Professor Dr SC Ling in our WhatsApp chat group, wrote to me asking this question: which subject
do I think is the hardest to study after I have undergone different courses of studies.
Here is my reply, not just for her, but for everybody - from students to scientists, doctors, teachers and to all professionals.
The Landscape of Learning: Why Some Subjects Are Easy, Others Difficult, and How This Shapes Science and Medicine
Education is a journey through diverse intellectual landscapes, some familiar and welcoming, others steep, abstract, or seemingly inaccessible. Every student, whether in school, university, or medical training, eventually asks the same question:
“Which subjects are the easiest, and which are the toughest?”
This question is more than curiosity; it touches on how the human mind learns, how different disciplines are structured, and why certain fields demand specific cognitive strengths. While difficulty varies from person to person, patterns do emerge across generations of students, teachers, and scientists.
Below is my feeling that blends educational psychology, scientific structure, and real-world experience, suitable for teachers, scientists, medical students, and the broader public. Again I
need to emphasize this depends on the aptitude
and interest of individuals who may differ from mine. I would think mathematics stands out as first espcially for young students.
1. Why Mathematics Stands as the Pinnacle of Difficulty?
Across cultures, mathematics is consistently ranked as one of the hardest subjects in any curriculum. This is not because students are “not smart enough,” but because mathematics is:
1.1 Highly Abstract
Mathematics deals not with physical objects but with symbols, relationships, the infinite, rates of change, and logical structures. The human brain evolved to deal with concrete survival tasks, not abstract symbolic systems. Thus, abstraction itself imposes cognitive strain.
1.2 Sequential and Interdependent
Mathematics is cumulative:
Without mastery of fractions, algebra is difficult.
Without algebra, trigonometry becomes confusing.
Without both, calculus becomes nearly inaccessible.
A single weak foundational concept can ripple across years of learning.
1.3 Logically Rigid
Mathematics resembles chess: one move must logically follow another. There is no room for guessing or approximation. This demands the following:
Strong working memory
Pattern recognition
Spatial reasoning
High-level logical thinking
1.4 The Higher Branches Magnify Complexity
While primary mathematics already challenges many, university-level mathematics, calculus, linear algebra, real analysis, abstract algebra - introduces layers of abstraction unimaginable to most students.
This is why mathematics is rightly called “the queen of science” since every scientific discipline rests upon its foundations, yet very few ascend to its highest peaks.
2. Where the Sciences Stand: A Spectrum from Conceptual Ease to Abstract Difficulty
Every scientific field requires discipline, but some lean toward memorization and observation, while others demand heavy mathematical reasoning.
2.1 Physics: This subject is the most mathematically demanding science
Physics interprets the universe through mathematical laws; for example, motion, energy, fields, waves, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics. Even during my high school days in Batu Pahat, Johore, Malaya then, physics requires algebra and trigonometry; and in my university undergraduate, physics depends on calculus, differential equations, vectors, and tensors.
Physics is difficult because it requires of the following:
Abstract thinking
Mathematical modeling
Visualization of non-intuitive concepts (e.g., quantum probability clouds, spacetime curvature)
Multistep reasoning
Thus, after mathematics itself, physics is often considered the hardest scientific discipline.
2.2 Chemistry, also an area I have learnt, it requires a balance of logic, memorization, and mathematical foundations. In organic chemistry
students struggle with:
Thousands of reactions
Structural variety (chains, rings, stereochemistry)
Mechanisms and electron flow
Reaction conditions and catalysts
Organic chemistry demands spatial intelligence and conceptual understanding, not just memorization.
Physical Chemistry (P-Chem)
This branch is deeply mathematical in these:
Thermodynamics
Kinetics
Quantum chemistry
Statistical mechanics
P-Chem sits at the intersection of physics, chemistry, and mathematics.
Analytical Chemistry
More procedural and methodical, from what I learnt:
Laboratory techniques
Instrumentation
Titration methods
Spectroscopy
It is often regarded as one of the easier branches because it is rule-based and systematic.
2.3 Biology: broad, descriptive, and more accessible
Many students find biology easier because:
It uses real-world analogies
Much is observable (plants, animals, human systems)
It is less dependent on mathematics
However, modern biology like genetics, molecular biology, immunology is becoming more analytical and data-driven.
