Part of understanding science is understanding where the ideas come from. It's not enough to know that the derivative of x^2 is 2x, but you have to know how an

Part of understanding science is understanding where the ideas come from. It's not enough to know that the derivative of x^2 is 2x, but you have to know how and why this is the case. You have to understand how to model physical systems using math. And it turns out scientists occasionally need to build novel mathematical models. It is much better in these cases to have been exposed to more math, not less. Where I went to school, "real" stats and experimental design topics were (mostly) offered as graduate courses. Psychology majors were given enough stats to read a psych paper. Physicists and Chemists were given enough stats to understand stat mech / pchem. Biologists and Geologists were given a much less rigorous intro to stats. I believe the OP is advocating for more stats, not less calculus. Or at least a more consistent approach to teaching stats & experimental design at the undergrad level.