There are at least two major indignities connected to a conventional life and career. The first is that mainstream education is about winning prizes rather than

There are at least two major indignities connected to a conventional life and career. The first is that mainstream education is about winning prizes rather than learning what is interesting to you, for its own sake. The second is that most people don't particularly enjoy their jobs, they're only working for money. Although there's still a taboo around not working, it can't last. The future, as Arthur C. Clarke said, is not full employment, but full-time playing. (Some of that playing will resemble what we now call 'research'.) Meanwhile, there is work for anyone who has minimal food, shelter and web access. There are many unsolved problems out there and not just in open source software. With dignity galore, because they're important.