MOOCs make explicit something that has always been implicit for me about education. In the absence of the herd, the authority figure, the degree, the deadlines

MOOCs make explicit something that has always been implicit for me about education. In the absence of the herd, the authority figure, the degree, the deadlines with teeth and all the other motivational tricks to get me to learn the content, we're just left with the content itself. Is it great content? Does it inspire my curiosity? Is it memorable? Does it teach me things I can apply? Does it add layers of needless complexity? Is it an exercise in abstract curriculum box-ticking? Is it an ideology in wrapping paper? I think the gap between 100% and the actual MOOC completion rate also represents the gap between our ideal of education was and what it actually is. Without all the academic window dressing, most people just learn the parts they want. The pedagogs doth protest too much, methinks.