STEM all the way

SIMON Bevilacqua justifies the continued need for the arts and humanities faculties at universities on the basis that they as opposed to STEM courses develop wholistic and creative thinking (Mercury, December 7). Au contraire, it is the STEM courses, together with medicine and economics, that stimulate wholistic and creative thinking. Would anybody suggest creative thought shown by Einstein, Newton, Archimedes, Darwin and Galileo, all of whom developed understanding of the world and the ways we could use this newfound knowledge, would be exhibited by arts and humanities graduates?

Perhaps the nearest was Aristotle with his development of logic, mainly syllogisms, but in general, arts and humanities students shy from cold reality. And isn’t the woolly thinking of the arts and humanities exhibited by the Government’s response to three of Tasmania’s problems? 1. Suggestion we increase number of MPs!

We have 40, of whom a third have portfolios, obvious solution, share portfolios around the 40. 2. Homeless. We build more three-bed houses that homeless can neither buy or, in Tasmania, afford to rent! Obvious solution — build small affordable housing. 3. Traffic congestion and pollution, we propose bigger and better roads! Simpler, and obvious, reduce vehicle size and eliminate internal combustion engine, ie support one and two-occupant, lowspeed vehicles using prioritised roadspace.

Peter Troy

Kingston