The same comments, the same threads, the same post-hoc justification (from all sides), the same faulty logical extrapolation, the refutation of aforementioned, etc., etc., etc.
"Anti"-college people: Hi! You do not need an article on a blog - even a great blog from an expert - to justify your life decisions.
"Pro"-college people: Hi! You do not need to act uncomfortable because you did go to college. What an idea. Where's the defensiveness coming from?
"Try inventing anti-cancer shark-mounted LASERS without college degrees!" / "You sure wouldn't hire a BRAIN SURGEON without a degree!" people: One of these things is not like the other. The kids who bypass university thinking they will strike it rich with a social network for iguanas would not go on to invent anti-gravity boots -- or torts -- if only they'd tough it out thru 4 years in a state school.
Who'd I miss?
Remember, folks, historically speaking, many of the world's greatest minds had no university education in their fields. And a lot of them did, too.
Who the fuck cares?
EDIT: PS: I dropped out of high school at 14. Take that!
As a reasoning for the defensiveness: Each side is basically marginalizing the other. The anticollege people suggest that college is worthless and (occasionally) the people who go there are similar.
The procollege people suggest that people without a degree are lesser or cannot achieve as much because of it.
This leads to both sides feeling attacked, and for them to attack back.
What you said is basically true, though. College is a choice which is good for some people, bad for others. Some people excel with the pedagogy, and go far further than they could have on their own. Some subjects require this (or, to turn it around, in some subjects pedagogy is so effective that people without it are at a significant disadvantage). Some, however, do not.
Colleges are important and useful. Some people don't need/want that level of analysis. Some people don't need the help. It's a personal decision.
The same comments, the same threads, the same post-hoc justification (from all sides), the same faulty logical extrapolation, the refutation of aforementioned, etc., etc., etc.
"Anti"-college people: Hi! You do not need an article on a blog - even a great blog from an expert - to justify your life decisions.
"Pro"-college people: Hi! You do not need to act uncomfortable because you did go to college. What an idea. Where's the defensiveness coming from?
"Try inventing anti-cancer shark-mounted LASERS without college degrees!" / "You sure wouldn't hire a BRAIN SURGEON without a degree!" people: One of these things is not like the other. The kids who bypass university thinking they will strike it rich with a social network for iguanas would not go on to invent anti-gravity boots -- or torts -- if only they'd tough it out thru 4 years in a state school.
Who'd I miss?
Remember, folks, historically speaking, many of the world's greatest minds had no university education in their fields. And a lot of them did, too.
Who the fuck cares?
EDIT: PS: I dropped out of high school at 14. Take that!