the pitfall of being too stem-focused

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onto today’s topic: the pitfall of being too stem-focused 🧪 

there’s a common theme in the stem world to bash on liberal arts education because of its “ease” and how “unimpactful” the work is.

yes, while stem drives technological and medical innovation that moves the world further, perspective is what enables those ideas. that perspective is only gained through nuanced dialogue, challenging different frames of thoughts, and bridging language and literature.

sounds a lot like the liberal arts, no?

this post is largely inspired by a conversation i had, and an absolute banger of a line was dropped: “the societal benefit might not be as readily apparent but the humanities are our collective soul and nothing good comes from ignoring them entirely for technological progress.” 👩‍💻 

if stem holds humanity’s brain, liberal arts holds humanity’s heart, and that is something to be cherished. especially now in our world where ai will soon not only match, but surpass humans’ analytical ability, it’s more important than ever to broaden our view. after all, that ability to generate new ideas (alongside all things emotional) will soon be our only edge over technology.

there’s a problem with being too tunnel-visioned into the realm of stem. i’ve noticed it severely restricts higher perspective, whereas solely focusing on the humanities often minimizes real-world execution. even if the other side isn’t really your jam, it’s important to gain that insight in any sort of capacity, whether that’s taking a philosophy class or making a habit to read a scientific paper every week.

don’t fall too deep into either side — make yourself some kind of ladder that will allow you to climb out and observe the bigger picture. 🪜 

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