7 ms·

It's interesting how angry some people get if you suggest that not everyone needs to follow the traditional educational path.

by paul 16y ago

fleitz 16y ago
It's not very surprising at all. People have invested a lot of time and money in it, and each student is worth about $100,000 to a university. So if you speak out against it of course there is going to be a backlash, a) from the people who invested in it and b) from those who profit from it. They're just talking their book.
- Eliezer 16y ago
  It's not the time and money they invested, which is a sunk cost, but the prestige they keep on deriving. Paying people to stop out of college is an attack on the prestige you think you're getting from your college degree.
  - joshkaufman 16y ago
    There's also an endowment effect involved - the more time/energy/money it costs to obtain a credential, the more people resent losing the perceived benefits.
cool-RR 16y ago
I agree. However some of the reason for the anger may be that anger sells more Slate magazines than intelligent discussion would.
hristov 16y ago
Maybe they are angry because they see this as somebody bribing young kids to make what might be the biggest mistake in their lives.
- cubicle67 16y ago
  not sure why you're being downvoted as that seems like a valid assumption (that some people might be angry because they see this as somebody bribing young kids to make what [the angry people think] might be the biggest mistake in [the kids] lives)
- kevinpet 16y ago
  If delaying college for a few years is the biggest mistake you make in your life, you have been far too cautious. This position is discussed and Thiel addresses why it is not a reasonable position in the article. If you want to advance this position again, protocol says you need to provide a new argument or new evidence that was not considered in the previous round. Didn't down vote you, but think I understand why someone might have.
  - cubicle67 16y ago
    it's not clear if hristov is actually arguing that it would be a mistake or just putting forward as a possible motivation for people getting upset
  - hristov 16y ago
    I read the article carefully and I do not see Thiel discussing that at all. Note that Thiel does not target kids that are about to go to college but kids that are already going to college. So he intentionally wants to interrupt an ongoing college education, not merely delay it. People say you can always go back but that is often not the case. If you are in a very competitive school or program it is very doubtful they will take you back if you took a couple of years off. Actually it would be probably impossible. And believe you me he will choose kids from competitive programs in order to get maximum news exposure. I can imagine how this can be a huge mistake at least for some kids. It is just a very perverse situation ... he says here is all this money but you have to give up something to get it. Usually when one does charity one tries to help the people one does charity to, and does not pose to them difficult and maybe even dangerous bargains. If he thinks these kids are so valuable, why would he not give them the stipend before they go to college or after they finish. It is just a couple of years difference either way?
cubicle67 16y ago
We moved one of our girls recently, from a fairly traditional private school, to a Montessori school (which is working out brilliantly, btw). The reaction from other parents at the original school was extremely negative; you'd think we'd taken their kid and condemned them to a life of, well, something horrible. Amazing.
gonk 16y ago
Scientology.

It's interesting how angry some people get if you suggest that not everyone needs to follow the traditional educational path.

by paul 16y ago

It's interesting how angry some people get if you suggest that not everyone needs to follow the traditional educational path.

fleitz 16y ago

It's not very surprising at all. People have invested a lot of time and money in it, and each student is worth about $100,000 to a university. So if you speak out against it of course there is going to be a backlash, a) from the people who invested in it and b) from those who profit from it. They're just talking their book.

Eliezer 16y ago
It's not the time and money they invested, which is a sunk cost, but the prestige they keep on deriving. Paying people to stop out of college is an attack on the prestige you think you're getting from your college degree.
- joshkaufman 16y ago
  There's also an endowment effect involved - the more time/energy/money it costs to obtain a credential, the more people resent losing the perceived benefits.

cool-RR 16y ago

I agree. However some of the reason for the anger may be that anger sells more Slate magazines than intelligent discussion would.

hristov 16y ago

Maybe they are angry because they see this as somebody bribing young kids to make what might be the biggest mistake in their lives.

cubicle67 16y ago
not sure why you're being downvoted as that seems like a valid assumption (that some people might be angry because they see this as somebody bribing young kids to make what [the angry people think] might be the biggest mistake in [the kids] lives)
kevinpet 16y ago
If delaying college for a few years is the biggest mistake you make in your life, you have been far too cautious. This position is discussed and Thiel addresses why it is not a reasonable position in the article. If you want to advance this position again, protocol says you need to provide a new argument or new evidence that was not considered in the previous round. Didn't down vote you, but think I understand why someone might have.
- cubicle67 16y ago
  it's not clear if hristov is actually arguing that it would be a mistake or just putting forward as a possible motivation for people getting upset
- hristov 16y ago
  I read the article carefully and I do not see Thiel discussing that at all. Note that Thiel does not target kids that are about to go to college but kids that are already going to college. So he intentionally wants to interrupt an ongoing college education, not merely delay it. People say you can always go back but that is often not the case. If you are in a very competitive school or program it is very doubtful they will take you back if you took a couple of years off. Actually it would be probably impossible. And believe you me he will choose kids from competitive programs in order to get maximum news exposure. I can imagine how this can be a huge mistake at least for some kids. It is just a very perverse situation ... he says here is all this money but you have to give up something to get it. Usually when one does charity one tries to help the people one does charity to, and does not pose to them difficult and maybe even dangerous bargains. If he thinks these kids are so valuable, why would he not give them the stipend before they go to college or after they finish. It is just a couple of years difference either way?

cubicle67 16y ago

We moved one of our girls recently, from a fairly traditional private school, to a Montessori school (which is working out brilliantly, btw). The reaction from other parents at the original school was extremely negative; you'd think we'd taken their kid and condemned them to a life of, well, something horrible. Amazing.

gonk 16y ago

Scientology.