The Politics of Arrogance: A psychological take on STEM majors
As a politics and psychology double major, I at times receive scrutiny from STEM majors about how I’m “wasting my money” and how I’m unemployable because, apparently, the only thing people in the arts and humanities do is “sit around a classroom and theorize about books.”
This couldn’t be further from the truth, but trying to explain the importance of the arts and humanities to a STEM major is often fruitless. Unless your degree qualifies you to work as an engineer or accountant, or allows you to work in a hospital, your degree is virtually useless in their eyes. But why? Why do STEM majors believe that they are superior based solely off of what they are studying in college?
Before we can answer that question, we have to conceptualize what it means to be conceited in the first place. We need to shed light on why people, in general, get fixated on this idea that they must constantly prove that they are better than others.
Well, it should be no surprise that our capitalistic society- a society that prides itself on the “only the strongest shall survive” mentality- values arrogance. To most people, this attribute is equated with dominance, power, affluence, and prestige. People want complete dominion so they can do whatever they please. People also want money so they won’t be constricted by finances, therefore granting them the opportunity to explore the world and all it has to offer- not even mention how people want to have influence over others so that their legacy can be remembered and make their lives purposeful. So, let’s face it: anyone would act in a pretentious manner if they knew that in the end, they would amass fame and fortune.
STEM majors constantly challenge themselves and brag to liberal arts majors about how hard they’re pushing themselves. STEM majors are going to school to be doctors, engineers, and physicists- people who are making a lasting impact on society. So, isn’t it a good thing to be arrogant? Or is that what society wants us to believe? Is there a way to be successful without belittling others for the field of study they chose? Of course there is! Arts and humanities do more than just theorize about life. They have to go into every discussion and provide representation for those who are disfranchised.
This is not to say that STEM doesn’t consider marginalized individuals, but it is undeniable that people of color and women don’t have the same representation as cis-gendered heterosexual white men in STEM fields. Arts and humanities give a platform to people to express their individuality and allow people to think outside of the box, unlike STEM majors who use formulas to get a solution. Both types of students, those in liberal arts and those in STEM, have difficulties within their respective fields.
Furthermore, saying one is better than the other would simply be illogical. Everyone can shine and be successful in their own areas of study because everyone is doing something different than the next person.
We, as a society, need to dismantle this idea of tearing down others in order to get success. Instead, we need to teach people to help each other and recognize the potential in every field of study, because every field is very much needed. No matter what field of study you go into, you can make a lasting impact on society.
anna • May 27, 2023 at 1:47 AM
On top of that, if we are being honest, majority of stem majors won’t contribute with anything transcendental to society.
Andrew • Feb 2, 2021 at 7:43 PM
What needs to be discussed and considered is that STEM programs, especially engineering programs, are the most intellectually rigorous environments imaginable. This is not me putting down the humanities, or saying no one else is capable of struggling with their major if they aren’t doing engineering. I bring this up because in this STEM vs Humanities argument you focus exclusively on, you limit your perspective so that it shuts out the more pressing issue. How are minority groups doing in STEM? How is their mental health being supported? How is it not being supported?
I am a student who has struggled. Yes, I am white and a man, but I am also a Jewish, Elle Woods blonde, bisexual, Dyslexic, ADHD, GAD, survivor of sexual assault. (Notice how I am not ‘visibly’ diverse, but I have adversity of my own to face. My university didn’t have a single mental health for STEM club until I started it.) All three of those cognitive challenges were diagnosed after I went to college, by the way. Engineering is simply so grueling that I could no longer succeed without adequate support. I’ve been told consistently to give up, forced to come to terms with constant failure while being gaslighted into thinking I will never be an engineer. Somehow against all odds I have made it to my senior year. Through all the put-downs, suicidal thoughts, and imposter’s syndrome. I don’t look at other people and try to compete with them anymore. When I meet a brilliant STEM student or professor I like to learn from them and admit what I don’t know rather than to hide behind arrogance.
Yet those ‘arrogant’ engineering students you criticize have simply not been in a position to evolve such a perspective as I have. Where I see all of the insecurity and mental health struggles behind the conceit, they are subconsciously protecting themselves from miserable depressive episodes. So what if we want money and fame and to make a lasting impact on humanity? Some of us are nobodies, some of us come from imbalanced socioeconomic backgrounds, and maybe this is our best shot at making a difference when the public school system said we would never amount to anything. I am sick of being told I have to conform. That I have to be perfect and unfailingly brilliant by engineering advisors, or that I have to be a perfect paragon of humility by liberal arts majors. I am doing something really difficult, and so far I have had to support myself entirely through countless suicidal breakdowns.
There are no words to express how I feel, how I have changed, and how dangerous this program has been for me and other students I have met. Let me finish on a story for you. I had an advisor who I opened up to. She offered me no resources, no advice, and told me, ‘Some of your classmates work two jobs at once and have no issues with their classes.’ It turned out she had a degree in Sociology, but was ‘mentoring’ engineers. Your entire article paints this in an us vs. them light whilst ironically discussing the lack of diversity in STEM. It’s easy to blame others for what they bring to any conflict. ‘Those weirdo STEM people’ ‘Those lazy liberal arts majors!’ How are YOU judging STEM majors and contributing to the overall perceptions that further weaken our mental health collectively? How can you support them? How can you forget about the times they have made you feel insecure, and maybe extend an olive branch to a struggling Engineering freshmen instead? Believe you me, no one else bothers to ask us how we are really feeling, and we don’t feel safe talking about it.
John Miguel • Oct 31, 2022 at 6:47 PM
Incredible reply.