5 ms·

For many decades society has told the smartest and most ambitious 18-25 year olds to go to college and climb the largely pre-defined ladder of success. What wo

by nugget 8y ago

For many decades society has told the smartest and most ambitious 18-25 year olds to go to college and climb the largely pre-defined ladder of success. What would happen if society told a bunch of them to pursue new innovations and ventures instead? I think we're headed in that direction and I'm excited to see how it unfolds.

Angostura 8y ago
I think you'd probably need to institute a programme to cope with quite a few 29 year olds with zero higher education and a failed startup behind them.
- majewsky 8y ago
  So? Why do we feel the need to hard-code educational paths? If someone coming out of high school would like to pursue a startup idea now and attend university after that, I don't see a problem with that. Saying that we need to "cope with quite a few 29 year olds with zero higher education" is like saying we need to cope with a ton of 18 year olds with no higher education. "Coping with people with no higher education" is precisely what higher education is for.
  - Angostura 8y ago
    > Saying that we need to "cope with quite a few 29 year olds with zero higher education" is like saying we need to cope with a ton of 18 year olds with no higher education. Is it really though? There's a whole system set up to service the former, not really the latter.
  - Lionsion 8y ago
    > Why do we feel the need to hard-code educational paths? Because we have some idea of what the reliable paths to a stable career are. It's not a perfect understanding, but I'm confident that college is a better default choice than "found a startup." > If someone coming out of high school would like to pursue a startup idea now and attend university after that, I don't see a problem with that. Where are these high-school graduates going to get the money for a startup? "Found a startup" is an option chiefly for kids with connections to disposable wealth. Taking on real debt for such foolishness is an even worse idea than loading up on student loans to go to college.
dvfjsdhgfv 8y ago
Well, this is exactly what (a large part of) the society is telling them to do now. Look at popular culture, movies, the glorification of people like Zuckerberg. In certain circles you're almost pushed into creating a start-up. Many people are not careful enough and become victims of their own optimism (that, as they're being convinced by others, is indispensable if they want to be succesful.)
Lionsion 8y ago
> What would happen if society told a bunch of them to pursue new innovations and ventures instead? Probably something similar to if we told them to pursue gambling instead: a few will hit the jackpot, some more will do OK, and the vast majority will fail with little to show for it. And I'm really skeptical that there are very many "new innovations and ventures" that 18 years olds could pursue en masse.

by nugget 8y ago

Angostura 8y ago

I think you'd probably need to institute a programme to cope with quite a few 29 year olds with zero higher education and a failed startup behind them.

majewsky 8y ago
So? Why do we feel the need to hard-code educational paths? If someone coming out of high school would like to pursue a startup idea now and attend university after that, I don't see a problem with that. Saying that we need to "cope with quite a few 29 year olds with zero higher education" is like saying we need to cope with a ton of 18 year olds with no higher education. "Coping with people with no higher education" is precisely what higher education is for.
- Angostura 8y ago
  > Saying that we need to "cope with quite a few 29 year olds with zero higher education" is like saying we need to cope with a ton of 18 year olds with no higher education. Is it really though? There's a whole system set up to service the former, not really the latter.
- Lionsion 8y ago
  > Why do we feel the need to hard-code educational paths? Because we have some idea of what the reliable paths to a stable career are. It's not a perfect understanding, but I'm confident that college is a better default choice than "found a startup." > If someone coming out of high school would like to pursue a startup idea now and attend university after that, I don't see a problem with that. Where are these high-school graduates going to get the money for a startup? "Found a startup" is an option chiefly for kids with connections to disposable wealth. Taking on real debt for such foolishness is an even worse idea than loading up on student loans to go to college.

dvfjsdhgfv 8y ago

Well, this is exactly what (a large part of) the society is telling them to do now. Look at popular culture, movies, the glorification of people like Zuckerberg. In certain circles you're almost pushed into creating a start-up. Many people are not careful enough and become victims of their own optimism (that, as they're being convinced by others, is indispensable if they want to be succesful.)

Lionsion 8y ago

> What would happen if society told a bunch of them to pursue new innovations and ventures instead? Probably something similar to if we told them to pursue gambling instead: a few will hit the jackpot, some more will do OK, and the vast majority will fail with little to show for it. And I'm really skeptical that there are very many "new innovations and ventures" that 18 years olds could pursue en masse.