College: The biggest scam we'll ever buy • Hacker News Board

Re: College: The biggest scam we'll ever buy

#31

Post by JonnieCache » Wed, Dec 07, 2011, 10:38 PM UTC

aidenn0 wrote: post #29

JonnieCache wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't design an education system just around those people though.

Right, but the original article was saying the education system is bad for those people, and my point is your original comment wasn't elitist, it was a valid response to the complaint in the original article.

Also, I don't think the christ-figure of apple corp is in the same bracket as the discoverer of penicillin and the author of wealth of nations, but I don't imagine arguing about that is going to get us anywhere. Just wanted to register my dissent.

Re: College: The biggest scam we'll ever buy

#32

Post by kls » Wed, Dec 07, 2011, 10:44 PM UTC

JonnieCache wrote: post #27

aidenn0 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Not everyone can be expected to "do something so cool that your eventual grade is rendered irrelevant," to transcend their peers in order to gain value from their degree; that's a contradiction. Not everyone, but those who plan to be mentioned along with "Steve Jobs, Alexander Flemming, and Adam Smith" certainly can.

You can't design an education system just around those people though.

I think a education system could be designed for those people, it just may not be a system for all people. That is a huge problem that we have now days, equality has ballooned into this one size fits all, everyone is a winner mentality. Equal rights and opportunities does not mean equal capabilities, abilities, or experiences.

We do need to design systems around groups of people that are alike, but what we don't need is the systems we have now, that are designed around the medium, because it creates medium value at maximum.

Re: College: The biggest scam we'll ever buy

#33

Post by yzhengyu » Thu, Dec 08, 2011, 3:04 AM UTC

achompas wrote: post #21

crazygringo wrote: post #14

> We can learn all we want, but GPA is the end-all on how well we understand material and, subsequently, prepare around it. Interestingly enough, in the ten years and probably fifty job interviews I've had since I graduated from college, not once was I ever asked for my GPA. (The only time in my life was once for a summer internship, during college.) In college, I wasn't sure if my strategy of trying to genuinely lea…

I've been asked once. The person had just asked me how many ping-pong balls fit into the room we were sitting in, so that should tell you something about their interviewing abilities.

It is actually one of those famous interview questions. Kinda like the Microsoft one where they asked you why are manhole covers round. Totally useless, since performance in an interview is not indicative on whether an employee is a good fit or not.

Re: College: The biggest scam we'll ever buy

#34

Post by achompas » Thu, Dec 08, 2011, 3:52 AM UTC

yzhengyu wrote: post #33

achompas wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been asked once. The person had just asked me how many ping-pong balls fit into the room we were sitting in, so that should tell you something about their interviewing abilities.

It is actually one of those famous interview questions. Kinda like the Microsoft one where they asked you why are manhole covers round. Totally useless, since performance in an interview is not indicative on whether an employee is a good fit or not.

I know! It's always defended as a way to "see how the candidate thinks," but that only invites pop psychology assessments. Whatever, the person was a jerk regardless.