> University education is for theory and research. There are two immediate counter-arguments to this. First, you don't go to the university to learn how to do

> University education is for theory and research. There are two immediate counter-arguments to this. First, you don't go to the university to learn how to do something which you're going to do at a job, but you go there to get education, and that's quite useful for both professors and practitioners alike. Getting education is a wider idea; it's a mind training to deal with variety of problems, including lack of education, in any area. Second, sometimes you're reminded that there is nothing more practical than a good theory. Ken Thompson's regex matching engine is one of illustrations of the concept; but in general, many things you learn at a workplace are specific and temporary (adjusted to current conditions) while many things you learn in university are permanent and general, even though they can look differently in different applications.