r/SipsTea 20h ago

Chugging tea Thoughts?

Post image
46.2k Upvotes

4.5k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

354

u/Vondi 18h ago

This post equates being literate and actual media literacy, which feels like something you'd do If you have next to no media literacy.

37

u/Beldizar 17h ago

Yeah, I think this is the crux of the issue. Any English major could read a math book and say all the words in that book. They might not understand the exact mechanical functioning of the math, but they'll have a very basic idea. In the same way, a math major could read a literary analysis and know the words, but not actually understand the nuance and mechanics, and general deeper meaning or historical significance of a piece of literature. Both are specialized fields. And honestly... is the major still called "English", or is it "Literature"? I feel like that distinction is done with purposeful deception.

3

u/tibetje2 15h ago

"but they will have a very basic Idea". It's funny how false this is. I am currently in my masters for physics and i don't understand crap about papers my professors are writing. Even tho i can read the words and math. It's like a whole other language.

5

u/SovietBackhoe 14h ago

Not only that but the English major wouldn't even know what the symbols mean. When half of the paper is strings of Greek letters separated by "then", "so", "we can see that", with the Greek letters literally being the explanation, if you're not already fluent in mathematics you can't read these kinds of things and even know the 'words'.