Science major woes.. so if you will get mad, don't read.
I feel a deep frustration when I am writing essays for my lit class, and I wish I knew more theory. It is like asking an english major to write a paper on which scientist contributed more to quantum mechanics and why. First, you need to know things about quantum mechanics, and then you need to be able to explain which scientist's contribution truly helped more (if that is even the case). I don't doubt with a little work that this could be done by some of the english majors I know, but there would be insane frustration and a large rant about why is this even important to them aside from the fact that they might impress a few people. That is how I feel right now as I write this final for my lit class. I have no idea the theories behind literature, so my paper is legitimately my opinion backed by strong arguments, but for me that is not enough. I want to use theory so badly to explain why in the world this person even wrote this. However, this paper is just for a general education class, so no theory is necessarily required.
I have thoroughly discussed and even planned a science writing course where science and english majors alike can read scientific texts and discuss/write about them. I think that's useful! Just as useful to scientist as english majors. I wish that people didn't talk down or act as if they are betraying subjects by participating in technical writing. I have gone through this lit class with an open mind, listening to people express opinions that I don't even care for, read papers that could have used a little more logic (which would have killed the emotional argument they were going on about), and I have read a great deal of short stories and novels that have really brightened my horizons as a person. I want to say that I will never use them in real life, but from a few of the stories I have already used the themes to explain human nature to myself. Science can do the same thing for people who are not science majors.
I know I am always going on about how no one appreciates science. I suppose I should relax because in the real world science/technical jobs are a really big deal. I should just let my liberal arts friends enjoy their playground that my college has created. Yet, somehow I just wish there were more.
