"Part of the ‘hardness’ of S.M.E. majors, therefore, includes the projection and perpetuation of an image of ‘hardness’. It functions to reward those who persist with an enhanced self-image and social reputation. Latently, it protects the non-intrinsic, socially-constructed aspects of ‘hard’ majors from arguments favoring changes in curriculum design or pedagogy. Students often suspect that there is something slippery about the ways in which faculty speak of the ‘hardness’ of their discipline."

Elaine Seymour and Nancy M. Hewitt. Talking About Leaving: Why Undergraduates Leave The Sciences (1997), p. 105.