My inclination is to suggest that learning history, law, politics and philosophy are in a sense harder than math and science.
I googled the question and found a similar question posed on Quora, Are math and science harder to study than humanities? Apparently there were 17 answers from 2013 to 2015 or so. One from 2015 was disparaging towards humanities, but might be politely summarized as “are you kidding, math and science are way way harder.”. Another from 2013 more reasonably said `Making comparisons about the difficulty of the sciences versus the humanities is like comparing apples and bananas in itself, but there's one noticeable difference about learning the two.’
Another from 2013 stated `Humanities is (more) grounded in feelings and emotions”. Another 2013 stated the writer found math and science easier than the humanities (which was my high school experience as well).
Here is a suggestion about math (surely not original). Mathematics involves learning and manipulating abstractions. Mathematical abstractions tend to group into geometrical and numerical, and combinations of both. To do some math one has to learn the abstractions, which can be tough, tougher for some people than others. Connecting the abstractions using inferential reasoning can also be tough, tougher for some people than others. And there are tough problems where finding the right inferences can be very tough.
But the great thing about math is that the counting number 1 does not vary in its abstracted character. The algorithms of calculus do not become less efficacious over time, though new and better or faster algorithms might emerge over time . The rules of logical inference are not for the most part subject to society’s latest cultural changes.
The moving parts in history, politics, and law are, on the other hand, all in flux. The actors are not abstractions that are stable for hundreds and sometimes thousands of years. The actors are people and groups of people some of which can vary from day to day or minute to minute. The physical environment they inhabit is also variable.
Alluding to the emotional side one of the Quora respondents mentioned, the average emotional response to historical, cultural and political events can also vary depending on the era, not to mention that individual human reactions are themselves highly variable compared to a notional average.
The difficulty of mathematics is in its abstractness.
The difficulty in trying to learn about history, politics and law, for example, is that there are so many degrees of freedom and the degrees of freedom themselves are in flux.
Sometimes a history book is so dense with actors that it is hard to keep track and many authors helpfully include a list of players at the front of the book to help keep track.
Numbers on the other hand, learn the counting numbers from 1 to 10, positional notation and the principle of mathematical induction, and you’re good to go. They don’t have personalities and they don’t change. Seems easier to me. Your views?
That depends upon the students.
Some are inclined towards numerical, logical and scientific reasoning while we see majority of them reluctant towards them. Why? Because subjects like history,law,philosophy etc look easier while glancing at surface level in comparison to subjects like Maths, Science. But the fact is every single subject is equally tough to master.
One way that researchers have investigated this issue is to analyse the outcomes of national examinations in different subjects at various ages, typically 16 or 18. An analysis of UK data concluded that there was "clear indication that the STEM subjects are generally harder than other subjects".
This indicates that the examinations may be harder, but that does not necessarily mean that STEM subjects (such as mathematics) are 'harder' or more difficult to 'learn'. It could mean that the level of examination is comparatively high or perhaps the teaching is not so effective.
For the report, see Article Relative Difficulty of Examinations in Different Subjects
Dr. Keith Jones,
The report you refer to in your reply, Article Relative Difficulty of Examinations in Different Subjects, based on its executive summary, appears to be on point, at least in terms of formal examinations. That is helpful to the discussion. I only looked at the executive summary, the report is 135 pages. It looks to be an interesting read.
Thank you.
Yes for me. I can understand the law and history by reading again and again by myself. But, for math and science I will need a tutor or a guide.
Here is another point of comparison, the number of books necessary to become fluent in a subject. For example, in mathematics reading one good book on complex analysis, real analysis or knot theory and working through the problems can leave one with a good working knowledge. In history or politics, no one would say reading one book, say Thucydides on the Peloponnesian War, would make the reader into a knowledgeable historian. The amount of reading necessary to reach expertise in history for example, is large. The amount of adeptness required in familiarity with concepts, methods, and in problem solving in, to use the example of complex analysis, is large.
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