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"I realize that I’m in the final stretch of college now, but I just can’t bear to waste another second bogged down by things my brain screams are irrelevant whe

"I realize that I’m in the final stretch of college now, but I just can’t bear to waste another second bogged down by things my brain screams are irrelevant when I think (dare I say know) I can replicate everything college can give and hopefully more." I had to double check that this was no satire, as this is remarkably ignorant. Ironically it demonstrates that no, Simon does not "know", what a classical general education is and what it is supposed to provide, specifically when delivered in an environment that considers academic knowledge and research as valuable as ends, not means. Dear Simon, a four year education at a credible institution is neither about resume-packing skills nor partying to build a network... I can't decide if such misplaced self confidence is more demonstrative of generic individual hubris based on no actual world experience, or an indictment of the conversion over the last decades of four-year college education into a de facto half-million-dollar glorified boot camp, but either way, what a shame.

pdonis 5y ago
> Simon does not "know", what a classical general education is and what it is supposed to provide This still raises the question: is the education Simon is getting at McGill actually providing this? I strongly suspect the answer is "no", since almost no college now actually provides what a "classical general education" is supposed to provide. Particularly if one is getting a CS degree. That's a specific credential for a specific career path, and the education that comes with it is focused on that. > an environment that considers academic knowledge and research as valuable as ends, not means. This again raises the question: is any college now actually such an environment? Certainly the governments that pay for the research don't view it as an end, they view it as a means. After decades of that system, that attitude has percolated down to the professors and students.

pdonis 5y ago

> Simon does not "know", what a classical general education is and what it is supposed to provide This still raises the question: is the education Simon is getting at McGill actually providing this? I strongly suspect the answer is "no", since almost no college now actually provides what a "classical general education" is supposed to provide. Particularly if one is getting a CS degree. That's a specific credential for a specific career path, and the education that comes with it is focused on that. > an environment that considers academic knowledge and research as valuable as ends, not means. This again raises the question: is any college now actually such an environment? Certainly the governments that pay for the research don't view it as an end, they view it as a means. After decades of that system, that attitude has percolated down to the professors and students.