I think the idea is to use the flexibility of youth to build social connections rather than academic ones. The code you did in high school, or even college, won

I think the idea is to use the flexibility of youth to build social connections rather than academic ones. The code you did in high school, or even college, won't (typically) get you a job nor a fulfilling life; the friends you make (typically) will. This profession, more than any other I think, can allow you to disappear from society chasing knowledge for its own sake and it's pretty easy to wind up 30 with a fat stack of cash and glowing career but no friends, no family and no way to efficiently bootstrap any change.