July 20, 2010 at 20:45Higher education 2
An interesting article on the uselessness of higher education has recently slipped into the open spaces of the Habr . The article caused a heated discussion, so I bring to your attention another opinion on this view under the symbolic name "Higher Education 2".
Let's start by analyzing the arguments from the devil’s lawyer:
1. Higher education is a mandatory requirement for employment, resumes without high education are not considered in large companies.
Partly true. Large companies, as a rule, do not look at the crust if it is available, but the absence of one can raise additional questions. And if you answer “yes because you do not need a higher education” to the question “why do you not have a higher education”, then with a 99% probability it can be argued that you will not get a job in this company.
Take, for example, high-tech Israel:
5% of GNP is spent on scientific research in the country. This is the highest share of science costs in the world; in the USA, the cost of science does not exceed 3%. The growth rate of investment in research was much higher than the GDP growth rate: 126% versus 29%. The cost of research in Israel in 2006 was $ 8 billion. Israeli firms have at least 20 positions in the list of 100 leading European IT companies in Europe. According to the BDI (Business Date Israel) report, Israel ranks third among 148 countries in terms of the number of patents for the world’s competitiveness rating of world powers in 2006, compiled by the World Economic Forum (WEF). 10 thousand people. For 1999-2003 The number of Israeli patents registered in the United States grew by 63%. 1, 28% of all scientific articles published in the world are written in the country.
Since the beginning of the 70s, in Israel, one after another, branches of such giants as Motorola, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Cisco, Texas Instruments and many others began to open. In the same years, state concerns of the military-industrial complex received strong development: Taasiya Avrit, RAFAEL, Chur and others. Such large-scale projects as the creation of missile systems, telecommunication systems, military aircraft and avionics, and space satellites were carried out at their enterprises and laboratories. A new generation of engineers and scientists has grown on these developments. The technological breakthrough at the turn of the 90s coincided with the global boom in information technology.
Israel is one of the major players in the global software market. There are more than 1000 companies involved in the development of software products covering almost all areas of the IT industry. According to the Israeli Association of Software Product Manufacturers, software exports have increased by 700% over the past 10 years. Export of software and related technologies exceeded $ 6 billion.
The reason is the developed R&D, investments, world-class universities. At the same time, a specialist who does not have a crust of the required level (second grade) will not get to work in an IT company by default. At the same time, only those who want to connect future work with science and research are going to get the third grade. Those. meeting candidates and doctors in the IT sector is very difficult - as they all work in research institutes and universities. Therefore, a clear separation of science and IT should be present, but this is another matter.
2. Higher education shows that a person can achieve his goals, he has the ability to learn complex and useless things, there is perseverance.
Absolutely wrong. Higher education can show that a person wanted to study, just like the fact that a person didn’t want to study, but he was forced to (he was shoved by his parents, the person mows from the army and another million other possible reasons).
3. Higher education broadens the mind, provides the foundation.
Undoubtedly. A person who graduated from the university even in triples thinks much more fundamentally than a person without a vo. (part-time education can also be attributed here). There is no point arguing with this.
Somehow I talked with a person who graduated from one of the top Kiev economic universities (studied in the correspondence department), while communicating with him, it became clear that a person who independently studied economics (and who had learned many clever words and terms) did not understand elementary things - for example, principles of market pricing, reasons for inflation / deflation, etc. The reason is simple - the lack of communication with other people, teachers, as well as the absence of paradox situations that make people deal with a certain problem at a fundamental level.
4. Higher education teaches a person to learn.
Indeed, it teaches - sometimes to the detriment.
Reading the finished documentation (which someone has already written!) Is the simplest of the methods (consumption of the finished in a convenient form for consumption).
Who said that? This is the opinion of the author of the article, which, it seems to me, has little to do with reality.
I will explain. Different people perceive information differently. It is easier for someone to read the bare specification, someone likes video tutorials, someone likes books. The presence on the market of a huge number of books, trainers speaks in defense of this opinion. This includes technical conferences, live meetings, seminars, etc. Therefore, to say that documentation is a panacea is, at least, stupid.
A person can study what is interesting to him. What is really needed is what concerns him.
Here I want to ask the author of the article: and when he realized what he really needed and what he really interested? How often did the author change his views on life, interests, hobbies, habits? Most young people still cannot understand what they are interested in and what they need . University is an excellent opportunity to find what is interesting by trial and error . A very small percentage knows this for sure from an early age. Many people can understand over time that the occupation that they have chosen is not what they want to do all their life, and then a logical question arises, but what if he knows only one area? Re-relearn? Start from scratch? And if again by, and if a person underestimates his strength? The result can be any.
Note, not a single argument that comes down to "they will teach you what you need in your work."
I don’t know why this item was discarded, but, no matter how sad it may be with our education, some of the knowledge is still used in the work.
As I said above, the university provides an opportunity to try yourself in various fields and find what a person is really interested in. I will never believe that a young man after graduation can firmly say what he wants to do and at the same time be sure that this is really what he needs.
