When I went to college in the 80's, it was about leaving home - physically, emotionally, intellectually, financially, and spiritually. Hard to put a price on that!
Man, Josh - this post is all about a t-shaped philosophy, which I love. Reading between the lines, I saw a call for technical skills, connecting to people, and finding real meaning and purpose. I am completely on board with everything you are laying down, even if it is fueled by Coke Zero!
I really enjoy these posts, Josh, irrespective of the timing and level of sleep deprivation. Thanks for doing such thoughtful work.
I agree "worthless" is hyperbolic. But perhaps "worth less" is worth thinking about.
College seems like a great place to start figuring out the why. But it certainly isn't the only place. Long after leaving campus grounds (and returning from time to time), I'm still figuring out my answers to these questions. As experience accumulates, my perspective evolves. Perhaps college is the starting point that also provides us with some tools and practice in sorting things out, which we (hopefully) carry with us beyond our time there. But not every college student gets this, or gets enough of this.
College is also not the only experience where we can learn our place in the world and how to acquire the skills to flourish in it. I would argue that people develop through many things. One experience that stands out to me is immersion in learning; that focus teaches us something about the world and about ourselves. These authentic challenges may happen on campuses (and sometimes, they don't). And they can happen in other settings, too, at work or traveling, for instance.
The "worth" part of college also raises the point of cost, in dollars and opportunity cost. As tuition costs rise, I think it is an honest challenge to ask how the college payoff has been faring. Of course, there is more to it than just the brand, the skills for your first job, or the prestige of the first employer you get after graduation. But when we take all of that into account, how does it compare to what we invest, and how has this changed over time? It's also important to think about what we could have been doing.
I agree that there are many problems left to solve, and we'll need more capacity from curious and thoughtful people. At the end of your post, you do refreshingly point out that there are some challenges in ensuring institutions deliver on the promise. As someone working in the project of higher education, that resonates with me.
I think college serves many purposes for people - near-term marketable skills are part of that, and so is long-term preparation for developing our calling. College can do both of those things, and for the bill payers, it has to. As a college prof and parent, I can connect with multiple perspectives on this. I'm optimistic that higher ed will evolve and remain an incredibly valuable institution. Perhaps a good starting point is to recognize that this is not guaranteed, and it is up to us to make the option of college compelling.
"the second week that I’ve missed my self-imposed Tuesday morning deadline"
As if we needed any additional reassurance that "The Absent-Minded Professor" is not an AI chatbot product! Mussolini may have made the LLMs run on time, but people are still people.
"College is about creating an environment where you can engage in the deepest questions of the human experience, all while discerning your place in the world and building the skills to live into that calling."
As fine a description as any I've ever heard. If that's the result of crankiness, then more crank please!
"... Anyone can do anything. The only limiting factors are agency and ambition."
Let's see how far that tripartite lack of self-knowledge and introspection and common sense will get you. For that matter, even just a smattering of science might be useful, say, a rough estimate of the melting point of wax. Over to you, Icarus --
For some reason, in recent days, I've three times run across the historical factoid that Mussolini manifestly did NOT make "the trains run on time". It seems that was a deluded vision he put forth about himself and his (lack of) political expertise.
When I went to college in the 80's, it was about leaving home - physically, emotionally, intellectually, financially, and spiritually. Hard to put a price on that!
Man, Josh - this post is all about a t-shaped philosophy, which I love. Reading between the lines, I saw a call for technical skills, connecting to people, and finding real meaning and purpose. I am completely on board with everything you are laying down, even if it is fueled by Coke Zero!
I really enjoy these posts, Josh, irrespective of the timing and level of sleep deprivation. Thanks for doing such thoughtful work.
I agree "worthless" is hyperbolic. But perhaps "worth less" is worth thinking about.
College seems like a great place to start figuring out the why. But it certainly isn't the only place. Long after leaving campus grounds (and returning from time to time), I'm still figuring out my answers to these questions. As experience accumulates, my perspective evolves. Perhaps college is the starting point that also provides us with some tools and practice in sorting things out, which we (hopefully) carry with us beyond our time there. But not every college student gets this, or gets enough of this.
College is also not the only experience where we can learn our place in the world and how to acquire the skills to flourish in it. I would argue that people develop through many things. One experience that stands out to me is immersion in learning; that focus teaches us something about the world and about ourselves. These authentic challenges may happen on campuses (and sometimes, they don't). And they can happen in other settings, too, at work or traveling, for instance.
The "worth" part of college also raises the point of cost, in dollars and opportunity cost. As tuition costs rise, I think it is an honest challenge to ask how the college payoff has been faring. Of course, there is more to it than just the brand, the skills for your first job, or the prestige of the first employer you get after graduation. But when we take all of that into account, how does it compare to what we invest, and how has this changed over time? It's also important to think about what we could have been doing.
I agree that there are many problems left to solve, and we'll need more capacity from curious and thoughtful people. At the end of your post, you do refreshingly point out that there are some challenges in ensuring institutions deliver on the promise. As someone working in the project of higher education, that resonates with me.
I think college serves many purposes for people - near-term marketable skills are part of that, and so is long-term preparation for developing our calling. College can do both of those things, and for the bill payers, it has to. As a college prof and parent, I can connect with multiple perspectives on this. I'm optimistic that higher ed will evolve and remain an incredibly valuable institution. Perhaps a good starting point is to recognize that this is not guaranteed, and it is up to us to make the option of college compelling.
"the second week that I’ve missed my self-imposed Tuesday morning deadline"
As if we needed any additional reassurance that "The Absent-Minded Professor" is not an AI chatbot product! Mussolini may have made the LLMs run on time, but people are still people.
"College is about creating an environment where you can engage in the deepest questions of the human experience, all while discerning your place in the world and building the skills to live into that calling."
As fine a description as any I've ever heard. If that's the result of crankiness, then more crank please!
"... Anyone can do anything. The only limiting factors are agency and ambition."
Let's see how far that tripartite lack of self-knowledge and introspection and common sense will get you. For that matter, even just a smattering of science might be useful, say, a rough estimate of the melting point of wax. Over to you, Icarus --
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landscape_with_the_Fall_of_Icarus
For some reason, in recent days, I've three times run across the historical factoid that Mussolini manifestly did NOT make "the trains run on time". It seems that was a deluded vision he put forth about himself and his (lack of) political expertise.