Cornell President: Young scientists must be taught music and the arts
mainThe President of Cornell University, David J. Skorton, has endorsed the growing recognition of the importance of arts and music in the making of young scientists. In tune with Nobel Prizewinner Thomas Südhof’s declaration last week that ‘training in the arts prepares a growing child just as well for a scientific or technical career as [does] training in STEM subjects, if not better,’ Skorton – head of a university with campuses at Ithatca and Qatar – writes the following in Scientific American:
… to be truly effective, …what we really need is a much broader humanistic education for scientists (and nonscientists), beginning in K–12 education and continuing through the undergraduate/graduate and professional years. It is through the study of art, music, literature, history and other humanities and social sciences that we gain a greater understanding of the human condition than biological or physical science alone can provide.
UPDATE: Dr Skorton (below) practises what he preaches (h/t Dianne Winsor):
Comments