What Are the Most Useful Subjects to Learn?

TLDR:
Math to reason soundly, science to understand nature and ourselves, language to communicate clearly, philosophy to live wisely, and art to make life beautiful.

What makes a subject useful anyway? Well, it would certainly need to be practical, applicable in many different circumstances and beneficial when applied. Knowing that subject should give its knower an advantage, and that knowledge would probably be applied with some frequency. To help us conceptualize the idea of value, a useful exercise is to think about the things we use every day, then consider what their absence would feel like. Arthur Schopenhauer said, “Mostly it is loss which teaches us about the worth of things,” and he makes a strong point. Think of the things we use every day but perhaps take for granted, something as simple as a bed, for instance. If we’re fortunate enough to have one, we likely use it every night without a second thought as to its value. Imagine coming home, however, and our bed is gone so we have to sleep on the floor. In that moment we become very aware of a bed’s value. The benefit of a bed is that we sleep better, which in turn improves our mood and performance during the day, then those benefits compound into others, and so forth. Something as simple as a bed can be a huge advantage. How many such advantages do we enjoy every day that someone 1000 years ago could hardly dream of? Similarly, there are pools of knowledge which provide potent benefits if we explore their depths. Which subjects?

Math is unequivocally one of the most useful subjects to learn. Math isn’t created or invented, it’s discovered. Curiously, it’s also a language like English, Greek, or Latin, and like all languages, it’s used to describe and express. Math, most specifically, is used to describe Nature and express her laws and phenomena. Math serves to express actuality, base reality, in language, and in the most granular detail possible. That is its power: absolute reason. Cold precision. It can’t be cheated – you either solved the problem or you didn’t, and you’ve gotta show every step you took from A to Z with nothing left out. There’s nowhere to hide from the truth.

Math is one of the most useful subjects because it teaches us how to think purely logically, maximally reasonably. Furthermore, math strengthens our minds, trains them to be effective and efficient in the art of solving problems. We must first solve the problem correctly, then we have to do it correctly in as few steps as possible – without skipping any steps or clumping steps together either – to produce the most elegant solution. The ability to think and to solve problems in this way is a superpower. Imagine being able to solve a strategic business problem so elegantly as to simultaneously please shareholders, the C-Suite, employees, and customers alike. Imagine planning the tightest, smoothest logistical experience on a family vacation such that no one is ever tired, hungry, or bored. These benefits are real, and they’re the result of thinking well, of reasoning soundly. These are some of the effects of studying math. Strong, clear thinking is extremely valuable because life is full of problems big and small, and we best grow skilled at solving them.

So, what else? Well, we live in the physical world, whether any of us likes it or not, and our physical bodies are pieces of that grand system. It’s best we familiarize ourselves with that realm of knowledge as well because if life is a game we’re all stuck playing, the laws of nature are the rules to the game. We’ve done our best as a species to explore, discover, and organize those laws, and that field of study is science – particularly physics, chemistry, and biology. In physics (which literally means ‘nature’ in Ancient Greek), we study the very smallest things, elementary particles like quarks and electrons, and the very biggest things like galaxies and black holes. When we take the smallest things and compound them over and over to make bigger and bigger stuff, we get to chemistry, things like atoms and molecules. Then when we apply chemistry to make bigger and bigger things we get cells and eventually humans, which is biology. And biology is very powerful knowledge for a human being to have.

For instance, if we understand our own biology, we first and foremost gain a core understanding of ourselves, of what we are as a human being, and an appreciation of where we fit into the bigger scheme of Nature. As another example, human physiology is a branch of biology, and when knowledge of human physiology is combined with knowledge of the atoms and molecules in our food, which is mostly chemistry, we arrive at nutrition. And it’s certainly true that being well-nourished is superior to being malnourished. Then if we observe physical exercise for athletics, we see it’s simply a function of physiology and anatomy, how to stress the system appropriately to achieve improvement. So, with wise exercise and nutrition, we can keep our bodies fit and optimize them for anything from athletic performance to business productivity. It’s also more fun to play in a fit body, and we feel better too when we have the right vitamins, minerals, and organic macromolecules floating through us. And all this is to say nothing of the advanced civilization we boast with our phones, pharmaceuticals, airplanes, cars, bridges, towers, and every other piece of tech we use every day – almost of all of which come from physics by way of engineering. Without science we remain cavemen. Science is of absolute importance.

Ok, math and science, but what about the softer subjects? Are they without value? Of course not – language, for instance, is extremely valuable. Language empowers us to communicate both with others and with ourselves. Language helps us structure our thoughts and beliefs and organize our own inner world. In so doing, we grow able to express ourselves more articulately to others, who will in turn be more likely to understand and appreciate us. And we them. Furthermore, literacy, specifically reading and writing, is an immeasurably useful application of language. It is so powerful that with literacy alone, we can learn anything and everything else presently known in this world. Language, literacy, is also the means by which we preserve knowledge across generations, writing things down lest each generation be cursed to reinvent the wheel and remain cavemen. Language also begets the gift of poetry, a means by which to express thoughts, feelings, and experiences so beautifully as to stir the emotions of another person thousands of miles or years away. Then lastly, the ability to speak well, which is another function of language, is also particularly valuable in today’s society from deescalating a tense moment in a bar, to speaking eloquently on one’s own defense in a legal matter, or wooing someone special. Language is necessary.

So, if we know how to reason sharply, how to keep our body fit and healthy in harmony with nature, and how to communicate expressively, what else do we need? Philosophy. Because philosophy teaches us how to live well. It helps us see through the illusions of the world, helps us see things for what they truly are. And in seeing clearly, we are given the opportunity to live well, which we accomplish by making good decisions. Philosophy helps us discern right from wrong, what’s best and what’s not. It can help us discover our purpose and put our gifts into proper context with the rest of the world. It offers us the precious wisdom of experience, lifetimes of trial, error, suffering, and success across the ages all distilled to little gold nuggets, ours for the taking. The growth that took a brilliant person a lifetime to achieve can be unlocked in a few days of reading by a disciplined person today. Philosophy can help us structure society beneficially and help us educate and raise good kids into even better grown-ups. It helps us understand what is valuable and worthy, and what is not. Philosophy is indispensable.

But what about personal enjoyment? What about beauty for beauty’s sake? Among math, science, language, and philosophy, we place art as the capstone. It offers no survival value, but it makes living more beautiful. Think of all the music, books, movies, poetry, images, drawings, paintings, dancing, sculptures, architecture, etc. we’ve enjoyed in our lives. Can you imagine a life without these things? Furthermore, art makes our own individual experience more beautiful – there are few feelings so satisfying as bringing something from within us out into the world, having expressed something important from depths within us. The act of creation is immensely satisfying, and at the same time, can also make others’ lives beautiful too. The musician who wraps their emotions in a melody experiences much gratification and satisfaction in the creation of that music, and experiences more still if their creation positively affects others. Meanwhile, those who listen to that music also have a pleasant experience and enjoy their time in this life a little more because of the artist. Art makes life beautiful. It helps us transcend survival and evolution.

So, from a purely academic perspective (leaving out things like athletics, gardening / farming, cooking, and wilderness survival, which are all extremely valuable), our list is: math, science, language, philosophy, and art. If a person grows steeped in these rich subjects, they will come into much power. They will be able to reason soundly. They will understand the natural world around and within them. They will be able to communicate clearly. They will live wisely, and create a beautiful life.