3. Medical Sciences: Why some subjects are feared and others loved?
Medical education is a world of its own. Difficulty arises from:
Massive content volume
Need for integration
Clinical application
Long-term retention
Emotional engagement with real human suffering
Among medical students worldwide, certain subjects consistently stand out as especially challenging.
3.1 Anatomy: A mountain of details to remember, most of them unfortunately I have forgotten
Anatomy is considered one of the hardest preclinical subjects, at least to my experience because:
The body contains thousands of structures
Spatial relationships matter
Cadaver dissection is realistic, not idealized like textbook images
Students must memorize:
Bones, joints, muscles, arteries, veins, lymphatics
nerves, plexuses, organs, fascial planes, etc.
Its sheer volume can overwhelm even excellent students, and I do not have that aptitude for this subject.
3.2 Biochemistry: It is abstract and mechanistic.
Biochemistry is difficult because it requires:
Prior chemistry knowledge, which fortunate enough I have.
Understanding of metabolic pathways, enzyme kinetics, hormonal regulation is demandin. Without a strong foundation, students often view it as a tangle of names and arrows.
3.3 Pharmacology: I find this area constantly expanding and detail-heavy. Pharmacology demands memorization of drug classifications, mechanisms of action, side effects, contraindications, understanding on pharmacokinetics, drug–drug interactions
This field changes constantly, making it one of the most dynamic medical sciences.
3.4 Pathology: This to me is the heart of medicine.
Pathology integrates everything from anatomy, physiology, microbiology, immunology, biochemistry. Students must understand disease mechanisms, histopathology, and clinical correlations. This subject is both intellectually demanding and critically important in the understanding of medicine.
4. The subjects medical students often find easier are:
4.1 Physiology: The logical beauty of body function
Physiology is often regarded as:
Conceptual, logical, mechanistic, intuitively satisfying. Students including me, love it because it explains why the body works the way it does. It is often called “the queen of medicine.”
4.2 Microbiology, Parasitology, Virology, Mycology
These fields are easier conceptually:
Microbe → Disease → Treatment
Patterns are clear. Main challenge is memorization of names and classifications
4.3 Public health, community medicine, epidemiology, and ethics. These subjects have direct real-world relevance. They are less dense, and are easier to score in exams. They require understanding, not deep technical memorization.
5. Clinical Years: This area is the true test for a medical student. Clinical medicine is not a subject, it is an entire transformation. Students must how to examine patients, recognize signs and symptoms, and learn differential diagnoses if disease mimic each other in presentations of signs and symptoms. Students must learn to apply reasoning, communicate effectively, manage time under stress and how to face emotional challenges
The clinical years are intellectually, physically, and psychologically demanding.They teach not only medicine but humanity.
6. The Final Truth: The hardest subject depends on the mind that studies it. Every student is different.
Some thrive in abstract reasoning (mathematics).
Some excel in observation (biology).
Some enjoy systems and logic (physiology).
Some prefer memorization (anatomy).
Some love mechanisms (pathology).
But across many decades, one conclusion consistently stands firm:
Mathematics remains the most universally challenging discipline requiring the highest purity of logic, abstraction, and intellectual rigor.
Only a minority of minds possess the natural architecture to reach their upper peaks.
My concluding thinking is, the beauty of difficulty. Difficult subjects should not discourage students; they should inspire them. A subject feels hard not because the learner is “helpless” or “not intelligent,” but because every discipline taps into different parts of the human mind. Understanding this helps
teachers tailor their methods, students understand their strengths. Doctors and scientists appreciate the diversity of human cognition. Educational systems evolve for the better.
The journey through education, from mathematics to medicine, is ultimately a journey through the architecture of the human brain itself.
As for my journey through all these years of learning on the subjects mentioned, among these courses and subjects I have gone through across 5 separate universities that took me over 15 years to manage, I still find mathematics, especially higher mathematics like the various branches of
calculus the most challenging of all sciences, technology and medicine - especially in
medical research where mathematics, statistics and the collection of research data for mathematical and statistical analysis demands the best intelligent brains collectively.
After all, mathematics is truly the Queen of all Sciences
I hope I managed to answer Professor Dr Marilyn Ling tough challenge / question for me
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