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"I'm confident that you could pick nearly any subject that I know little about and, with a proper amount of time, I could become somewhat proficient at it." Wo

"I'm confident that you could pick nearly any subject that I know little about and, with a proper amount of time, I could become somewhat proficient at it." Wouldn't it be fair to say that is basic human nature, not a result of your schooling? I remember already successfully jumping in and picking up new subjects on my own before I even entered high school, and I imagine much of the HN crowd were too. Though, I admit I may come with some bias. I grew up on a farm where I was out there at a young age trying to solve real problems alongside my father and grandfather. They valued my insight into the problems as much as their own. If learning how to learn is a skill that is taught, that is where I learned it.

talmand 15y ago
Yes, it would be fair. Especially since I did mention the level of ability would be influenced by me as a person. I should have expanded on that. But, as a human, you do have the ability to learn but a proper education does go a long way in helping you discover how to learn a subject. Instead of goofing around on a subject for ten years when you finally figure it out, a proper education lets you learn the subject much quicker and more efficiently. After all, as a basic example, it would be rather difficult to learn physics if you can't read the papers written by the smart people who came before you.