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Comment by bsurmanski | Hacker News Reader

For me, the biggest benefit of the university structure was 1) teaching me things I didn't even know existed and 2) teaching me things I didn't think we're important (but turned out to be).

(1) might be solvable with an online curriculum, but (2) requires an evaluation or end-game credential to force me to do it.

Other than that, as you mentioned an even bigger benefit was social, the shared experiences with others, and the cross pollination of ideas from these other people

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It's not necessary to attend university to learn things you didn't know existed, or to learn things that seem less important in the moment. Whenever I've taught myself something out of interest, when I've seriously set aside time to explore a topic, it's not hard at all to expose oneself to many new concepts. This is assuming the field has a wealth of literature to read, and CS is one of those fields. Whether you have access to the internet or hardcover books, it'd be difficult not to stumble upon writing that is at least as compelling as the average college professor's lectures.

Disclaimer: I am self-taught in CS, but also have an Engineering degree. I entirely agree that the social aspect of university is the largest benefit.

maybe so, but there is a certain level of self-discipline and privilege needed to be able to study just from books. Lots of people on CS and other courses want friendly exposure to new ideas, not a recommendation of a list of text books

Do you view the ability to study and learn from books as a privilege?

It certainly is in comparison to someone raised illiterate, or in any number of unfortunate situations. But in comparison to the privilege of a university education? I'm a bit surprised by the suggestion. If self-taught knowledge is really the marker of privilege in 2020, I'd expect it to be far more attractive than going to university by now. On the contrary, it is not, because learning from books has a much lower bar. You can't use it to select for the well-connected.

Standard teacher education says that each student has a learning style that is most effective for them. https://www.learning-styles-online.com/overview/

A person who learns well from books in a solitary setting is at a huge advantage compared to someone who needs a social-kinesthetic style.

Although "learning styles" are widely believed by teachers, there's no evidence that they affect learning. They're basically horoscopes--vague enough to make sense on an intuitive level, but false [0]. In practice, tailoring lessons to this belief reduces effectiveness [1].

[0] https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/04/the-myth...

[1] https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2019/05/learning-sty...

That's more of a personal thing. It's far easier to me to study a technical book on something I know is useful compared to cramming for exams, doing nonsensical assignments, forcing myself through a specific pace that fits a semester, dealing with professors that never seem to be having a good day, wasting time commuting to the faculty (assuming you don't live in campus), etc. I can do that for money, but having to pay and be less efficient at learning than just googling stuff is what drove me to drop out.

Same here, you summed up succinctly why I also have not followed through with a degree. The academic system is now more of a hindrance than a help, compared to studying independently and maintaining connections outside academia. Academia has failed to adapt to modern learning.

Going to university requires more privilege than learning from a book.

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