<![CDATA[Society is starting to look exactly like what happens when we spend decades treating STEM as the only path worth investing in, while sidelining the humanities.]]>Society is starting to look exactly like what happens when we spend decades treating STEM as the only path worth investing in, while sidelining the humanities.

This isn't a criticism of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics. We need them. Desperately. They should be well supported.

But we also need philosophy, history, literature, languages, ethics, the arts, and every discipline that wrestles with what it means to be human. We need people who can understand the human condition, recognise propaganda, interpret context, think critically about power, engage with complexity, and ask not only how the world works, but what kind of world we ought to build.

A society built only to solve technical problems eventually forgets how to solve human ones.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/topic/00657a17-8315-4a56-82cd-7763fd4ddcc8/society-is-starting-to-look-exactly-like-what-happens-when-we-spend-decades-treating-stem-as-the-only-path-worth-investing-in-while-sidelining-the-humanities.RSS for NodeMon, 27 Jul 2026 08:41:02 GMTSun, 26 Jul 2026 17:14:57 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Society is starting to look exactly like what happens when we spend decades treating STEM as the only path worth investing in, while sidelining the humanities. on Mon, 27 Jul 2026 05:42:47 GMT]]>@thepurpleoctopus
C. P. Snow wrote about this in "the wltwo cultures" and it's never been more (depressingly) relevant 😞

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/jaystephens/statuses/116990343073409072https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/jaystephens/statuses/116990343073409072Mon, 27 Jul 2026 05:42:47 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Society is starting to look exactly like what happens when we spend decades treating STEM as the only path worth investing in, while sidelining the humanities. on Mon, 27 Jul 2026 04:30:29 GMT]]>@LPerry2 @thepurpleoctopus
I'm very familiar with the various historic use/abuse of mummies, but it's at best, only peripherally related to the point I made about the history of blue pigments which was pivotal to the evolution or art and science, the rise and fall of entire civilizations over millennia.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://sfba.social/users/muiren/statuses/116990058763389110https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://sfba.social/users/muiren/statuses/116990058763389110Mon, 27 Jul 2026 04:30:29 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Society is starting to look exactly like what happens when we spend decades treating STEM as the only path worth investing in, while sidelining the humanities. on Mon, 27 Jul 2026 03:49:15 GMT]]>@thepurpleoctopus I agree with the sentiment, but is that failing globally or somewhere specifically? Any sourced per-country graphs with trends somewhere?

At least in my little part of the EU, we seem to graduate significantly more (more then double) non-STEM (e.g. agriculture, politicians, business, administration, hospitality, lawyers, medical, historians, philosophers, arts) then STEM folks.

TBH, I'd rather cut down say politics and law. I like tap water, HVAC, 'net and electricityπŸ˜…

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.online/users/mnalis/statuses/116989896670289403https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.online/users/mnalis/statuses/116989896670289403Mon, 27 Jul 2026 03:49:15 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Society is starting to look exactly like what happens when we spend decades treating STEM as the only path worth investing in, while sidelining the humanities. on Mon, 27 Jul 2026 02:20:27 GMT]]>@thepurpleoctopus πŸ’―, and anyone who disagrees with you has clearly never worked with a bunch of engineers who tried to solve human problems with More Code.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://tacobelllabs.net/users/psistarpsiii/statuses/116989547448292165https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://tacobelllabs.net/users/psistarpsiii/statuses/116989547448292165Mon, 27 Jul 2026 02:20:27 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Society is starting to look exactly like what happens when we spend decades treating STEM as the only path worth investing in, while sidelining the humanities. on Mon, 27 Jul 2026 01:50:25 GMT]]>@mastodonmigration @thepurpleoctopus And Elmo’s version will be even worse.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://masto.ai/users/Pineywoozle/statuses/116989429371714301https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://masto.ai/users/Pineywoozle/statuses/116989429371714301Mon, 27 Jul 2026 01:50:25 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Society is starting to look exactly like what happens when we spend decades treating STEM as the only path worth investing in, while sidelining the humanities. on Mon, 27 Jul 2026 01:13:33 GMT]]>@thepurpleoctopus I'd argue that STEM often grows the other ones as a bi-product very reliably:

- higher wages and lower work load means more free time to explore humanities
- analytics and result/growth focused mindset popularized by STEM applies to humanities just as well
- humanities being more of a hobby subject protects it from commercial negativity

