I did get my Ph.D., but all it convinced me of was the sheer awesomeness of what I don't know. Which is why the Expert Syndrome is so perplexing. You'd think these very smart people would realize, after years of extremely dedicated study in a narrow field to become an expert, that they should be a lot more humble about things outside of their area of expertise. Or maybe we should get experts in politics sticking their noses into linguistics and entymology.
I see nothing wrong w. education -- nor did our FF... However, the type of education being received is a different matter. Hard science teaches an excellent means of rational, logical thought, but proper education requires more. I think the problem is a lack of education in the classics, fundamentals of civics and capitalism.
Man w.o. education is an uncivilized brute, and a slave. Our current problem is that education is no longer geared toward producing independent men, capable of making their own decisions, and standing by them.
CS Lewis wrote an excellent book, "Abolition of Man" which talked about some of this.
I'm currently in education in the UK. I'm doing a qualification in Cabinet Making, and one in Engineering. I don't know how it compares with what you have, but there is an awful lot of crap to cut through in both courses before you get to anything of substance.
My father had a favorite quote he attributed to Albert Einstein. Personally I think those who believe education and intelligence to be proportional would do well to remember it:
"The circumference of your knowledge is the horizon of your ignorance."
Even worse than the "Expert Syndrome" is the "Celebrity Syndrome" (to just make up the term on the spot) where people think that, because they're famous singers or actors or something, people should listen to their opinions on politics and social issues blah blah blah.
At least the intellectuals are, well, intellectual. Most of the celebrities don't seem capable of thinking their way out of a paper bag.
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Tentative mapping of comments to original article, corrections solicited.
The narrower their field of knowledge the more likely they are to think so.
The main reason I didn't pursue a Ph.D. - I just wasn't interested in knowing absolutely everything about virtually nothing.
I had a simpler reason for not going beyond a B.S. I was dead broke.
I did get my Ph.D., but all it convinced me of was the sheer awesomeness of what I don't know. Which is why the Expert Syndrome is so perplexing. You'd think these very smart people would realize, after years of extremely dedicated study in a narrow field to become an expert, that they should be a lot more humble about things outside of their area of expertise. Or maybe we should get experts in politics sticking their noses into linguistics and entymology.
I see nothing wrong w. education -- nor did our FF... However, the type of education being received is a different matter. Hard science teaches an excellent means of rational, logical thought, but proper education requires more. I think the problem is a lack of education in the classics, fundamentals of civics and capitalism.
Man w.o. education is an uncivilized brute, and a slave. Our current problem is that education is no longer geared toward producing independent men, capable of making their own decisions, and standing by them.
CS Lewis wrote an excellent book, "Abolition of Man" which talked about some of this.
I'm currently in education in the UK. I'm doing a qualification in Cabinet Making, and one in Engineering. I don't know how it compares with what you have, but there is an awful lot of crap to cut through in both courses before you get to anything of substance.
My father had a favorite quote he attributed to Albert Einstein. Personally I think those who believe education and intelligence to be proportional would do well to remember it:
"The circumference of your knowledge is the horizon of your ignorance."
Even worse than the "Expert Syndrome" is the "Celebrity Syndrome" (to just make up the term on the spot) where people think that, because they're famous singers or actors or something, people should listen to their opinions on politics and social issues blah blah blah.
At least the intellectuals are, well, intellectual. Most of the celebrities don't seem capable of thinking their way out of a paper bag.
Note: All avatars and any images or other media embedded in comments were hosted on the JS-Kit website and have been lost; references to haloscan comments have been partially automatically remapped, but accuracy is not guaranteed and corrections are solicited.
If you notice any problems with this page or wish to have your home page link updated, please contact John Hardin <jhardin@impsec.org>