Reply #16: Are you from England? [View All]

It's Math damnit.
My opinion is that a scholar must be able to do good work in all fields. The prospective English major who enters college vowing never to take a Math class is weak charlatan who should be driven from the academy by force. Similarly a Math major who dismisses Philosophy as a bunch of crap except for logic is a philistine who is also in the wrong place. There are excellent students in all areas, but the liberal arts are often treated as a refuge by students who are just looking for a place to hide and wait for a degree. Generally Science majors are expected to be able to adapt to liberal arts more than Liberal arts majors are expected to be able to adapt to sciences.

Students should be able to be competent in both spheres.

Exception should be made, however, for a small number of science majors. They are what the Germans would call Fachidioten, subject idiots, people literally so obsessed with their own course of study that they cannot function in any other field. I know one of these. He's a 19 year old from Moldova who has taken 5 (usually graduate) math courses each semester since he got here three years ago. He placed 16th in the Putnam exam last year. He will graduate with a Masters from the department because he won't complete the general education requirements.