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Young people are more attuned to where the wind is blowing, in part because they are part of the force that drives it, but generally because they're still learn

Young people are more attuned to where the wind is blowing, in part because they are part of the force that drives it, but generally because they're still learning how to navigate the world and don't have the privilege of not paying attention. You can get any book online for free. Any research paper. Any textbook. Any information you like that is known to more than a couple of people. You can even get almost all MIT coursework free, they give it to you. You. can get a full education watching videos and reading books online, for free. Illegal or no, if you are in it for the education and not for the credential you don't have to pay anyone for it anymore. As long as the internet exists this is a fact of life. Another fact of life is that only middling people get paid for credentials, the big bucks are earned by people that know what they're talking about and have some expertise. You need a credential to be mediocre, you need to excel at something to be excellent, and anybody that recognizes excellence doesn't need a piece of paper to confirm it. The rent seeking information brokers are all very mad about this of course. From news media to education to publishing, they're all clamoring something be done about it. But nothing can be done about it. They'll sell you the "college experience", the "need to stay informed", they'll guilt you, they'll try to scare you, but at best it buys them a little time. Nothing holds back the tide and their days are numbered as powerful institutions in our society.

HDThoreaun 3y ago
The education isn't the point of college though. Employers are more interested in the credentialism than the education for the vast majority of jobs. Even in software engineering which works hard to avoid credentialism via leetcode and the like it's quite important. It's difficult to even get an interview at many(most?) firms without the degree.
- friend_and_foe 3y ago
  Yeah, and part of what I'm saying is, if credential is more important for a job that capability then it's inefficient additional overhead, unless credential actually proves capability such as with CS or engineering, or medical school for now. With the rise of free education these credentials will go the way of the dinosaur and these institutions that rely on it aren't going to last unless they adapt to the new landscape, which I don't see how they can. Research institutions maybe?
  - HDThoreaun 3y ago
    The point of the credential is to show that you're the type of person who can succeed in a tough environment. Whether doing well in undergrad actually shows that you can succeed in the face of adversity is up for debate, but that's the main point of the diploma for most majors and it's not clear to me how you would replace it. In fields that aren't based on hard knowledge credentialism is even more important as it's less clear what to test for in interviews.

HDThoreaun 3y ago

The education isn't the point of college though. Employers are more interested in the credentialism than the education for the vast majority of jobs. Even in software engineering which works hard to avoid credentialism via leetcode and the like it's quite important. It's difficult to even get an interview at many(most?) firms without the degree.

friend_and_foe 3y ago
Yeah, and part of what I'm saying is, if credential is more important for a job that capability then it's inefficient additional overhead, unless credential actually proves capability such as with CS or engineering, or medical school for now. With the rise of free education these credentials will go the way of the dinosaur and these institutions that rely on it aren't going to last unless they adapt to the new landscape, which I don't see how they can. Research institutions maybe?
- HDThoreaun 3y ago
  The point of the credential is to show that you're the type of person who can succeed in a tough environment. Whether doing well in undergrad actually shows that you can succeed in the face of adversity is up for debate, but that's the main point of the diploma for most majors and it's not clear to me how you would replace it. In fields that aren't based on hard knowledge credentialism is even more important as it's less clear what to test for in interviews.