total-recoil
Well-Known Member
Bill Gates said something interesting not too long ago and it rang a bell with me. He was saying that you don't need to go to university to learn when the internet is now available. This is actually quite true. I tend to study late at night and one of the most useful tools I have to help me (apart from a calculator) is my mobile phone internet. Soon as I get stuck, I type key words into Google and, more often than not, I find the solution to my problem. The other night I had to calculate specifics of an alternating cycle every 0.003 of a second, reducing this figure to a 10th of the speed. Soon as I work out any attempt at an answer, I type the details into Google and almost always my answer is either confirmed or exposed as incorrect. Not that my maths is really that good but sometimes I need to focus on some specifics of maths to understand something else. It's slow and harder than if you can raise your hand in a class but, despite that, internet usually works.
Sooooo, how come people these days are so dependent upon university and courses? Why carry out massive public demonstrations over funding and course fee issues when, in reality, there is no genuine obstacle to knowledge. What you actually need is dedication, persistance, a routine, some good books and an internet connection. In fact,. I'd go so far as to say I'm learning more now than I ever did when I was at uni.
Isn't is also strange than in N.T. World, a failure of uni funding automatically results in a sudden decline in higher education at work, as if so many people just feel unable to push forwards without classes, teachers and systems all organised on your behalf.
Why did Bill Gates drop out of uni then and how do aspies fare in general at college or uni? Well, in a lot of cases, the fact is aspies don't always do particularly well in State education systems. One major major criticism I have of State controlled education is that the pace is often too fast, the focus too slender, and the specialisation often lacking. My own experience has definitely been that a mass of information is thrown at you all in one go and it's almost impossible to take it all in properly. Another major gripe is there is a lot of emphasis on course grades that discourages radical ideas and experimentation since the desire to get "A" status is prioritised above risk.
Back to Bill Gates, I suspect that uni was more of a hindrance to his own approach than an aid which is why he felt the need to drop out and do his own thing. That is, freedom to explore your own subject at your own pace, make your own mistakes and learn from them.
Not that uni is a waste of time and doesn't have its benefits. I think what I'm saying is that there are definitely alternatives to organised, rigid frameworks structured around courses, classes and lectures.
A lot of aspies don't do so well at uni or in college due to many reasons such as visual thinking, too broad a program and even, in some instances, negative feedback. I was intrigued that even the now infamous Pentagon aspergers hacker Gary Mckinnon "dropped out" of I.T. at uni as he found the maths too difficult.
Sooooo, how come people these days are so dependent upon university and courses? Why carry out massive public demonstrations over funding and course fee issues when, in reality, there is no genuine obstacle to knowledge. What you actually need is dedication, persistance, a routine, some good books and an internet connection. In fact,. I'd go so far as to say I'm learning more now than I ever did when I was at uni.
Isn't is also strange than in N.T. World, a failure of uni funding automatically results in a sudden decline in higher education at work, as if so many people just feel unable to push forwards without classes, teachers and systems all organised on your behalf.
Why did Bill Gates drop out of uni then and how do aspies fare in general at college or uni? Well, in a lot of cases, the fact is aspies don't always do particularly well in State education systems. One major major criticism I have of State controlled education is that the pace is often too fast, the focus too slender, and the specialisation often lacking. My own experience has definitely been that a mass of information is thrown at you all in one go and it's almost impossible to take it all in properly. Another major gripe is there is a lot of emphasis on course grades that discourages radical ideas and experimentation since the desire to get "A" status is prioritised above risk.
Back to Bill Gates, I suspect that uni was more of a hindrance to his own approach than an aid which is why he felt the need to drop out and do his own thing. That is, freedom to explore your own subject at your own pace, make your own mistakes and learn from them.
Not that uni is a waste of time and doesn't have its benefits. I think what I'm saying is that there are definitely alternatives to organised, rigid frameworks structured around courses, classes and lectures.
A lot of aspies don't do so well at uni or in college due to many reasons such as visual thinking, too broad a program and even, in some instances, negative feedback. I was intrigued that even the now infamous Pentagon aspergers hacker Gary Mckinnon "dropped out" of I.T. at uni as he found the maths too difficult.
