Turn on, tune in, drop out | Hacker News Reader

Turn on, tune in, drop out

avdi.org

25 pointsab97 comments

"Today my advice to a young developer who is passionate about building great software is to drop out."

Perhaps a young developer might have other goals in life in addition to building great software? Dropping out of college could certainly give you a huge head start in your career, but the costs are huge as well: missing out on spending four years of your life having fun being around people your age.

The magnitude of how much four years in a college environment can change a person is difficult to underestimate. Some may decide that the experience isn't for them and that they should drop out to start their careers, but it's a decision that must be made very, very carefully.

In the end it's a highly personal decision. If you're considering dropping out because you can already do what some people are getting a degree for, then you're probably ahead of your peers anyways. So I'm not sure what you'd be missing.

But probably the biggest motivation against dropping out is the social acceptance. If any change is to happen then we've got to set in place alternatives for these drop outs so they can do so without negative social stigma. Practically I don't think there's any downside assuming they've already had an eye-opening liberal education.

The college experience is like any other experience. People who enjoyed college can't imagine life without it, and recommend it to others. People who didn't have good experience (or any experience at all) will tell you that it isn't important. For me that's usually a sign that the decision isn't that important and the best thing is to go with your personal preference.

I went to University and had a great time, but the seven years since I graduated have been far better. At University, it's easy to coast academically and socially and politically and creatively because good options are laid out in front of you. Outside University, you have to find everything yourself, and so you are much more likely to find the stuff that you really love.

"Unfortunately, like light from a dead star the messages young developers get are still coming from that old, vanished world."

Brilliant.

I'm going to hijack this thread to mention that if anyone is interested in Timothy Leary, I found the following two NPR programs fascinating:

http://www.onpointradio.org/2010/03/the-birth-of-new-age-ame...

http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R201001191000

They are both interviews with the author of a recent book called The Harvard Psychedelic Club in which Leary naturally features prominently.

from comments: " I see too many students come through here who don't actually know what they want out of life or what to do with it (~30-40% of my students) and they go through the motions without having a clue as to why."

What a waste of resources, if true.

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