This is just a short beef on a truly clueless article titled Stemming the STEM Obsession. One of the absurd quotes in the article captures the flavor of the whole thing:
Cutting [humanities] to produce math and sciences wizzes would be a mistake because subjects like literature, philosophy, and ethics teach more than technical skills—they teach students how, when and why to use these skills. What’s more, evidence suggests that learning these subjects actually improves STEM performance!
The reality is that math and science majors are required to take a whole lot more humanities classes than humanities majors are required to take math and science classes. I know of no STEM major who believes humanities classes, when well taught, do not improve their academic experience. The “when well taught” part is the rub and the “why” part of the above quote is especially troubling in a society and culture that rejects the reality of objective truth. There is NO reason to use any of your skills for any other reason than personal preference when good and bad are just opinions. If the humanities students were required to take something more rigorous than the typical, watered-down math and science classes required for their majors they might not write such ridiculous articles.