for this in one of my favorite books that made me as a physicist and computer science PhD finally appreciate the value of the liberal arts [1]. The problem is that many of our universities have abdicated their responsibility to teach a liberal arts curriculum that teaches people how to think, and are instead teaching people what to think in a very political curriculum. Employers recognize this, and therefore we see the decreasing value of liberal arts degrees in the market. Learning how to become an effective activist is not worth $90k+ in loans towards your future self. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Scholar-Think-Liberal-Enduring/dp/B00DTWCYA0 https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Scholar-Think-Liberal-Enduring...

fhrow4484 8y ago
I think the problem is many people who choose liberal arts majors do it with the mindset of "this is an easy major, I'll be able to graduate with a high GPA and minimum effort". In STEM even if you pick the easiest classes, it won't be as easy. Those are the "lemons" of liberal arts degree holders. They aren't cut for college level difficulty but still want the signaling of it. And one problem is that universities seem ok with this, There's a ton of discussions here about how those people should not go to college, or go to community college etc. One could argue that it's not the university's fault, that the students, should make reasonable adult choices. For those who go into the field to truly learn, they can indeed get a ton of very useful knowledge, but I'd argue they're a minority, and they'll have a harder time to succeed due to all the "lemons".

fhrow4484 8y ago

I think the problem is many people who choose liberal arts majors do it with the mindset of "this is an easy major, I'll be able to graduate with a high GPA and minimum effort". In STEM even if you pick the easiest classes, it won't be as easy. Those are the "lemons" of liberal arts degree holders. They aren't cut for college level difficulty but still want the signaling of it. And one problem is that universities seem ok with this, There's a ton of discussions here about how those people should not go to college, or go to community college etc. One could argue that it's not the university's fault, that the students, should make reasonable adult choices. For those who go into the field to truly learn, they can indeed get a ton of very useful knowledge, but I'd argue they're a minority, and they'll have a harder time to succeed due to all the "lemons".