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I'd like to speak in favor of the gulag. Sure, you get access to the library of Alexandria, but every book you need is wedged between copies of "The Big Book o

I'd like to speak in favor of the gulag. Sure, you get access to the library of Alexandria, but every book you need is wedged between copies of "The Big Book of distractions" and the "Encyclopedia of young girls with barely any clothes on". Some of those books play loud music, too, not to mention the books written by hacks and disguised as the book you actually want. You'd have to have the tenacity of a monk to get anything done. It is possible for a person to be self-disciplined and learn by themselves. It is also possible, and even likely, to get lost in an ocean of distractions and/or depressed due to the lack of human interaction. As a physical person living in a physical space I wouldn't discount the positive influence of bringing your body somewhere with a purpose.

ModernMech 3y ago
This is the big thing all the introverted self-learners miss about college. They reduce it to a number of CS classes they’d like to take, see the material on YouTube, then conclude that the college experience can be reduced to viewing some YouTube videos. Lost in all of this is the notion that learning is a coop game, not single player; it’s more fun with friends! That’s the whole point!
- faitswulff 3y ago
  Not only is it more fun, those friends will be able to refer you to jobs later on.
- r3trohack3r 3y ago
  As an introverted self-learner, I can say I do not miss this. From LinkedIn, to IRC, to GitHub, to the hallway track at conferences the people part of our craft is more important than writing software. At the risk of over-asserting your stance, I’d say you’re accusing introverted self-learners of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, when you are mistaking the bathwater for the baby. The social aspect of the craft doesn’t require taking on 5-6 figures of debt (or being lucky enough to have a social structure from the previous generation that can foot that bill upfront). Most venues for education don’t even provide that great of a social network compared to the internet (elite universities withstanding). Not to mention most of this only applies to collegiate level study and not pre-k through 12th grade, which IMO is more broken then collegiate education. As an introverted self-learner, I’d rather meet my social network while practicing my craft and take out a 5 figure loan to live on my own for 4 years and “figure it out” before moving into a big kid job. That doesn’t require our current education system.
  - candiodari 3y ago
    Of course if there's one thing neural networks are good at it's passing the Turing test with whatever goal post moving people keep coming up with. ... which is to say Neural networks are very, very good at being a social network. This hasn't really been explored so far, but it will be. And neural networks have one advantage not even parents will be able to match, never mind friends, colleagues or teachers: they're available, 24/7, 365/365 every year of your life. They never move, never take vacation, never ... And this is before we do more with them. They can be made to be 100% reliable, to never place their own self-interest over yours, always be nice, or if you prefer that, never be nice. Etc.

ModernMech 3y ago

This is the big thing all the introverted self-learners miss about college. They reduce it to a number of CS classes they’d like to take, see the material on YouTube, then conclude that the college experience can be reduced to viewing some YouTube videos. Lost in all of this is the notion that learning is a coop game, not single player; it’s more fun with friends! That’s the whole point!

faitswulff 3y ago
Not only is it more fun, those friends will be able to refer you to jobs later on.
r3trohack3r 3y ago
As an introverted self-learner, I can say I do not miss this. From LinkedIn, to IRC, to GitHub, to the hallway track at conferences the people part of our craft is more important than writing software. At the risk of over-asserting your stance, I’d say you’re accusing introverted self-learners of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, when you are mistaking the bathwater for the baby. The social aspect of the craft doesn’t require taking on 5-6 figures of debt (or being lucky enough to have a social structure from the previous generation that can foot that bill upfront). Most venues for education don’t even provide that great of a social network compared to the internet (elite universities withstanding). Not to mention most of this only applies to collegiate level study and not pre-k through 12th grade, which IMO is more broken then collegiate education. As an introverted self-learner, I’d rather meet my social network while practicing my craft and take out a 5 figure loan to live on my own for 4 years and “figure it out” before moving into a big kid job. That doesn’t require our current education system.
- candiodari 3y ago
  Of course if there's one thing neural networks are good at it's passing the Turing test with whatever goal post moving people keep coming up with. ... which is to say Neural networks are very, very good at being a social network. This hasn't really been explored so far, but it will be. And neural networks have one advantage not even parents will be able to match, never mind friends, colleagues or teachers: they're available, 24/7, 365/365 every year of your life. They never move, never take vacation, never ... And this is before we do more with them. They can be made to be 100% reliable, to never place their own self-interest over yours, always be nice, or if you prefer that, never be nice. Etc.