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I dropped out of college. Then I wrote more than 20 books about computer science (and various other topics), maintained a programming language for about 10 year

I dropped out of college. Then I wrote more than 20 books about computer science (and various other topics), maintained a programming language for about 10 years, and finished many other long-term projects against lots of resistance. Sometimes it is a good idea to give up, sometimes it is not. It is not a function of the individual, but a function of the circumstances.

deepaksurti 7y ago
Definitely can vouch anecdotally, that dropping out of college, is a weak signal, after all the solid content you have published[0]. I read your Practical Compiler Construction combined with Elements of computing systems [2] and that was a great combo! [0] https://www.t3x.org/index.html https://www.t3x.org/index.html [1] https://www.t3x.org/reload/index.html https://www.t3x.org/reload/index.html [2] https://www.nand2tetris.org https://www.nand2tetris.org
- Medicalidiot 7y ago
  My experience in undergrad was that more often than not people who dropped out did it because they didn't want to put the work into school. An acquaintance of mine told me he was dropping out because school was "too much work". I'm not saying that dropping out of college is a bad thing, but the reason why one drops out of college is telling.
TallGuyShort 7y ago
Dropping out of college can actually be a very smart decision. There's an opportunity cost to being in school, and if you can do what you want to do without it, better to not waste all that time and money and get maybe get the other benefits elsewhere. I've hired dropouts who had a good reason, and were otherwise qualified. I'd do it again. But there are plenty of people who drop out because they can't make it, because we idolize founders who dropped out, etc. And it's not automatically an admirable thing if you don't know why you're dropping out.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
ineedasername 7y ago
Yes, success on your level, without college, is possible. However, your experience is very much an outlier. Someone that is internally motivated, has goals & direction (even if they change) will often find a way to a professional career. That is not the situation for a vast majority of students though. I think if someone gets to college and says, "I know what I want to do, and it doesn't require this", then there's no issue with getting out of there. Heck, you could always go back. Most students I see leaving college though have no direction and immediately enter low paying jobs with few better prospects on the horizon. On the other hand, colleges do need to really rethink their education model. I fully believe in the value of a core or liberal arts education, it provided useful analytical & communication skills, but there needs to be a significant pivot towards more concrete marketable skills. At the community college level, there is an excellent degree type for this: The Associates of Applied Science, or AAS. It has some, but reduced humanities requirements and focuses much more on career skills of the chosen area, all of which have specific, immediately accessible job opportunities. The really unfortunate part of this degree, however, is that is very hard to build upon later at a 4 year school to finish a bachelors if you so choose: the credits either don't transfer or transfer as electives, not requirements towards a degree. Again, a major pivot is needed for traditional 4 year schools.
- newvoiceoldphne 7y ago
  Marketable skills are easy to learn, it's the thinking behind the learning that is tough to get. HOW to think is much more important. And I'm not at all sure that that can be taught. 'Common sense ain't so common' is a trite aphorism, but very true.
  - ineedasername 7y ago
    I think "how to think" can be taught at least a little bit. In mathematics you learn a very formalized method of finding (usually) the single correct answer. In the humanities, with textual analysis, you learn a different type. But it does take practice, and adequate instructors. And of course the average person will never come to it quite as well as someone with the natural aptitude. I occasionally teach a course in informal logic, which is a sort of cross section between rhetoric and logic as applied to both argument construction, deconstruction, & analysis. I definitely see students progress along the way, starting with clumsy stumbling and proceeding to address new novel problems with decent aptitude.

deepaksurti 7y ago

Definitely can vouch anecdotally, that dropping out of college, is a weak signal, after all the solid content you have published[0]. I read your Practical Compiler Construction combined with Elements of computing systems [2] and that was a great combo! [0] https://www.t3x.org/index.html https://www.t3x.org/index.html [1] https://www.t3x.org/reload/index.html https://www.t3x.org/reload/index.html [2] https://www.nand2tetris.org https://www.nand2tetris.org

Medicalidiot 7y ago
My experience in undergrad was that more often than not people who dropped out did it because they didn't want to put the work into school. An acquaintance of mine told me he was dropping out because school was "too much work". I'm not saying that dropping out of college is a bad thing, but the reason why one drops out of college is telling.

TallGuyShort 7y ago

Dropping out of college can actually be a very smart decision. There's an opportunity cost to being in school, and if you can do what you want to do without it, better to not waste all that time and money and get maybe get the other benefits elsewhere. I've hired dropouts who had a good reason, and were otherwise qualified. I'd do it again. But there are plenty of people who drop out because they can't make it, because we idolize founders who dropped out, etc. And it's not automatically an admirable thing if you don't know why you're dropping out.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

ineedasername 7y ago

Yes, success on your level, without college, is possible. However, your experience is very much an outlier. Someone that is internally motivated, has goals & direction (even if they change) will often find a way to a professional career. That is not the situation for a vast majority of students though. I think if someone gets to college and says, "I know what I want to do, and it doesn't require this", then there's no issue with getting out of there. Heck, you could always go back. Most students I see leaving college though have no direction and immediately enter low paying jobs with few better prospects on the horizon. On the other hand, colleges do need to really rethink their education model. I fully believe in the value of a core or liberal arts education, it provided useful analytical & communication skills, but there needs to be a significant pivot towards more concrete marketable skills. At the community college level, there is an excellent degree type for this: The Associates of Applied Science, or AAS. It has some, but reduced humanities requirements and focuses much more on career skills of the chosen area, all of which have specific, immediately accessible job opportunities. The really unfortunate part of this degree, however, is that is very hard to build upon later at a 4 year school to finish a bachelors if you so choose: the credits either don't transfer or transfer as electives, not requirements towards a degree. Again, a major pivot is needed for traditional 4 year schools.

newvoiceoldphne 7y ago
Marketable skills are easy to learn, it's the thinking behind the learning that is tough to get. HOW to think is much more important. And I'm not at all sure that that can be taught. 'Common sense ain't so common' is a trite aphorism, but very true.
- ineedasername 7y ago
  I think "how to think" can be taught at least a little bit. In mathematics you learn a very formalized method of finding (usually) the single correct answer. In the humanities, with textual analysis, you learn a different type. But it does take practice, and adequate instructors. And of course the average person will never come to it quite as well as someone with the natural aptitude. I occasionally teach a course in informal logic, which is a sort of cross section between rhetoric and logic as applied to both argument construction, deconstruction, & analysis. I definitely see students progress along the way, starting with clumsy stumbling and proceeding to address new novel problems with decent aptitude.