4 ms·

A lack of people pursuing the option doesn't mean the option is any less viable. Nobody's stopping you from downloading a book on abstract algebra, or statistic

A lack of people pursuing the option doesn't mean the option is any less viable. Nobody's stopping you from downloading a book on abstract algebra, or statistics, or lattices, or whatever it is that tickles your fancy.

SketchySeaBeast 4y ago
> A lack of people pursuing the option doesn't mean the option is any less viable. Ok, so as long as we're clear you're asserting this claim without any evidence, just your belief that reading a book somehow grants the same education as, say, a higher level formal education.
- antibasilisk 4y ago
  There is very little difference between paying to read a book, listen to a lecture and occasionally take a test, and just reading a book & listening to a lecture. You don't even need it to get to know academics. I've been told on numerous occasions by people that I was right about university (I've been telling people not to bother for like 7 years now), and that it wasted their time and drained their bank account for nothing.
  - SketchySeaBeast 4y ago
    > There is very little difference between paying to read a book, listen to a lecture and occasionally take a test, and just reading a book & listening to a lecture. Unless you're trying to convince someone else you did those things. > I've been told on numerous occasions by people that I was right about university (I've been telling people not to bother for like 7 years now), and that it wasted their time and drained their bank account for nothing. People can say lots of things, until there's proof there's no reason to believe it. Again, if you have examples please let me know.
    - antibasilisk 4y ago
      >Unless you're trying to convince someone else you did those things. This is very easy to do if you've actually done those things.
      - SketchySeaBeast 4y ago
        How do you prove you have extensive and deep knowledge on dozens or even hundreds of topics? And it's so easy why is no one doing it? It should be way easier to read a few books than to get a math PhD, right?
        antibasilisk 4y ago
        By having an actual portfolio of work that demonstrates your ability. You don't need a PhD if you've actually done something valuable. The reason people don't do it because their parents told them to go to uni, because their parents told them to go to uni because etc, it's that simple. If Ramanujan did it you can too.
        SketchySeaBeast 4y ago
        > By having an actual portfolio of work that demonstrates your ability. No, no, you've skipped the vital steps - how do they get the work? Just reading a book or three doesn't give you the ability to get that work. Or are you of the belief that if you watch an online lecture and read a couple of books you can start making valuable contributions to mathematics? Again, examples would be good. > If Ramanujan did it you can too. I'm just going to say if you're most contemporary example you can come up with is from 150 years ago you may have a problem with your argument. The academic landscape has slighty changed in that time. But I'm feeling generous, I will accept that one person every 100 years can probably do it. That doesn't make it "very easy to do", in fact it's an argument for the opposite. It would seem it's easier to become president given that there have been a lot more example of those in the last 100 years.
        4y ago

SketchySeaBeast 4y ago

> A lack of people pursuing the option doesn't mean the option is any less viable. Ok, so as long as we're clear you're asserting this claim without any evidence, just your belief that reading a book somehow grants the same education as, say, a higher level formal education.

antibasilisk 4y ago
There is very little difference between paying to read a book, listen to a lecture and occasionally take a test, and just reading a book & listening to a lecture. You don't even need it to get to know academics. I've been told on numerous occasions by people that I was right about university (I've been telling people not to bother for like 7 years now), and that it wasted their time and drained their bank account for nothing.
- SketchySeaBeast 4y ago
  > There is very little difference between paying to read a book, listen to a lecture and occasionally take a test, and just reading a book & listening to a lecture. Unless you're trying to convince someone else you did those things. > I've been told on numerous occasions by people that I was right about university (I've been telling people not to bother for like 7 years now), and that it wasted their time and drained their bank account for nothing. People can say lots of things, until there's proof there's no reason to believe it. Again, if you have examples please let me know.
  - antibasilisk 4y ago
    >Unless you're trying to convince someone else you did those things. This is very easy to do if you've actually done those things.
    - SketchySeaBeast 4y ago
      How do you prove you have extensive and deep knowledge on dozens or even hundreds of topics? And it's so easy why is no one doing it? It should be way easier to read a few books than to get a math PhD, right?
      - antibasilisk 4y ago
        By having an actual portfolio of work that demonstrates your ability. You don't need a PhD if you've actually done something valuable. The reason people don't do it because their parents told them to go to uni, because their parents told them to go to uni because etc, it's that simple. If Ramanujan did it you can too.
        SketchySeaBeast 4y ago
        > By having an actual portfolio of work that demonstrates your ability. No, no, you've skipped the vital steps - how do they get the work? Just reading a book or three doesn't give you the ability to get that work. Or are you of the belief that if you watch an online lecture and read a couple of books you can start making valuable contributions to mathematics? Again, examples would be good. > If Ramanujan did it you can too. I'm just going to say if you're most contemporary example you can come up with is from 150 years ago you may have a problem with your argument. The academic landscape has slighty changed in that time. But I'm feeling generous, I will accept that one person every 100 years can probably do it. That doesn't make it "very easy to do", in fact it's an argument for the opposite. It would seem it's easier to become president given that there have been a lot more example of those in the last 100 years.
        4y ago