> my communication skills have been commented on by a number of different people I've worked with so my perspective on this is somewhat biased. I want to first

> my communication skills have been commented on by a number of different people I've worked with so my perspective on this is somewhat biased. I want to first give you full credit for an honest and thoughtful debate, in the true spirit of HN. You have my respect. Second, I fully believe that you have exceptional talent in communication. That bias, however, is the issue. You do it naturally. You also point out that this is exceptional. What do we do with the 90% of the population who are not exceptionally gifted? Maybe they would benefit from a structured approach which trains them on the skills which come to you naturally? Same for many other things. The best programmers I've known all were really good without the Uni education. And the structured education of a good masters program brought them to a new level. Danger! sports analogy. You can't play in the majors without a great deal of natural talent. But the people with talent ANSD specialized training ("intentional practice", "good coaching", or however else you want to phrase "education") are going to dominate.