My take on this is that if you're not interested in the subject enough to learn it on your own, then you'll probably never gain a deep understanding of it. Tha

My take on this is that if you're not interested in the subject enough to learn it on your own, then you'll probably never gain a deep understanding of it. That's not to say that a formal education is bad -- it will just never be a substitute for real personal motivation. If you have the motivation it takes to start learning a subject on your own, then I don't see any reason not to use every vector available to you to increase your knowledge, including college. So, I don't think that a formal education is the biggest factor in one's ability to pursue interesting projects. However, there are some cases where a college degree could come in handy. At least in the initial stages of pursuing your dream you'll probably need a day job. Unfortunately, many employers dismiss out of hand resumes that do not meet their education requirements. Granted that employers that do so are probably not the best to work for, but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do to pay the rent.