6 ms·

As great as it is that she can learn so much online at such a young age, I try to picture what my life would be like if my entire college experience was through

As great as it is that she can learn so much online at such a young age, I try to picture what my life would be like if my entire college experience was through a computer screen. I did a lot of growing up and reflection at UT-Austin, and met my best friends at the dorm, my wife at a coop we both lived in, and my business partner when we were both student programmers at the university. I didn't finish until I was 24 and I constantly think about all of those memories. In one of my philosophy classes (Human Nature, 10 years ago), the professor brought up the "Experience Box" thought experiment pretty regularly. Essentially, if you could replace all of your experiences with a digital equivalent, would you? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experience_machine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experience_machine

vaksel 15y ago
yeah, all this rush, and in 99% of cases it's just to get a job where you are a small cog in a big company
pnathan 15y ago
Yes, but her formal education is acceptably 'over'. She can go out and do things without worrying about degrees. (or she can get a grad degree, whatever). Many choices are open to her that you simply didn't have. I wish I would have tried to do it.
- chopsueyar 15y ago
  It depends on the degree and the quality of institution the degree came from.
  - pnathan 15y ago
    WSU's a fairly decent 4-year school. I live about 15 minutes from it.
    - chopsueyar 15y ago
      "Fairly decent" for a 'genius'?
      - w1ntermute 15y ago
        Geniuses can thrive just as much at a "fairly decent" school as they would at Harvard.
        chopsueyar 15y ago
        I think she would thrive more at Harvard.
        bugsy 15y ago
        It's like with seeds. Plant them 10 feet under the ground as Chairman Mao demanded, and they must struggle to germinate and grow, becoming even stronger and healthier because of the challenge. This is the strength that massive debt of Ivy League out of state tuition would bring our young comrade.
        lurker19 15y ago
        Ivy League students get massive financial aid if they cannot pay out of pocket. No massive debt. Out of state tuition in The UW system is much more expensive.
        chopsueyar 15y ago
        Harvard costs less. Ivy League tuition is not much different in price from state universities online offerings.
- rick888 15y ago
  "She can go out and do things without worrying about degrees." Her work life is set, but it still does nothing for personal growth. You usually need both to be successful. I wish I would have learned this earlier in my life. I went to a commuter school and did not get the full college experience.
  - asdkl234890 15y ago
    Is college the best setting for personal growth? What would be some alternatives? Travel? The peace core? The military? A start-up? I wonder if Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, etc, feel they missed out on some personal growth because they dropped out of college?
    - rick888 15y ago
      It's possible. Owning a company and working at company and living in a dorm/going to college all give you different experiences.
- larrykubin 15y ago
  My point was that it was not something to "worry" about or get "over with". Similarly, I could eat really quickly and be free to do other things without worrying about eating, or I could just eat slowly. The options afterwards are the same.
- mburns 15y ago
  Getting a degree at 16 does not preclude her from growing emotionally and intellectually into her 20s, the institution, or goal post, will just have a different name on it that what you and I had in mind (undergrad degree).
asdkl234890 15y ago
The non-academic experience at college is the secret to why we pay so much for it. It also tends to piss of people who are extremely interested in learning and nothing else. They wonder what's the point of all this B.S. that's not knowledge. Well, we're all humans, and we humans have certain needs, like study, love, friends, adventure, etc, and the need to share similar life experiences with many other humans, like with everyone who also went to college. This is why I think talk of a higher education bubble is too general. I am certain many colleges are overpriced but, by no means will colleges ever go away, or even be extremely different. We are not talking tulips here. I hope tuition prices come way down, but the college experience is here to stay. Heck, if you're desperate for great employees who could have their pick of jobs, you tend to turn your company into "college". Just think of Google or for that matter Microsoft, or most big tech companies and their "campuses."
jodoherty 15y ago
I was enlisted in the military for 4 years. I made a lot of good friends, traveled overseas, read a lot of Stoic philosophy, and did a lot of growing up, and I wouldn't give one bit of that experience up for the world. You'll probably never experience military life, and probably neither will she. Does that make your life any less of an experience? No. Finishing a degree online may not have given her the college experience you had, but that doesn't make the experiences that she did have any less meaningful or fulfilling, especially for a young teenage girl.

