There has been a long, evolving, and often politically charged debate as to what the nonmajor student should know about science. There are a number of secondary, but nevertheless important, differences between majors and nonmajors courses. Majors courses are commonly viewed as harder, more rigorous, and more comprehensive--unfortunately, there is little objective data that they actually produce better or more extensive learning gains compared with nonmajors courses. This article discusses whether majors or nonmajors biology courses are adequate.