We should actually do _more_ STEM. I'd really just complain about "business degrees" as these are just useless outside of a class or two.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/wraptile/statuses/116989284400839990https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/wraptile/statuses/116989284400839990Mon, 27 Jul 2026 01:13:33 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Society is starting to look exactly like what happens when we spend decades treating STEM as the only path worth investing in, while sidelining the humanities. on Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:55:26 GMT]]>@thepurpleoctopus It's arguably worse than that. Those areas certainly suffered less than the humanities; but it's not like the shifting percentage of "tech" that involves actually designing useful tools vs. the adtech and dark patterns on the consumer side and SaaS feeding frenzy and VC valuation fluffing on the business side has been pretty to watch. Nor has the shift in incentives for people with decent math away from physics and toward exotic derivatives and quant stuff.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://cyberplace.social/users/fuzzyfuzzyfungus/statuses/116989213173424510https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://cyberplace.social/users/fuzzyfuzzyfungus/statuses/116989213173424510Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:55:26 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Society is starting to look exactly like what happens when we spend decades treating STEM as the only path worth investing in, while sidelining the humanities. on Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:33:54 GMT]]>@thepurpleoctopus

stems without roots, leaves or flowers don't last long. same for STEM.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/paul_ipv6/statuses/116989128484712945https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/paul_ipv6/statuses/116989128484712945Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:33:54 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Society is starting to look exactly like what happens when we spend decades treating STEM as the only path worth investing in, while sidelining the humanities. on Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:07:29 GMT]]>@thepurpleoctopus my computer science degree from had a required ethics course. Only one semester, but that’s something. I wonder if they still do.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://hachyderm.io/users/binford2k/statuses/116989024663598202https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://hachyderm.io/users/binford2k/statuses/116989024663598202Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:07:29 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Society is starting to look exactly like what happens when we spend decades treating STEM as the only path worth investing in, while sidelining the humanities. on Sun, 26 Jul 2026 23:52:37 GMT]]>@thepurpleoctopus I agree! In my classes (Conservation Biology, Biostatistics, Freshwater Ecology) we spend a lot of time discussing values, ethics, philosophy, it's essential and complementary to the maths, modelling, etc.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://fediscience.org/users/colinrbeas/statuses/116988966200170912https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://fediscience.org/users/colinrbeas/statuses/116988966200170912Sun, 26 Jul 2026 23:52:37 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Society is starting to look exactly like what happens when we spend decades treating STEM as the only path worth investing in, while sidelining the humanities. on Sun, 26 Jul 2026 23:47:33 GMT]]>@thepurpleoctopus exactly this

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://kinkycats.org/ap/users/116930680845578356/statuses/116988946260464498https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://kinkycats.org/ap/users/116930680845578356/statuses/116988946260464498Sun, 26 Jul 2026 23:47:33 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Society is starting to look exactly like what happens when we spend decades treating STEM as the only path worth investing in, while sidelining the humanities. on Sun, 26 Jul 2026 23:43:42 GMT]]>@thepurpleoctopus I'm old. I remember someone calling attention to this exact issue back in 1966.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/LPerry2/statuses/116988931082970038https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/LPerry2/statuses/116988931082970038Sun, 26 Jul 2026 23:43:42 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Society is starting to look exactly like what happens when we spend decades treating STEM as the only path worth investing in, while sidelining the humanities. on Sun, 26 Jul 2026 23:40:06 GMT]]>@aud @miss_rodent This! πŸ™‚

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://lgbtqia.space/ap/users/115827606125737992/statuses/116988916956343509https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://lgbtqia.space/ap/users/115827606125737992/statuses/116988916956343509Sun, 26 Jul 2026 23:40:06 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Society is starting to look exactly like what happens when we spend decades treating STEM as the only path worth investing in, while sidelining the humanities. on Sun, 26 Jul 2026 23:39:48 GMT]]>@thepurpleoctopus Well stated. Thank you for this.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://c.im/users/JosephMeyer/statuses/116988915746385869https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://c.im/users/JosephMeyer/statuses/116988915746385869Sun, 26 Jul 2026 23:39:48 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Society is starting to look exactly like what happens when we spend decades treating STEM as the only path worth investing in, while sidelining the humanities. on Sun, 26 Jul 2026 23:30:00 GMT]]>@muiren @thepurpleoctopus Look up Egyptian brown paint some time. I don't know what the hell category that falls under! (But if I were a horror writer, I'd have some ideas.)

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/LPerry2/statuses/116988877210109939https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/LPerry2/statuses/116988877210109939Sun, 26 Jul 2026 23:30:00 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Society is starting to look exactly like what happens when we spend decades treating STEM as the only path worth investing in, while sidelining the humanities. on Sun, 26 Jul 2026 23:28:01 GMT]]>@thepurpleoctopus

If economics and business graduates of the 80’s, 90’s and noughties had been taught to consider that their financial models, decisions and actions have moral consequences - would we be in a different place now? Possibly.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mstdn.social/users/JugglingWithEggs/statuses/116988869416209459https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mstdn.social/users/JugglingWithEggs/statuses/116988869416209459Sun, 26 Jul 2026 23:28:01 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Society is starting to look exactly like what happens when we spend decades treating STEM as the only path worth investing in, while sidelining the humanities. on Sun, 26 Jul 2026 23:23:02 GMT]]>@thepurpleoctopus

As someone who studied history and politics as an undergraduate, I was stunned at how mainstream economists (those that weren’t interested in economic development, behavioural economics or economic history) seemed to think they inhabited a world where ethics and morality were not their concern. Within months of entering the economics department of a well respected university, the financial crash of 2008 was upon us…and still 95% of academic staff felt no shame.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mstdn.social/users/JugglingWithEggs/statuses/116988849879920956https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mstdn.social/users/JugglingWithEggs/statuses/116988849879920956Sun, 26 Jul 2026 23:23:02 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Society is starting to look exactly like what happens when we spend decades treating STEM as the only path worth investing in, while sidelining the humanities. on Sun, 26 Jul 2026 23:14:56 GMT]]>@thepurpleoctopus
The problem is the demonstrably ahistorical, weaponized modern perception that there exists some clear division between arts and sciences.

