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In the US we've been constantly told a university education is a sure route to a high paying job. A half-truth since most high paying jobs require technical knowledge easiest and quickest to acquire at a school of higher learning. The other half of the truth: studying and acquiring knowledge to deepen understanding or only for the joy of learning, is hard to justify in a predatory capitalist climate where scientists, engineers, and other intellectuals are effectively 'hired guns,' or mercenaries, useful to our Masters only as much as we twiddle around making things capable of maximizing profits over the shortest amount of time. She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre
Karen in Bischofswiesen 'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher
Like everything else about the law, however, the full picture here is complicated. Independent surveys find that most law students would enroll even if they knew that only a tiny number of them would wind up with six-figure salaries. Nearly all of them, it seems, are convinced that they're going to win the ring toss at this carnival and bring home the stuffed bear.
Neo-Classical Economics informs us in a rational world where people act only rationally based on rational decision making having rational expectations.
Rationally.
Thus, the situation described in the article is UnPossible and should, therefore, be ignored. She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre
The modern culture is full of stereotypical Darwinism, that there is not much choice neither economically nor socially.
I personally enjoyed law school, the learning part, but never had any expectations of becoming wealthy. Unlike the guy profiled in the article, I didn't kid myself that it gave me any special status, especially among the people whose opinions mattered to me.
When I first started looking into Complexity Theory, as an offshoot of my interest in General Systems Thinking, the "practical" benefit was nil. Nobody was going to pay me one nickel per decade for the knowledge. Now (30 years later) Complexity Theory is vital for a project I'm working on; a project that has a distinct change of making me a rather nice sum.
Other knowledge I've acquired over the years hasn't made me a dime and most likely will never will.
Acquiring knowledge for "it's own sake" gives the learner the same skill set as those who only acquire the knowledge to get a degree as a credential to get a job. But, in my experience, those who take joy in learning will go on and continue to learn. Those who only wanted to get a job will stagnate. The economic benefit, which I do not deny, of continual learning is an ever-expanding skill set that, among other things, allows a person to recognize opportunities and take advantage of them as they arise. She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre
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