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As former English literature and philosophy student (I am studying computer science while working for a startup now) I can tell you at that at my university you

As former English literature and philosophy student (I am studying computer science while working for a startup now) I can tell you at that at my university you would not get an A if your reasoning and critical analysis were poor. When I was studying it was not uncommon for STEM students to get 100% for tests and exams but such a thing was unheard of in the humanities faculty. If an undergraduate got 100% for an English essay that essay would be worthy of publication in a literary journal which only happened once while I was there.

nhebb 12y ago
As the time of me writing this, it looks like you're being downvoted (which I don't think is fair), but I think your answer points to one of the problems. Grading in the humanities is more subjective. By analogy, Olympic gymnastic scores are subject to a lot more disagreements than 100 meter sprint times.
- YarnBall 12y ago
  Let them downvote me: let them bring their slings and arrows! :) I can't argue against what you have said. The humanities are subjective but that does not mean that they are not valuable but the greater problem is that there is very little demand in the global economy for essays on social contract theory and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and anti-industrialism. The best thing we can hope for is that the humanities plays a complimentary role in education. i.e. studying a humanities major like philosophy in addition to a computer science degree. In my "subjective experience" when building consumer facing apps for my company having a humanities degree has helped to make these apps better. Being able to code well is not a guarantee that your app will appeal to a consumer but knowing what people want in a product for instance, is an enterprise for the humanities because it demands introspection, divergent and subjective thinking which is a different kind of thinking altogether. That is why I am irked when people from the sciences dismiss the humanities too readily because the humanities does have something to give to the world. In short, tech + humanities = better products/ideas.
  - nhebb 12y ago
    I agree with you. I think the humanities are important not only for what they teach, but also in that they attract people with a different view of the world (and way of thinking, perhaps) than is common in the sciences. From the perspective of the Google hiring manager, though, filtering based on degree type is probably one of the easiest cuts to make when you're operating at that scale.
nerfhammer 12y ago
> When I was studying it was not uncommon for STEM students to get 100% for tests and exams but such a thing was unheard of in the humanities faculty. Does this mean that grading in the humanities is more difficult or more arbitrary?

nhebb 12y ago

As the time of me writing this, it looks like you're being downvoted (which I don't think is fair), but I think your answer points to one of the problems. Grading in the humanities is more subjective. By analogy, Olympic gymnastic scores are subject to a lot more disagreements than 100 meter sprint times.

YarnBall 12y ago
Let them downvote me: let them bring their slings and arrows! :) I can't argue against what you have said. The humanities are subjective but that does not mean that they are not valuable but the greater problem is that there is very little demand in the global economy for essays on social contract theory and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and anti-industrialism. The best thing we can hope for is that the humanities plays a complimentary role in education. i.e. studying a humanities major like philosophy in addition to a computer science degree. In my "subjective experience" when building consumer facing apps for my company having a humanities degree has helped to make these apps better. Being able to code well is not a guarantee that your app will appeal to a consumer but knowing what people want in a product for instance, is an enterprise for the humanities because it demands introspection, divergent and subjective thinking which is a different kind of thinking altogether. That is why I am irked when people from the sciences dismiss the humanities too readily because the humanities does have something to give to the world. In short, tech + humanities = better products/ideas.
- nhebb 12y ago
  I agree with you. I think the humanities are important not only for what they teach, but also in that they attract people with a different view of the world (and way of thinking, perhaps) than is common in the sciences. From the perspective of the Google hiring manager, though, filtering based on degree type is probably one of the easiest cuts to make when you're operating at that scale.

nerfhammer 12y ago

> When I was studying it was not uncommon for STEM students to get 100% for tests and exams but such a thing was unheard of in the humanities faculty. Does this mean that grading in the humanities is more difficult or more arbitrary?