Further, the university does not interferework and self-study. Well, it doesn’t interfere. Another question is that in the process of joint training and work, less time should be devoted to beer, discos and girls, but with the right approach, this will not be a problem. The right combination of training and work does wonders. For example, at lectures on philosophy, I read project specifications and pondered tasks, and labor safety lectures were an ideal time to read freshly bought newspapers and magazines. The same time was devoted to communication with peers, discussions of new films, etc. Therefore, when a person tells me that he did not graduate from the university because there is nothing to do there, then most likely he was simply kicked out from there because of bugs in the DNA. Another friend of mine opened his business in his third year and came to the university only at the session, and despite this, he successfully completed it. Key words - “came” and “finished” . Still that nonsense, by the way, but common sense is not deprived.
By the way, I already wrote on this topic: He who wants, he seeks opportunities, he who does not want, seeks reasons . Regarding the philosophy and uselessness of objects. I propose reading the article “Philosophy of Science or Why Do We Trust Science?” on this account.
Now the background. Very often I find myself thinking that it is difficult for me to communicate with self-taught programmers. Firstly, because they have some ideas and beliefs of their own. In other words, we think in different categories. But if after a university course in optimization you understand the difference between "search optimization" and "search optimization", then explaining this to a person who is far from this is very difficult. Or for example, when a person first sees the transformation matrix, and the second week can not do an elementary transformation, it becomes sad. Also, constantly have to see advertisements in the subway ala "We make sites. Inexpensive. Bring to the top 10. $ 50. Misha. " No comments.
Do you think that you need to learn only what is needed directly for work? This tells me that a person is no longer interested in anything. Most likely, he is just an ordinary gray mouse, without goals and motivation. But this is the main reason why a person can say that in addition to programming at a technical university, nothing more is needed. But what about rhetoric, art, physical education, the basics of economics, marketing. Or will the average self-taught programmer also learn this on his own ? Do not make me laugh. But this knowledge defines a person not only as a specialist, but also as a person .
We are going further. Grants, student exchange, educational programs, student discounts - all this is secondary, but still worth mentioning.
And now the paradoxes and rhetorical questions:
Thesis:
Let's start by analyzing the arguments from the devil’s lawyer:
1. Higher education is a mandatory requirement for employment, resumes without high education are not considered in large companies.
Partly true. Large companies, as a rule, do not look at the crust if it is available, but the absence of one can raise additional questions. And if you answer “yes because you do not need a higher education” to the question “why do you not have a higher education”, then with a 99% probability it can be argued that you will not get a job in this company.
Take, for example, high-tech Israel:
5% of GNP is spent on scientific research in the country. This is the highest share of science costs in the world; in the USA, the cost of science does not exceed 3%. The growth rate of investment in research was much higher than the GDP growth rate: 126% versus 29%. The cost of research in Israel in 2006 was $ 8 billion. Israeli firms have at least 20 positions in the list of 100 leading European IT companies in Europe. According to the BDI (Business Date Israel) report, Israel ranks third among 148 countries in terms of the number of patents for the world’s competitiveness rating of world powers in 2006, compiled by the World Economic Forum (WEF). 10 thousand people. For 1999-2003 The number of Israeli patents registered in the United States grew by 63%. 1, 28% of all scientific articles published in the world are written in the country.
Since the beginning of the 70s, in Israel, one after another, branches of such giants as Motorola, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Cisco, Texas Instruments and many others began to open. In the same years, state concerns of the military-industrial complex received strong development: Taasiya Avrit, RAFAEL, Chur and others. Such large-scale projects as the creation of missile systems, telecommunication systems, military aircraft and avionics, and space satellites were carried out at their enterprises and laboratories. A new generation of engineers and scientists has grown on these developments. The technological breakthrough at the turn of the 90s coincided with the global boom in information technology.
Israel is one of the major players in the global software market. There are more than 1000 companies involved in the development of software products covering almost all areas of the IT industry. According to the Israeli Association of Software Product Manufacturers, software exports have increased by 700% over the past 10 years. Export of software and related technologies exceeded $ 6 billion.
The reason is the developed R&D, investments, world-class universities. At the same time, a specialist who does not have a crust of the required level (second grade) will not get to work in an IT company by default. At the same time, only those who want to connect future work with science and research are going to get the third grade. Those. meeting candidates and doctors in the IT sector is very difficult - as they all work in research institutes and universities. Therefore, a clear separation of science and IT should be present, but this is another matter.
2. Higher education shows that a person can achieve his goals, he has the ability to learn complex and useless things, there is perseverance.
Absolutely wrong. Higher education can show that a person wanted to study, just like the fact that a person didn’t want to study, but he was forced to (he was shoved by his parents, the person mows from the army and another million other possible reasons).
3. Higher education broadens the mind, provides the foundation.
Undoubtedly. A person who graduated from the university even in triples thinks much more fundamentally than a person without a vo. (part-time education can also be attributed here). There is no point arguing with this.
Somehow I talked with a person who graduated from one of the top Kiev economic universities (studied in the correspondence department), while communicating with him, it became clear that a person who independently studied economics (and who had learned many clever words and terms) did not understand elementary things - for example, principles of market pricing, reasons for inflation / deflation, etc. The reason is simple - the lack of communication with other people, teachers, as well as the absence of paradox situations that make people deal with a certain problem at a fundamental level.