vaksel 15y ago

yeah, all this rush, and in 99% of cases it's just to get a job where you are a small cog in a big company

pnathan 15y ago

Yes, but her formal education is acceptably 'over'. She can go out and do things without worrying about degrees. (or she can get a grad degree, whatever). Many choices are open to her that you simply didn't have. I wish I would have tried to do it.

chopsueyar 15y ago
It depends on the degree and the quality of institution the degree came from.
- pnathan 15y ago
  WSU's a fairly decent 4-year school. I live about 15 minutes from it.
  - chopsueyar 15y ago
    "Fairly decent" for a 'genius'?
    - w1ntermute 15y ago
      Geniuses can thrive just as much at a "fairly decent" school as they would at Harvard.
      - chopsueyar 15y ago
        I think she would thrive more at Harvard.
        bugsy 15y ago
        It's like with seeds. Plant them 10 feet under the ground as Chairman Mao demanded, and they must struggle to germinate and grow, becoming even stronger and healthier because of the challenge. This is the strength that massive debt of Ivy League out of state tuition would bring our young comrade.
        lurker19 15y ago
        Ivy League students get massive financial aid if they cannot pay out of pocket. No massive debt. Out of state tuition in The UW system is much more expensive.
        chopsueyar 15y ago
        Harvard costs less. Ivy League tuition is not much different in price from state universities online offerings.
rick888 15y ago
"She can go out and do things without worrying about degrees." Her work life is set, but it still does nothing for personal growth. You usually need both to be successful. I wish I would have learned this earlier in my life. I went to a commuter school and did not get the full college experience.
- asdkl234890 15y ago
  Is college the best setting for personal growth? What would be some alternatives? Travel? The peace core? The military? A start-up? I wonder if Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, etc, feel they missed out on some personal growth because they dropped out of college?
  - rick888 15y ago
    It's possible. Owning a company and working at company and living in a dorm/going to college all give you different experiences.
larrykubin 15y ago
My point was that it was not something to "worry" about or get "over with". Similarly, I could eat really quickly and be free to do other things without worrying about eating, or I could just eat slowly. The options afterwards are the same.
mburns 15y ago
Getting a degree at 16 does not preclude her from growing emotionally and intellectually into her 20s, the institution, or goal post, will just have a different name on it that what you and I had in mind (undergrad degree).

asdkl234890 15y ago

The non-academic experience at college is the secret to why we pay so much for it. It also tends to piss of people who are extremely interested in learning and nothing else. They wonder what's the point of all this B.S. that's not knowledge. Well, we're all humans, and we humans have certain needs, like study, love, friends, adventure, etc, and the need to share similar life experiences with many other humans, like with everyone who also went to college. This is why I think talk of a higher education bubble is too general. I am certain many colleges are overpriced but, by no means will colleges ever go away, or even be extremely different. We are not talking tulips here. I hope tuition prices come way down, but the college experience is here to stay. Heck, if you're desperate for great employees who could have their pick of jobs, you tend to turn your company into "college". Just think of Google or for that matter Microsoft, or most big tech companies and their "campuses."

jodoherty 15y ago

I was enlisted in the military for 4 years. I made a lot of good friends, traveled overseas, read a lot of Stoic philosophy, and did a lot of growing up, and I wouldn't give one bit of that experience up for the world. You'll probably never experience military life, and probably neither will she. Does that make your life any less of an experience? No. Finishing a degree online may not have given her the college experience you had, but that doesn't make the experiences that she did have any less meaningful or fulfilling, especially for a young teenage girl.