Why are maths degrees held in such high regard?

Simply because an awful lot of people aren't very good at the very basic maths taught at an early age

Because, to me, it seems like a foreign language that I'd never be able to make sense of; thus, I respect anyone who has the ability to study such a challenging subject

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So I guess ignorance plays a big role. I hate to sound like I'm 'tooting my own horn' so I hope it doesn't come across that way but I I think I am a pretty good mathematician but suck at some of the more basic 'maths' - ie. number manipulation - while finding proofs and real maths comes naturally.
My point is that they are nothing alike and so to give maths the high regard it has based on childhood experience of elementary mathematics does not make a lot of sense.

So I guess ignorance plays a big role. I hate to sound like I'm 'tooting my own horn' so I hope it doesn't come across that way but I I think I am a pretty good mathematician but suck at some of the more basic 'maths' - ie. number manipulation - while finding proofs and real maths comes naturally.
My point is that they are nothing alike and so to give maths the high regard it has based on childhood experience of elementary mathematics does not make a lot of sense.


Do you have the same appreciation for languages like Arabic or Japanese or is it the abstract nature that makes maths seem difficult to comprehend?

In the 'what are the easiest degrees?' thread, people sarcastically (and, anecdotal-y, inventively - I mean seriously, where's the wit?!) posted maths.

One would assume that this implies people see it as the most difficult degree:
Is it because of people's experience at GCSE and A Level where the numbers scared them? If so, university maths is nothing like that. Physics is probably more so;

Do people wrongly equate opportunities after graduation with the difficulty of the degree? Engineers have more or less the same prospects in similar fields to mathematicians after graduating, for example;

I think it's because of the reputation of Cambridge mathematics in particular. It's seen as an almost iconic course and I think people assume that since Cambridge's maths degree is their hardest then it must be the case that it's difficult everywhere else too, even if not to the same level as at Cambridge.

Maths teaches you to become a master of abstract thinking and logic but so do (analytic) philosophy, economics (game theory) and computer science.

So, again, I ask: Why are maths degrees held in such high regard?

Because the vast majority of people could not get a first in a maths degree. I could never have done my bfs degree (maths) but he could have done mine (biology) well enough. Everyone I know who studied maths could have easily excelled at a number of other subjects, they're all just really clever.

Maths is not difficult in general. What it is is slow, and precise. You can't learn the next level without having mastered the previous one. Maths is for people who are prepared to spend hours practicing techniques methodically, and who have been encouraged to do so since a young age (even 'maverick' mathematicians have that background). A small amount of time and pressure build up to something with the illusion of immense difficulty, and it is very hard for someone without that background to 'break into' higher level mathematics later on.

Its considered difficult by arts and humanities students because the fact we are doing arts and humanities means we are not very good with numbers. There are quite a lot of people with dyscalculia that haven't been diagnosed, just as many as with dyslexia which is more commonly diagnosed. Its quite staggering how awful some science students are at basic spelling, reading and writing, on the same token.