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Tech is killing liberal arts

Article: https://www.treehugger.com/economics/tech-replacing-liberal-arts.html

#1

The death of the humanities and the social sciences in our current social environment is partially overblown but also disheartening. The idea that education is for making money in a career is a decrepit, poor attitude. Greater to have the ability to learn what one loves, what one enjoys, and what will help the world.

I have had different majors and interests, covering computers, social sciences, finance, and medicine, and have worked in technology for over 25 years. That said, although I enjoy my work and sometimes code on my own time, it is much more rewarding to visit museums and the arts, take long walks and workout, and spend time with friends.

My feeling is, and I think this is supported by the US's level of conservatism and inequality, that the focus on earnings is a result of Republican politics driving people down to the lowest common denominator. Yes, technology can help the world but generally it doesn't, and even more so, the fields derided and ignored are the ones bringing real value in human welfare, and if nothing else, personally enriching.

#2

Exactly. Smart people are often liberal. Conservative thinking tends to be practical and concrete - what they experience - and not the kind of abstract thinking lending itself to academia, although some fields tend to more abstract and liberal, while some domains are more concrete. The physical sciences would be one example, but many of the other disciplines tend toward the conceptual.


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