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@ biology not being hard. I'd probably rank it right behind physics and chem. Engineering is up there too.
Pretty much any degree that requires you to get to linear algebra is going to be a tough one.
With her masters' degrees she will have the very specific skill set to be an art librarian, an archivist, a curator, or a professor.
Pretty much any degree that requires you to get to linear algebra is going to be a tough one.
Part of what makes it fun is that it's hard, lol. The same reason why pure math classes kill applied math.
English was definitely the subject I hated most, but the stuff you're talking about is linguistics, which is an awesome field with lots of cool math and applications to computer science.My list? There's only one really.....
For me English - I don't get it period. All of the syntax and grammar rules make this a no go.
Wow, I didn't know physicists liked chemistry. I remember going to listen to Richard Smalley give a lecture one time and the physicist introducing him made a joke about all the physicists in the room only knowing freshman chem.The easiest? Physics and Chemistry of course!!
Seriously though, you're going to tell me quantum mechanics makes sense and is easy, lol? I think Mr. Feynman would have something to say about that!
Last edited by baseline bum; 10-19-2011 at 09:07 AM.
I understand that people traditionally list the STEM subjects as the hardest, but I know plenty of STEM majors who have trouble writing a coherent essay. Analyzing literature or historical do ents is difficult for them.
I think the hardest thing to do is to study subjects that are very diverse and to challenge yourself in multiple areas. For my bachelor's, my major was in the School of Science, Engineering and Technology and my minor in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. My master's is in neither.
Anything where more than 2 classes with numbers in it is required.
Oh, and philosophy drove me crazy. I have no idea how/why anyone would major in that.
My son's friends are discovering this. He is a freshman in an honor's program, and the first class they take together is a philosophy course. Many of the kids who are used to feeling so smart and who probably found high school relatively unchallenging are having difficulty reading philosophy, analyzing its meaning, and then expressing their thoughts. I think they are finding they have so little to say while my son had no issue with writing a four-page analysis of one sentence from Plato's Gorgias. He is so grateful for the teachers who had him write and write and write. It seems to be the skill most lacking in incoming freshman, even more so than math skills.
I had no problem writing. It was digesting a sentence about random crap that no one, even in 100 bc cared about but for some reason professors in the 2000s seem to think we should all know.
what was the hardest undergrad class you took?
tbh im taking Earth Materials right now (not sure if they have that at UT) and they say it's the hardest one you have to take as an undergrad
I won't say biology isn't hard, but I'd take any of the 6 biology courses I took over any of the 8 chemistry classes I took (after general chem) any day. Outside of maybe differential equations and that type of math once you get there, I think there's nothing tougher out there than physical chemistry... still confuses me and I'm a chemist.
Besides P-Chem and the super advanced math - toughest class I took in undergrad (no joke)... Geomorphology. That was insane. Took a test from the previous year as practice once, 1 hr test... took me 6 hours to find what I thought were the answers to the multiple choice section, never even got to the short answer/essay, used the book and notes... only got ~50% of them right. Said it - I'm out. (I assume it was because I never took/wasn't a geology major)
There are many college students who would do well with a logic course as a requirement, as well. Much of the writing I've seen at the college level is fairly poor as well. If you give me the choice of writing a 20 page paper or doing complicated physics or calc problems and I would never choose the paper.
That being said I still think the math is harder.
But you have to take Calc II/III and DifEQ just to get to Lin Algebra!
yeah i know, that's why its weird
Anyone who's said you try way too hard is absolutely right. Also, your name fits you better than anyone here.
Thanks. At some point, I decided that making innocuous jokes was better than being just a cynical asshole.
The cynical asshole shtick was still viable. The jokes, not so much.
Maybe start a thread asking for advice on a new shtick, and go with the one you pick.
In real life I'm still a cynical asshole. But I felt it was getting too offensive for Spurstalk.
Anyway, give me a break. It was around midnight. "Major Boner of the Royal Phallus Brigade" struck me as funny.
Use your strengths, accentuate the positive. You can be a cynical asshole without breaking the rules.
Just this one time.Anyway, give me a break. It was around midnight. "Major Boner of the Royal Phallus Brigade" struck me as funny.
bump ya in liar stop trollin
Good list IMO, although I'd probably put Biology equal to or just below Chemistry.
Taking a couple of classes in biology hardly qualifies as knowing how hard Biology can be. The thread asked about hardest majors, not hardest classes.
Agreed.
Agreed.
Pretty much any degree that requires you to get to linear algebra is going to be a tough one.
I have a BS Chemistry w/ a minor in Biology. IMO Chemistry was conceptually very difficult, but I loved it and that made it worth it. O-chem I & II were, for me, the most difficult 2 courses I ever took.
I found Biology consisted more of massive volumes of information to take in & learn very quickly. That was my experience.
I understand that. I only know a very small amount but those were some of the easiest classes i've ever taken, and had I wished to continue I would have been right there with the top of the class. I sometimes talk a little biology with my uncle who has a degree in microbiology and he will tell you it just ain't that hard. He went to the same hs as I did and laughs about how ty the school was back then and how poorly they prepared him for college and that it was a big adjustment, but ultimately not too hard.
Btw my question to all you chemistry and biology majors is what do you guys do for a living? I'm not going to lie I chose my major strictly for the money because when I entered college it was the start of this big financial collapse, to me it was pretty clear that to survive in this day and age I would need something that was in demand, not just any major. Maybe someday I'll go back for a degree in the sciences, always thought it would be cool to major in biomedical engineering and come up a cure for something.
EDIT: that would be in my old age, if i'm ever able to amass enough money to retire early and get bored.
As an accountant who like economics, I don't think economics is harder than accounting.
Heh, take a tax accounting class and tell me your major is harder...
Seriously though, if you want job security, muscle your way through something hard to get through. The bigger the "barrier to entry", the higher the salary.
Petroleum engineering = $100k+ right off the bat.
Most academic research papers are grammatically disgusting.
I had two great logic courses at UT. One was a literary criticism class and basically an intro to the Logic course.There are many college students who would do well with a logic course as a requirement, as well. Much of the writing I've seen at the college level is fairly poor as well. If you give me the choice of writing a 20 page paper or doing complicated physics or calc problems and I would never choose the paper.
That being said I still think the math is harder.
economics is not easy. taking through Cal 3 plus 3 different types of stats and 4 semesters of a foreign language.not saying its the most difficult (aeronautical engineering...)
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