My advice would be: focus on conceptually difficult but economically useful areas; and try not to spend too much time on the easier stuff if possible (even if t

My advice would be: focus on conceptually difficult but economically useful areas; and try not to spend too much time on the easier stuff if possible (even if the syllabus/grading system values those things). However, if the entire curriculum seems too insipid given new developments, then the opportunity cost would suggest cutting further losses. Hope that helps. Fun fact: Even Issac Newton was forced through an outdated syllabus; he somehow swam through it, while simultaneously building up the new intellectual framework, which became the new physics. The intellectual climate keeps changing almost every 100 years in some significant way, it always has.