The Humanities Are in Crisis
So very many things have changed in the world, it seems a little silly to try to pin this shift on any one thing. And if you want do that, why not pin it on the rise of tablets and smart phones?<p>We get just enormous access to so many things, all in the palm of our hand from almost anywhere. We can read, engage in meaty debate, watch movies, etc. all on a smart phone. Even a super cheap one.<p>Online forums allow for rigorous debate that previously was only found in colloquium at extremely elite colleges, like the tiny humanities school I wanted to attend but never applied because I didn&#x27;t have enough foreign language to qualify.<p>On Hacker News, people routinely demand that you cite your sources. There are other forums with similar practices.<p>Meanwhile, that mostly doesn&#x27;t seem to suffice for STEM subjects. I was one of the top three math students in my graduating high school class. I don&#x27;t bother to identify as one of the mathy people on HN. Math discussions seem to be harder to have here than other subjects.<p>I don&#x27;t know why that is. That&#x27;s just my impression and I can&#x27;t prove it.<p>Some subjects seem easier to soak up via online resources than others. And the STEM subjects are increasingly critical to making our internet infrastructure function and that infrastructure is increasingly part and parcel of other infrastructure. Department stores are dying as we increasingly shop online. You can&#x27;t ignore the internet for most businesses these days.