There has never been, and can never be, great art but for great science, and no great science but for great art.

Even a cursory examination of blue pigment throughout history is only one of thousands of examples across dozens of disciplines that substantiate my point.

The real question is who, what class, and what ideology materially benefits from fomenting this false dichotomy?

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://sfba.social/users/muiren/statuses/116988818002759332https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://sfba.social/users/muiren/statuses/116988818002759332Sun, 26 Jul 2026 23:14:56 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Society is starting to look exactly like what happens when we spend decades treating STEM as the only path worth investing in, while sidelining the humanities. on Sun, 26 Jul 2026 23:08:39 GMT]]>@thepurpleoctopus @StaceyCornelius Yes.

I believe that the ability to solve humanistic problems is being intentionally purged by a ruling class which believes the solutions will reduce its relative power. (It’s correct.) I have never seen such an enormous and effective top-down attack on cultural knowledge.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://tilde.zone/users/fivetonsflax/statuses/116988793279191908https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://tilde.zone/users/fivetonsflax/statuses/116988793279191908Sun, 26 Jul 2026 23:08:39 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Society is starting to look exactly like what happens when we spend decades treating STEM as the only path worth investing in, while sidelining the humanities. on Sun, 26 Jul 2026 23:03:14 GMT]]>@thepurpleoctopus yup!

Vaccine hesitancy is a humanities problem, not a science one.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mstdn.ca/users/rexbron/statuses/116988771959299135https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mstdn.ca/users/rexbron/statuses/116988771959299135Sun, 26 Jul 2026 23:03:14 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Society is starting to look exactly like what happens when we spend decades treating STEM as the only path worth investing in, while sidelining the humanities. on Sun, 26 Jul 2026 22:52:30 GMT]]>@thepurpleoctopus@lgbtqia.space this 100%!

On my homeworld in my previous life we lived in treehouses whenever we lived in a dense forest area, but we still had STEM related things, but we also knew we had to focus on history, literature, languages, ethics, and arts.. that said we did have androids similar to Lt. Data living among us (but we integrated them within our society in a way that we didn't allow the AI to too heavily replace bio-lifeforms.. then again we did have space travel, sooo shrugs)

Everything in moderation can be useful and good. I just wish humanity would understand that better, and not try to focus on one thing so much that everything else falls out by the wayside.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://catgirl.center/notes/ap5yjkl30whk1bh3https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://catgirl.center/notes/ap5yjkl30whk1bh3Sun, 26 Jul 2026 22:52:30 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Society is starting to look exactly like what happens when we spend decades treating STEM as the only path worth investing in, while sidelining the humanities. on Sun, 26 Jul 2026 22:27:43 GMT]]>@thepurpleoctopus as a person with a bachelor in psychology and a PhD in polar geophysics, I have firsthand exoerience in exactly how hard society misunderstands *all of this*

[currently working as a bicycle mechanic, apparently the best usage of a heavily multi-disciplinary education πŸ€·πŸ»β€β™‚οΈ. Also 4 years into collecting rejection letters for 'professional' roles]

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mapstodon.space/users/adamsteer/statuses/116988632351643455https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mapstodon.space/users/adamsteer/statuses/116988632351643455Sun, 26 Jul 2026 22:27:43 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Society is starting to look exactly like what happens when we spend decades treating STEM as the only path worth investing in, while sidelining the humanities. on Sun, 26 Jul 2026 22:16:41 GMT]]>@miss_rodent@girlcock.club @thepurpleoctopus@lgbtqia.space splitting natural philosophy out of philosophy and renaming it "science" was, to put it bluntly, a mistake. The results of separating them... well, the planet is on fire and our societies are terrible, so...

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://fire.asta.lgbt/notes/ap5x9ibbv2vy0awnhttps://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://fire.asta.lgbt/notes/ap5x9ibbv2vy0awnSun, 26 Jul 2026 22:16:41 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Society is starting to look exactly like what happens when we spend decades treating STEM as the only path worth investing in, while sidelining the humanities. on Sun, 26 Jul 2026 22:04:12 GMT]]>@thepurpleoctopus
β˜οΈπŸ’―πŸ’―πŸ’―πŸ’―πŸ’―

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://sfba.social/users/PaulWermer/statuses/116988539884306239https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://sfba.social/users/PaulWermer/statuses/116988539884306239Sun, 26 Jul 2026 22:04:12 GMT