We live in a society, and dare I say a University, where few would admit—and none would admit proudly—to not having read any plays by Shakespeare or to not knowing the meaning of the categorical imperative, but where it is all too common and all to acceptable not to know a gene from a chromosome or the meaning of exponential growth.It's really a shame. I studied humanities and social sciences myself in college, but I recall that I was always interested in mathematics and came from a high school that stressed heavy math and science learning. When I developed an interest in Economics (but had already committed myself to studying History and Political Science), I had approached one of my Professors for advice on what quantitative courses to take. I recall he was stunned that I had already taken through second-term Calculus and was intending on taking Linear Algebra, Econometrics and Game Theory. He told me that the amount of students who graduate from universities who are incapable of calculating simple, algebraic systems of equations is overwhelming, especially among students who study Economics and then post-graduation realize all the heavy math inherently involved.
As a reminder, the quadratic formula is: x = -b +/- sqrt (b^2-4ab)/2a .
Moral of the story: no one should ever doubt my skills.
Happy holiday everyone!
