Hacker News Reader

Comment by GhostVII | Hacker News Reader

At my school I was required to take many courses on broader topics. Personally I didn't like it, I took as many CS courses as I was allowed.

View on HN

Yes, due to the vocational focus, the broader topics are often watered down introductions.

We were supposed to take "History of Technology" which I guess is supposed to be the corollary to "Business Math" classes or whatever. I really enjoy the humanities so I took all the real electives I could.

They were total jokes at my (admittedly) second-rate-at-best state school. Most of the gen-ed courses failed to go beyond material we'd covered back in 10th grade or so. The English courses were probably the nearest to being remotely "serious" since they at least expected writing and critical reading on a slightly-above-high-school level, usually pretty early in the course.

Yes by ultra focus on tech, we can provide a decent living, but lack the bigger picture and become the peons of those who know better, and can articulate their view clearly and logically.

E.g. look at any PG essay that tried to talk about broader philosophical or political issues and you'll see this limitation. His frame of reference is stuck in a recent enlightenment framing of the world. Granted, PG is indeed a great communicator in technical fields.

The courses I took were the same that anyone getting a major in that field would take, and I was required to take them beyond just an introductory level.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com