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Going to university does not broaden the mind

economist.com

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Re: Going to university does not broaden the mind

#41

Post by chasing »

SlowRobotAhead wrote: post #28
chasing wrote: post #11

As with many things, probably has a ton to do with the specific student. University broadened my mind incredibly and I’m quite thankful for it. But then, I tended towards multidisciplinary programs with subjects I didn’t naturally excel at. And I had good professors and smart peers.

I dropped out - I’m a fairly successful and happy computer engineer. Generally anti-college in terms of 13th grade, but I agree this depends entirely on the student. I was bored to tears with the entry computer science, but really liked anthropology and geolgogy. Seems like they were mind-broadening.

I consider myself a successful software developer who enjoys his work. I took one single programming class as an undergrad and it sucked. Everything else was literature, philosophy, art, with some science mixed in when I could. I think that decision served me well. It also made me less appealing to people hiring for boring positions and much more appealing to those trying to find smart weirdos who thought differently. My first real college programming job was with people who specifically did not hire out of the CS department. It was awesome!

Re: Going to university does not broaden the mind

#42

Post by bytematic »

2bitencryption wrote: post #27

I disagree with this in my own case. At my university, I was bombarded by so many different beliefs and worldviews that it forced me to reevaluate my own. My values didn't change much, but I certainly become more accepting of differences.

Ya, I bet a lot of people who grew up in cities don't have the same experience.

Re: Going to university does not broaden the mind

#43

Post by claydavisss »

heyitsguay wrote: post #29
beaner wrote: post #3

Outside of specific academic focus, nearly everyone I know who has graduated a US university thinks basically the same way.

There is a huge diversity of thought in university graduates. The extreme rightward shift in conservative mindset in the US over the past two decades means that everybody left of "maybe owning slaves is ok" gets uniformly labeled "liberal" or "leftist" in 2018.

so sad that HN has come to this

Re: Going to university does not broaden the mind

#44

Post by iandev »

shanghaiaway wrote: post #35
iandev wrote: post #32

The title is a bit sensational. The bigger picture is in the first paragraph. > However, it was not the case that university broadened minds. Rather, work seemed to narrow them. Basically, going to university doesn't make your mind broader, but not going to university does result in a narrower mind.

Wrong. You're misreading

> those who had chosen the vocational route showed marked drops in interest in tasks that are investigative and enterprising in nature.

Am I incorrect to think that this is narrowing of the vocational route?

Re: Going to university does not broaden the mind

#45

Post by sammosummo »

Grew up in a medium sized mostly working-class town in Northern England. My whole childhood I felt like an outsider, nobody cared about the things I cared about, whenever I spoke it was met with complete silence or indifference. I thought there was something wrong with me at a fundamental level, perhaps autism. First day at uni (19 yo) I stayed in my room most of the night, terrified. Finally summoned up the courage and socialised. Week later I stepped out of my room into the communal kitchen. A conversation was going on and someone asked my opinion. It suddenly occurred to me that that had never happened to me before entire life. I wasn’t some weirdo everyone was scared of or didn’t understand. Normal person, normal interests; just different to the tiny society I gre up in. Now married 35 living in Boston at junior faculty at Harvard Medical School, that tiny moment in the dorm kitchen shaped my whole life for the better, and university is the reason.

Re: Going to university does not broaden the mind

#46

Post by mroche »

chasing wrote: post #41
SlowRobotAhead wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dropped out - I’m a fairly successful and happy computer engineer. Generally anti-college in terms of 13th grade, but I agree this depends entirely on the student. I was bored to tears with the entry computer science, but really liked anthropology and geolgogy. Seems like they were mind-broadening.

I consider myself a successful software developer who enjoys his work. I took one single programming class as an undergrad and it sucked. Everything else was literature, philosophy, art, with some science mixed in when I could. I think that decision served me well. It also made me less appealing to people hiring for boring positions and much more appealing to those trying to find smart weirdos who thought differently…

> My first real college programming job was with people who specifically did not hire out of the CS department.

Not going to lie, that sounds incredibly counter-intuitive. However, as long as the people have the right skills or mindset I don’t see the issue. There may be a lacking in deeper underlying systems knowledge, though.

Re: Going to university does not broaden the mind

#48

Post by Iv »

beaner wrote: post #3

Outside of specific academic focus, nearly everyone I know who has graduated a US university thinks basically the same way.

US universities seem terrible.

Mine opened me to a variety of specialties, opinions, skills, cultural movements that I had never seen before.

This was my first contact with unions, entrepreneurs, metalheads, gay community, ultra-christians, drug users, researchers.

Re: Going to university does not broaden the mind

#49

Post by AnimalMuppet »

WalterBright wrote: post #40
ikeboy wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless your definition of slaves includes all workers under capitalist regimes, this is wrong. Plenty of conservatives don't think slavery is acceptable.

I've never run into anyone that did.

I think you just did...

Re: Going to university does not broaden the mind

#50

Post by yosito »

For those interested in broadening their minds, I highly recommend living in a country other than the one you were born in for at least a year. Preferably one with a different language than your first language. It's pretty hard to do that while still hanging on to your narrow mindset. I work remotely and I've had the privilege of being able to live internationally since 2012. But even if you don't work remotely there are ways to have a similar experience. I once volunteered for a school in a foreign country for two years. Volunteer opportunities are abundant. And if you can't live internationally for one reason or another, learning another language and joining language meetup groups is a great way to connect with people and ideas that will expand your mind. And reading books from authors outside of the places you're familiar with is also a great way to expand your mind by exposing yourself to new ideas.
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