4 ms·

Most commencement speakers are double outliers. 1. They're highly successful. Most people aren't. 2. The validation of an academic meritocracy where many top

Most commencement speakers are double outliers. 1. They're highly successful. Most people aren't. 2. The validation of an academic meritocracy where many top members (compared to anything else in society) hate the corporate world means that they're likely to be people of merit. Most highly successful people aren't. They're great at inspiring, but they've had just too much good luck to know how the world really works and what people are actually like. You have to fail in a hard-core sort of way that most people wouldn't survive to get that understanding.

codex 14y ago
This is why I love Steve Jobs' commencement address at Stanford. He was brutally honest. I love how he attributes much of his success to not having a college degree.
- hello_newman 14y ago
  "I love how he attributes much of his success to not having a college degree." I love the part where he talks about Reed College and says something along the lines of "It was almost as expensive as Stanford" and he chuckled. The camera pans to the audience, and you can see the Professors behind him just stare with a straight face. Kind of seemed like he reminded all the students in the audience (and some adults I am sure) that they are now carrying around a mountain of debt.
  - argonaut 14y ago
    To be clear, you are much more likely to graduate with debt from a low to mid-upper tier private college than you are likely to graduate with debt from a wealthy school like Stanford, due to the fact that Stanford can afford to spend a large amount on financial aid. Exceptions always abound, though, and there are always a few who fall through the cracks (and these people tend to show up on HN attacking my assetions :) )
    - hello_newman 14y ago
      Exactly. I have always found that funny. Schools like Harvard, Stanford, MIT are often on on par with, if not somewhat cheaper (factoring in the "school brand-name"), than lower level schools. Stanford also pays for your education if your house-hold income is less than 100k.
- kosei 14y ago
  The other big piece of his speech I enjoyed was echoed here on "borrowed time": 'Would I regret spending my life this way if I were to get hit by a bus next week or next year? And the important corollary: Does this path lead to a life I will be happy with and proud of in 10 or 20 years if I don't get hit by a bus.'
enraged_camel 14y ago
I further posit that, while graduation speeches are often inspirational, they rarely provide anything tangible, especially when boiled down to a list of "do this, don't do that." I wonder how many of the kids at commencement will remember what the speaker told them a year from then? Or five years?

codex 14y ago

This is why I love Steve Jobs' commencement address at Stanford. He was brutally honest. I love how he attributes much of his success to not having a college degree.

hello_newman 14y ago
"I love how he attributes much of his success to not having a college degree." I love the part where he talks about Reed College and says something along the lines of "It was almost as expensive as Stanford" and he chuckled. The camera pans to the audience, and you can see the Professors behind him just stare with a straight face. Kind of seemed like he reminded all the students in the audience (and some adults I am sure) that they are now carrying around a mountain of debt.
- argonaut 14y ago
  To be clear, you are much more likely to graduate with debt from a low to mid-upper tier private college than you are likely to graduate with debt from a wealthy school like Stanford, due to the fact that Stanford can afford to spend a large amount on financial aid. Exceptions always abound, though, and there are always a few who fall through the cracks (and these people tend to show up on HN attacking my assetions :) )
  - hello_newman 14y ago
    Exactly. I have always found that funny. Schools like Harvard, Stanford, MIT are often on on par with, if not somewhat cheaper (factoring in the "school brand-name"), than lower level schools. Stanford also pays for your education if your house-hold income is less than 100k.
kosei 14y ago
The other big piece of his speech I enjoyed was echoed here on "borrowed time": 'Would I regret spending my life this way if I were to get hit by a bus next week or next year? And the important corollary: Does this path lead to a life I will be happy with and proud of in 10 or 20 years if I don't get hit by a bus.'

enraged_camel 14y ago

I further posit that, while graduation speeches are often inspirational, they rarely provide anything tangible, especially when boiled down to a list of "do this, don't do that." I wonder how many of the kids at commencement will remember what the speaker told them a year from then? Or five years?