STEM vs. Liberal Arts: A Fool's Debate

For as long as I can remember, it sometimes seems, I’ve been enmeshed in the Great Debate waged in the halls of academia and beyond. Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) vs. Liberal Arts. Bill Gates vs. Steve Jobs. Practical vs. Frivolous. Marketable vs. Value-less. Oh my god it’s time to stop.

The number of hours I have spent on this debate is staggering. The number of column inches from academic to popular press dedicated to the subject is patently absurd. How many stories on other topics were never written to take another ride on this merry-go-round? To those who decry the waste of resources aimed at the Liberal Arts, here’s a tip. You will never win that battle in the media because the writers and editors are largely Liberal Arts grads themselves. In fact, some of those media outlets, not to mention the corporations which own them, have Liberal Arts grads at the helm.

To be honest, I don’t quite get why the STEM disciplines like to talk smack about those of us who choose Liberal Arts. Jealousy? Are we following a passion you don’t feel free to pursue? Surely it’s not some nerd’s revenge, because, trust me, we aren’t the other side. We’re the band geeks, the theater geeks, the dorks in AP English, the school newspaper and History Club dweebs. We aren’t the cool kids who picked on you, not even close. You’ll find them elsewhere.

I am reminded of a newspaper ad that hung in the office of my economics professor father. It read. “If a man says, it’s not the money, it’s the principle of the thing.... It’s the money.” Given that logic, I can only presume that myopic STEM-exclusive advocates would prefer that all resources were directed to their disciplines. If it makes you feel any better, look at it this way. As long as Liberal Arts majors endure, lots and lots of smart people (yes, there are smart people studying Liberal Arts majors—lots and lots of them) won’t be playing in your STEM sandbox and competing for your STEM jobs. You’re welcome.

Here’s a newsflash though. Liberal Arts majors don’t sit around and suggest that education, nay, the world, would be better if the STEM disciplines just went away. I love my iPhone and appreciate the computer scientists who make it work. I also love the industrial designers who make it beautiful and the interaction designers who make it lovely to use. I’m Team Steve Jobs; the intersection of art and technology works well for me. Keep at it STEMsters. Those of us in the Liberal Arts are perfectly fine with you.

So maybe it’s time to get off our asses.

The world, you see, is an interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, complex place. We need people with STEM prowess be competitive. We need a Liberal Arts dimension to lend broad perspectives, to understand, appreciate, and enrich our world. It is the Liberal Arts, as well, which offer immortality. Memory is fleeting. Today’s innovations are replaced by tomorrow’s inspiration. But the words which capture what we’ve accomplished, how we have lived, all that we have done, these stories are the legacy we pass on to future generations. And these are the bastion of the Liberal Arts.

STEM grads, if you’re still bent upon deriding our disciplines and devaluing our relevance, take a moment. Look up the corporate ladder. And don’t be shocked if you find out there’s an English major up there who owns your ass.