But doesn't this approach devalue the love of knowledge? The joy of discovery? Life is about so much more than work. I studied abroad in college, learned a couple foreign languages, and I barely use them at all to make any money in my l life now, but I absolutely treasure those experiences looking back now as a 45 year old. They greatly …
But doesn't this approach devalue the love of knowledge? The joy of discovery? Life is about so much more than work. I studied abroad in college, learned a couple foreign languages, and I barely use them at all to make any money in my l life now, but I absolutely treasure those experiences looking back now as a 45 year old. They greatly have enriched my inner life and give me something more to pass on to my son.
I don’t think it does, since while the Venn diagram
of “love of knowledge and joy of discovery” does sometimes overlap with “getting a degree” I don’t think it’s a very *large* overlap.
I’m very much for the love of learning for its own sake and a life of the mind outside of work. I just don’t think higher education is the best means to that end, especially not if it leaves one with tens of thousands of dollars in debt, and *especially* especially if it leaves one with tens of thousands of dollars in debt and no good career prospects.
For instance, I decided I wanted to learn French circa 1998. I never pursued formal education beyond high school classes, but I’m conversational in French, can follow French podcasts, and can read French newspapers and modern novels (Victor Hugo and Proust are still beyond me). Because…..I just kept learning French. Because I value and love the French language.
But doesn't this approach devalue the love of knowledge? The joy of discovery? Life is about so much more than work. I studied abroad in college, learned a couple foreign languages, and I barely use them at all to make any money in my l life now, but I absolutely treasure those experiences looking back now as a 45 year old. They greatly have enriched my inner life and give me something more to pass on to my son.
I don’t think it does, since while the Venn diagram
of “love of knowledge and joy of discovery” does sometimes overlap with “getting a degree” I don’t think it’s a very *large* overlap.
I’m very much for the love of learning for its own sake and a life of the mind outside of work. I just don’t think higher education is the best means to that end, especially not if it leaves one with tens of thousands of dollars in debt, and *especially* especially if it leaves one with tens of thousands of dollars in debt and no good career prospects.
For instance, I decided I wanted to learn French circa 1998. I never pursued formal education beyond high school classes, but I’m conversational in French, can follow French podcasts, and can read French newspapers and modern novels (Victor Hugo and Proust are still beyond me). Because…..I just kept learning French. Because I value and love the French language.
That really doesn’t require 100k of debt.