Good, measured comment on a subtle issue. The difficulty with not going into a formal program for an area you already have exposure to (say, physics, computer

Good, measured comment on a subtle issue. The difficulty with not going into a formal program for an area you already have exposure to (say, physics, computer science, finance) is that for most people, at 17, you don't know what you don't know. The benefit of a curriculum is that the larger community you wish to enter has already figured out: this is the minimum knowledge people need to work with us. Personally, I did not know what I did not know, and I sincerely doubt I would have learned on my own what I did learn, without the guidance of course curricula. Even though I work as a computer scientists, and most of my education is in computer science, I am enormously happy that I also minored in physics in college. I learned just enough to appreciate it (hopefully) better than the layman. On my own, I doubt that would have happened.