4. Higher education teaches a person to learn.
Indeed, it teaches - sometimes to the detriment.
Reading the finished documentation (which someone has already written!) Is the simplest of the methods (consumption of the finished in a convenient form for consumption).
Who said that? This is the opinion of the author of the article, which, it seems to me, has little to do with reality.
I will explain. Different people perceive information differently. It is easier for someone to read the bare specification, someone likes video tutorials, someone likes books. The presence on the market of a huge number of books, trainers speaks in defense of this opinion. This includes technical conferences, live meetings, seminars, etc. Therefore, to say that documentation is a panacea is, at least, stupid.
A person can study what is interesting to him. What is really needed is what concerns him.
Here I want to ask the author of the article: and when he realized what he really needed and what he really interested? How often did the author change his views on life, interests, hobbies, habits? Most young people still cannot understand what they are interested in and what they need . University is an excellent opportunity to find what is interesting by trial and error . A very small percentage knows this for sure from an early age. Many people can understand over time that the occupation that they have chosen is not what they want to do all their life, and then a logical question arises, but what if he knows only one area? Re-relearn? Start from scratch? And if again by, and if a person underestimates his strength? The result can be any.
Note, not a single argument that comes down to "they will teach you what you need in your work."
I don’t know why this item was discarded, but, no matter how sad it may be with our education, some of the knowledge is still used in the work.
Now let's move on to our argument ...
As I said above, the university provides an opportunity to try yourself in various fields and find what a person is really interested in. I will never believe that a young man after graduation can firmly say what he wants to do and at the same time be sure that this is really what he needs.
Further, the university does not interferework and self-study. Well, it doesn’t interfere. Another question is that in the process of joint training and work, less time should be devoted to beer, discos and girls, but with the right approach, this will not be a problem. The right combination of training and work does wonders. For example, at lectures on philosophy, I read project specifications and pondered tasks, and labor safety lectures were an ideal time to read freshly bought newspapers and magazines. The same time was devoted to communication with peers, discussions of new films, etc. Therefore, when a person tells me that he did not graduate from the university because there is nothing to do there, then most likely he was simply kicked out from there because of bugs in the DNA. Another friend of mine opened his business in his third year and came to the university only at the session, and despite this, he successfully completed it. Key words - “came” and “finished” . Still that nonsense, by the way, but common sense is not deprived.
By the way, I already wrote on this topic: He who wants, he seeks opportunities, he who does not want, seeks reasons . Regarding the philosophy and uselessness of objects. I propose reading the article “Philosophy of Science or Why Do We Trust Science?” on this account.
Now the background. Very often I find myself thinking that it is difficult for me to communicate with self-taught programmers. Firstly, because they have some ideas and beliefs of their own. In other words, we think in different categories. But if after a university course in optimization you understand the difference between "search optimization" and "search optimization", then explaining this to a person who is far from this is very difficult. Or for example, when a person first sees the transformation matrix, and the second week can not do an elementary transformation, it becomes sad. Also, constantly have to see advertisements in the subway ala "We make sites. Inexpensive. Bring to the top 10. $ 50. Misha. " No comments.
Do you think that you need to learn only what is needed directly for work? This tells me that a person is no longer interested in anything. Most likely, he is just an ordinary gray mouse, without goals and motivation. But this is the main reason why a person can say that in addition to programming at a technical university, nothing more is needed. But what about rhetoric, art, physical education, the basics of economics, marketing. Or will the average self-taught programmer also learn this on his own ? Do not make me laugh. But this knowledge defines a person not only as a specialist, but also as a person .
We are going further. Grants, student exchange, educational programs, student discounts - all this is secondary, but still worth mentioning.
And now the paradoxes and rhetorical questions:
- articles about the unnecessaryness of higher education are written, as a rule, by people with higher education. If a person is so smart that vo no need, why didn’t he know about it during the training?
- often such articles are written by serious guys (read the owners of IT companies and CEOs). Why? Most likely, it is not beneficial for them that everyone around is smart specialists, because, basically, the entire domestic IT industry is form-slaping. Why do we need to be Americans or Jews, when even for form spanking there you need to pay sky-high money? Better a couple of students and cheaper, who will add a few seniors to the resume and an extra year or two of experience and sell at a price lower than the average for the market, and then let jokes about the Hindu code be born. Say no connection? There is one more;
- why did the previous article gain more than two hundred pluses (which says that a high school is not needed), and a poll on this topic suggests that the majority “have a higher education and it is connected with current activities”?
conclusions
Thesis:
- Not all people are the same.
- Unnecessarily vo should not be explained by the presence of problems in our education system.
- The Gates and Page examples cannot be extrapolated to all people.
- A person should develop in different directions, and not only in the field of professional activity - this will not give self-education in its purest form.
- Often, bribes and connections compensate for the need for knowledge, so the impression is made of their uselessness.
- Dissent has now become considered a sign of elitism.
- It is strange that there are people who consider the vo. unnecessary.