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Question Obviously, some academic fields are considered more difficult than others - for instance, physics might be considered more difficult than geology. However, there must be people who find geology (and its fellow "easier" fields) to be much more difficult than "difficult" fields. Similarly, state tests tend to be curved so that they all end up with about the same grade spreads, even if it means making a test harder or more difficult from year to year, so it is hard to tell from these examples what is actually difficult. So, can an academic topic be objectively difficult?

Accepted:
December 24, 2009

Comments

It isn't clear to me exactly what sort of academic "topic" interests you the most. So, I'll consider several options.

First, consider whether some academic disciplines are moredifficult than others. Given the sheer diversity of academic workwithin each of the various disciplines, I don't think there is anyprospect of ordering those disciplines by difficulty: each fieldaddresses a multitude of problems in a multitude of ways all the whileresponding to past work in more or less sophisticated ways and alsodeveloping methodological innovations, incorporating new content, etc.So, I think that professionals working within every field haveopportunities to perform extremely challenging academic work.

Second, consider whether some academic courses are inherently more difficult than others. Itcertainly is the case that undergraduate students frequently considersome classes to be more difficult than others. In part, this may bereasonable: for example, many students find research methodology andstatistics to be among the most challenging courses. Even with respectto individual undergraduate courses, however, it is certainly possiblefor the instructor of any course to have high and challengingexpectations for his or her students and it is certainly possible forany student to choose to increase his or her level of effort,engagement, and intellectual depth. So, I think both students andprofessors have opportunities to make any academic course challenging.

Third,consider whether some specific learning activities or course topics aremore difficult than others. Surely different students find variousactivities or topics more challenging than others, but here too I thinkthere is significant variation that prevents us from drawing generalconclusions of the sort I think interest you: students' individuallevels of academic preparation and skills will cause some activities ortopics to be harder for them to complete or master; students'individual intellectual interests will make it easier or harder forthem to engage effectively in different learning activities or academictopics; students' varying responsibilities or life experiences atvarious points in their academic careers will make it easier or harderfor them to learn at different times, etc.

So, I see littleprospect of reaching judgments about "objective difficulty" at thelevel of disciplines, classes, or learning activities or course topics.