This is one of my major pet peeves. Science, Math and Engineering students are required to take a certain amount of "social electives", literature, history, etc, so as to be "well rounded" and responsible citzens. However the liberal arts types are often not required to take any math or science, or if they are they are allowed to take the "baby" versions. I've long maintained that if you don't understand what a differential equation is, what it means, and understand the solutions (not necessarily be able to generate them yourself), then you really don't understand how the world works, and have no business making decisions for the rest of us, or even having signifigent input on them. Everyone should also have some statistics, so they can somewhat judge the difference between lies, damn lies and statistics. :)
Math didn't come easy for me, but they just quit. It was algebra. I have a friend who got his PhD in org. chem from UCONN and studied under a big cheese at Columbia. I read his dissertation. THAT'S hard work. He asked me once if he was being to hard on his students when he did the usual tough teacher stuff...I agreed with him that he had to keep pounding them.
Not algebra, puny algebra. I agree it should be required of all students, more math than they get now. It used to be that was an education, math included. Education is such a business now, that they have to get the people through the system.
Basic economics and economic history would be nice.