How to get a real education

Via John D Cook, Scott Adams has a hilarious article in the WSJ about what kind of tertiary education we should be providing.

I understand why the top students in America study physics, chemistry, calculus and classic literature. The kids in this brainy group are the future professors, scientists, thinkers and engineers who will propel civilization forward. But why do we make B students sit through these same classes? That's like trying to train your cat to do your taxes—a waste of time and money. Wouldn't it make more sense to teach B students something useful, like entrepreneurship?

Adams then goes on to illustrate his idea with examples from his own college days. Adams was a pretty impressive wheeler-deeler. I really like this example of "buy-in".  John D Cook isn't so sure that the B-students should neglect traditional subjects entirely, and I would agree with Cook. It is really the C- and D-students we are cruelly misserving.

Adams story resonated with me because I also made my own education in college apart from the course of study I had selected. Northern Arizona University was probably a poor fit for my academic abilities, but I would likely have foundered in a more rigorous environment due to my low Conscientiousness. What this meant was I had a lot of time to kill, so I spent it reading and doing some volunteer work for the speech and debate team at my high school. My real education in college largely occurred outside the classroom.