My engineering education is governed by what can and can’t happen, with a very strict and defined line between the real and the unreal. This bridge will hold, or it will not. This molecule will form, or it will not. My mind works best when there’s a definitive right answer, and there is most definitely a natural high that comes with finally solving a problem before you.
And although I have been taught the laws of thermodynamics and the ins and outs of special and general relativity, I have not been taught the ins and outs of Shakespeare and his impact on society and history. I have not been taught the power of words and the power of understanding the world upon which we were built. Without humanities classes, I might be able to build a skyscraper, but I will not be able to manipulate words to convey my exact feelings, or truly understand a classic American novel.
The integration of humanities and science is absolutely necessary in science education. It fills the shoes that science cannot. The physics of a nebula is undoubtedly astonishing and breathtaking. But the artistic interpretation of multicolored gases exploding in an otherworldly display is the other side of the mind dealing with the circus that is space. The math means nothing without imagining what the math leads to, what the math means. History shows us the massive interconnectedness of society and governments. Literature shows us the good and bad sides of humanity. Music is a temporary escape from reality, a tiny peak of heaven, and art is a way to show how you see the world. All this is what makes us human. You cannot build things for a human without knowing what humans are about.
An engineer creates things that help in all aspects of life. From your coffee in the morning to your transportation to work, to the medicine you take when you’re sick, all can be traced back to a group of engineers trying the alter the world as we know it. So, how could they change the world for the better if they know only the cold and harsh reality of facts and numbers? That is only one-half of the world. You cannot create a city — what will be the home of millions and the backdrop for millions of lives — without knowing what makes it beautiful, without knowing the ins and outs of humanity, the way you know the ins and outs of what makes a building stay up.
