Why Engineering Freshmen Should Take Humanities Courses

Lasrick sends in an article from John Horgan at Scientific American explaining why he thinks engineering freshmen should make a bit of space in their course-load for the humanities. Quoting: "But it is precisely because science is so powerful that we need the humanities now more than ever. In your science, mathematics and engineering classes, you're given facts, answers, knowledge, truth. Your professors say, 'This is how things are.' They give you certainty. The humanities, at least the way I teach them, give you uncertainty, doubt and skepticism. The humanities are subversive. They undermine the claims of all authorities, whether political, religious or scientific. This skepticism is especially important when it comes to claims about humanity, about what we are, where we came from, and even what we can be and should be. Science has replaced religion as our main source of answers to these questions. Science has told us a lot about ourselves, and we’re learning more every day. But the humanities remind us that we have an enormous capacity for deluding ourselves."

Comments

Re:Oh, gag me.

[Dishevel]

Do humans have any effect on our climate?
Of course they do.
Does the earth regularly go from Half the planet covered by ice to tiny little ice caps and craploads of water?
All the time.
Should we keep massive amounts of pollution from darken our skies and making our children sick.
Of course we should. (In many nations we have)
Should we shutdown the economy and declare "War" on stuff in a vain attempt to keep the temperature from changing?
That would be fucking stupid.
I do not deny that the climate changes. I do not deny that humans can have an effect on that.
I do deny that we can do anything to keep the climate the way it is though. The climate is NOT MEANT TO BE STABLE.