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Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald
Interesting take. What makes the "hard" sciences more difficult form the "soft" sciences? I can understand the ones with math involvement, like organic chem, but biology? What makes it so difficult? What makes psych, sociology, and anthropology so easy? I mean, the real work in any of the sciences doesn't take place at the undergrad level, so what makes you believe your bio degree is better than a anthropology degree? You're both qualified to understand animal husbandry, just in different terms.
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It's not just an issue of difficulty, although standards in most science classes are higher. Must science classes, at least in the late 90s when I was in school, had a b-/c+ average, but most social science courses had a b/b+ average.
It's more an issue of approach. In biology I had to take 3 "lab" courses, where you physically had to learn lab skills. The lab courses where an extra 3 hours of class per week each, plus weekly assignments, so a lot more work than humanities courses.
I also did an unofficial minor in economics (they didn't offer it, but I took econ courses as electives). So I have nothing against economics, and actually kind of regret not majoring in econ. It's definitely not a science though.
Biology also has a lot of math involvement. Statistics and calculus are a major part of biology. To get a degree in biology you also need to take physics, chemistry, and math for your first two years. All of the strict science programs are almost the same for the first two years, as you build fundamentals. Then you specify in a specific field once you've got a better understanding of basic scientific principles, theory, and practice.
It's also debatable whether math is a science, as it has no inherent natural component. The basic definition of science involves real life experiments and the testing of theories. Math is all theories.