> lectures are almost useless. Exercises and practicing is what gives insights And community -- both the other students, and the professors. To motivate each o

> lectures are almost useless. Exercises and practicing is what gives insights And community -- both the other students, and the professors. To motivate each other, and to calibrate expectations, and to fill holes in each others' knowledge. That seems like the big (academic) reason to be physically on campus, and ideally at a selective place. My impression is that the same would be true of (say) history, but I don't really know.