All gatekeepers of status, like university degrees have a problem with what to do with the losers. We could use IQ tests as a gatekeeper, which would be more e

All gatekeepers of status, like university degrees have a problem with what to do with the losers. We could use IQ tests as a gatekeeper, which would be more efficient for everyone because it is nearly free and takes hours, but if we did this, the majority who failed would scream about how it's unfair and political pressure wouldn't allow it. This is why there are laws against using IQ tests for hiring. So we use university degrees which take 4 years and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars instead, because then we can say it's about putting in the work. And for some reason people are more accepting of someone else being more successful because they are perceived to have worked harder rather than just because they were born smarter. But now we have another problem, the customers of the university who have spent all this money are being denied the status that they have purchased for such a high price. So they are pissed now and claim the system is unfair. And the universities respond by dumbing down their degrees to the point where everyone who gets in will pass. And now we have yet another problem. A gatekeeper of status can't be widely available, or it doesn't confer status. So we will have to find a new gatekeeper, and then the cycle can repeat.