The world of hard sciences and mathematics is well-equipped. It has an armory of endless evidence, and concrete proof backing it up. Its groundbreaking research is constantly leading to new innovations. However, much of this artillery is used to attack and invalidate softer subjects.
Personally, I love these robust subjects. Calculus absolutely fascinates me with its ability to be a starting ground for everything else to come, such as physics and chemistry. The scope of mechanical life that these subjects explain is beyond limits; chemistry provides an open discussion to the key of unlocking functions of the universe.
Moving down the scale, we have biology -- another intriguing subject that examines who we are and where we came from. Then, we get to the softer sciences (still sciences nonetheless) like psychology and sociology; these start to take a human perspective on the reasons for life.
Somewhere along that path, humanities and the arts show their faces. These subjects are less harsh than sciences like physics and chemistry, and they are chastised for it. Hard sciences -- and the scientific community in general -- cast a critical eye on the kinder side of the education system.
I caught a phrase in a passing conversation the other day from a girl who has a passion for art, but was unable to take those classes because the school preferred her taking a science class instead: “That’s the problem with having a right brain.”
Disregarding the fact that there aren’t actual “right-brained” and “left-brained” people, she makes an extremely valid point. The emphasis on STEM fields in the education system in the past few years has put unnecessary pressures on many prospective humanities students. Many people I know have a love for English or ballet, but they fear that these aren’t valid careers in today’s society; rather, they choose to pursue something more “science”-y solely to fulfill society’s unspoken imposition for STEM jobs.
I’m not condemning STEM fields; I have a passion for those fields just as much as the love I have for the humanities. Science, though, with its grandiose display and educated theories, should open its mind (not a pun for dissections ;)) to other fields as well.
The arts and humanities are beautiful with what they bring to the table. Literature may not be as outwardly ironclad as chemistry, but it’s just as strong. The expansive archive of literature from all over the world acts as a common language to the entire planet’s population; it brings people together at the heart and mind. Art forms, including performing arts, do the same. They convey meaning that explains the parts of humankind that biology and physics can not.
Rather than one side of the spectrum attacking the other, both should be recognized as needed and valued. My mind flips like a switch between the two: my days often consist of writing for one hour and doing a biology lab the next, and I love dancing and calculus equally.
Science might prefer its weaponry and armor, while humanities show love and compassion, but one can’t survive without the other. One explains the human body’s chemical makeup, the other feeds the soul.
