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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

#161

Post by mirimir »

sethammons wrote: post #119
jedberg wrote: post #92

University definitely broadened my mind. I grew up in an area that was 99+% white and 50+% Jewish. We literally had “the black family” with twins who were our top track stars. And a few Asian families who hid their Asianness. It was at University that I learned about Asian culture. It was the first time I used chopsticks. It was the first time I drank tea without sugar. It was the first time I ate Chinese food that w…

True story. At work, folks going out for lunch. Ask if I want dim sum. I had never heard of it. All I could think of, in redneck fashion, was "that boy ain't bright, he's dim some." I declined going. Still not sure what it is. I think it is a soup.

It's Chinese buffet. Or maybe more like tapas. It's a great way to sample the huge variety of Chinese food. Some of which, to my Americanized palette, is quite alarming.

Edit: Deep-fried chicken feet vs pork rinds is a toss-up, I admit. But there are items about which I've never gotten a clear explanation ;)

Re: Going to university does not broaden the mind

#162

Post by Zafira »

greglindahl wrote: post #159
tylerhou wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> The north is a lot more spicy stuff. The south is more about sauces and freshness. > Citation needed, please. Not really true; here is an anti-citation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sichuan_cuisine

Sichuan cuisine is renowned for having dishes/spices from many different places... which makes it not a good anti-example.

It is assuredly not northern Chinese cuisine. I think the point that is being made here is that your original statements about the distinguishing characteristics between northern and southern Chinese food are incorrect on any level.

Re: Going to university does not broaden the mind

#163

Post by solatic »

At least from the article, the study seems to be too-small-n and does not control for participants' socioeconomic backgrounds, nor for the environment where participants ended up (i.e. participants with degrees who move to a city after university may be more open-minded than participants without degrees who move to rural villages where less diversity and fewer opportunities exist).

Not sure how much stock should be put in these results.

Re: Going to university does not broaden the mind

#164

Post by coleifer »

I wish I had better critical thinking skills when I was in college. I'm an English lit major with a minor in Russian lit. In the years since I've reread a lot of my favorite books, and I see a hell of a lot more than I did then. I think I was too immature, too inexperienced with life, to understand about suffering, joy, or love (and wayyy too self centered). College got me started, though, so I'm grateful for having been exposed to so much great literature, even if my understanding was a bit shallow compared to now.

Re: Going to university does not broaden the mind

#165

Post by pj_mukh »

nixpulvis wrote: post #135
scarface74 wrote: post #120

Only the privileged can afford to go to college to “broaden their mind”. Most people go to college to compete in the market and get a job. It’s amazing how much push back I get about computer science degrees should teach marketable skills and people say they weren’t meant to be ”vocational degrees” and you shouldn’t go to college for “job training”. Just the idea that people are suggesting in some of the comments tha…

I feel there's a bit of a strange tension in this argument. Why can't you have both? While I was in classes it wasn't job focused, or at least not directly. I often hear people complain, for example about how they never use anything they learned in college for their programming jobs. I find this impossible to believe. The process of building a binary search tree or proving the pumping lemma are all exercises. Just li…

Agreed, I remember in first year our engineering professor teaching us all these abstract concepts about robot controllers and the philosophy behind them and then finishing the lecture by telling us, "Also, when you get to your first job, just read the manual to figure out how your specific controller works so you can do your job" :/.

P.S: Also Waterloo grad here. Co-op FTW.

Re: Going to university does not broaden the mind

#166

Post by pervycreeper »

jedberg wrote: post #92

University definitely broadened my mind. I grew up in an area that was 99+% white and 50+% Jewish. We literally had “the black family” with twins who were our top track stars. And a few Asian families who hid their Asianness. It was at University that I learned about Asian culture. It was the first time I used chopsticks. It was the first time I drank tea without sugar. It was the first time I ate Chinese food that w…

Such an experience could be described as the replacement of one ideology with another, rather than an increase in personality trait openness.

Re: Going to university does not broaden the mind

#167

Post by nineteen999 »

anonytrary wrote: post #130
nineteen999 wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a counterexample, Gina Rinehart who is Australia's wealthiest woman and number 7 worldwide, never graduated. So there are exceptions, but I get that it is not the norm.

> average member

> but I get that it is not the norm.

And most available evidence suggests she did not get there through high intelligence, in lieu of a university education, but rather, complete and utter greed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDAwGqlIp7E

Re: Going to university does not broaden the mind

#168

Post by Jommi »

jedberg wrote: post #104
shanghaiaway wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the difference between north and south China?

Very different foods. The north is a lot more spicy stuff. The south is more about sauces and freshness.

It's the complete other way around. Source: Lived in China, ask any Chinese person.

Re: Going to university does not broaden the mind

#169

Post by greglindahl »

Zafira wrote: post #162
greglindahl wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sichuan cuisine is renowned for having dishes/spices from many different places... which makes it not a good anti-example.

It is assuredly not northern Chinese cuisine. I think the point that is being made here is that your original statements about the distinguishing characteristics between northern and southern Chinese food are incorrect on any level.

Using a place which is intentionally pan-regional to make a statement about regions is not an anti-example. Also, I didn't make the original statement. And, no one said Sichuan was northern Chinese cuisine. So I'm a bit confused as to who and what you think you're responding to.

Re: Going to university does not broaden the mind

#170

Post by eigenvector »

scarface74 wrote: post #120

Only the privileged can afford to go to college to “broaden their mind”. Most people go to college to compete in the market and get a job. It’s amazing how much push back I get about computer science degrees should teach marketable skills and people say they weren’t meant to be ”vocational degrees” and you shouldn’t go to college for “job training”. Just the idea that people are suggesting in some of the comments tha…

Yes and no.

I definitely feel where you're coming from. When I was in university I marvelled at the kids studying liberal arts. I thought it was a crazy extravagance to spend 4+ years and tens of thousands of dollars on something that had no evident financial return. At least I was getting an engineering degree that would pay the bills someday and I thought of the arts kids as subsisting on handouts from their affluent parents, freed by wealth from having to worry about ever making a living.

But it's also a product of our user-pay educational model in North America. In many developed countries, tuition is free and students even receive a stipend to pay their living expenses. So if we assume for a moment that it is indeed possible to 'broaden the mind' in university, it is not the exclusive preserve of the privileged since in these more egalitarian societies everyone has access to it. And now I think that may not be such a bad thing.

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