There's No Monopoly On Intelligence

Let's put an end to STEM's superiority complex

If you’re a STEM student, chances are your family is very proud of you, you feel validated by society, you know you’re smart, and you know you’re pursuing something ‘useful’. That level of vindication is typically not afforded to the archetypal ‘future unemployed’ humanities student. The existence of a subject-based student hierarchy, and the widespread impact that it has, is deeply worrying — and will not be without long-term consequences to education and society.

There are, I believe, two broad reasons as to why we place STEM on a pedestal. From an academic standpoint, the widespread shift towards a greater respect for the STEM disciplines lies in its inherent inaccessibility. While the average STEM student has the literacy to read a book, for example, the average student is less likely to have the literacy needed to understand a page of mathematical proofs. The fact that there are additional skills required even to begin to engage with a STEM subject, makes it, supposedly, ‘harder’. 

The second is, of course, employability; the belief that a STEM degree will provide a direct path to a high-paying, flashy job. This however is a comment on the current job market, which would only add fuel to our anxieties, which is not the purpose of this article. 

I realise the claims I’ve made thus far are wide generalisations, but these ideas are not unique to my experience. I spoke to a current English and International Relations student, who completed two years of a Physics degree before making the switch. He described his decision as very difficult to make because he had been conditioned to believe that pursuing the STEM disciplines equated to true intelligence, a feeling which, even though he wished to change degrees to pursue his passion, lingered after his switch. He attributed his STEM background to giving him perspective. He now sees the STEM/humanities dichotomy without competition or hierarchy, but instead, both important elements of true education and understanding of the world around us; “reality is partially constructed, while STEM only helps you interact with the material world.” 

We must not forget that the progression of society towards technological and scientific advancement has been societally enabled. This can be attributed to phenomena such as the expansion of the material world, with the triumph of capitalism.

To view STEM disciplines in isolation from our own perception disregards that they are still inherently human constructs, which is unproductive and unfounded. 

I feel a very strong urge to try and undo these biases we perpetuate about the humanities. Increasing cuts in funding, and even the global shutting down of humanities departments in universities is deeply alarming. Within student culture, I observe a distinct lack of respect for the humanities, which often manifests itself as a herd superiority complex among certain STEM students, which is, to say it bluntly, ignorant and shallow. 

Claims of our generation being supposedly political (which I vehemently disagree with) are founded in worrying levels of performative activism, a reliance and blind yield to echo chambers, and a style of discourse that puts conviction and aggression over critical thought and perspective.

It is difficult to see the issues which make up the humanities, and the skills that are developed through their pursuit, reduced to an Instagram infographic, the validity of which is based on how many times it's been reposted. 

I wish not to attack STEM or STEM students, but instead appeal to those who’ve made people feel inferior for studying a subject based on unfounded and misguided stereotypes. Being of South Asian background, I feel particularly obliged to acknowledge how these biases extend to our families. It must be infinitely difficult for those pursuing a subject that they don’t love, and those who have overcome obstacles, and continue to do so being minorities in competitive academic environments (i.e. women in STEM, or even medics who are dedicating themselves to the service of others).

 I do, however, lament over the distinctly unproductive and widespread cultural slander of the humanities, and worry about what it means for the future of skill development and education. 

I would argue that a humanities education and increased respect for such disciplines are imperative in circumventing many of the global issues we face, with a nuance that a humanities education develops. I stand in solidarity with every fellow historian who’s been asked what the point of their degree is when our exams are open-book, and been told that they must be REALLY good at memorising.

Image from Wikimedia Commons