Sunday smile, check it out.

evince said:
I have known some very enlightened people who merely graduated high school.

I have know Professors who were as sharp as a marble.

Like Damo said its a tool and like Soc said never confuse the two.
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Yup. It's like saying that because you own a table saw you have talent as a carpenter. The two are not the same thing.
 
Damocles said:
Yup. It's like saying that because you own a table saw you have talent as a carpenter. The two are not the same thing.
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Too right. I've been around graduate education for a long time now, and it's clear that the most important thing about any educational endeavor is who does it, not the degrees they receive. That goes for all disciplines and all levels.
 
evince said:
I have known some very enlightened people who merely graduated high school.

I have know Professors who were as sharp as a marble.

Like Damo said its a tool and like Soc said never confuse the two.
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The Seattle area is home to the most famous college dropout in the US (and possibly the world...). Mr. William H. Gates III of Microsoft!
 
Threedee said:
The Seattle area is home to the most famous college dropout in the US (and possibly the world...). Mr. William H. Gates III of Microsoft!
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Probably not coincidentally, I was thinking of him too. Also of a friend of mine who soon rejected the bureaucracy of the Ph.D. program he began in order to start his own, ultimately very successful, scientific instrument company. Not on Gates' level, but he's happy.
 
Damocles said:
I laiks de educaytid wimmins!
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LOL! Some of the most closed-minded people I've known have Phd's. They're so certain of their opinions they're unable to consider others. On the other hand, I sure we've all known people that just were bored in university studies and are constantly questioning and developing their own theories about just about any topic. Which would be 'more intelligent'? I know which are more interesting. ;)
 
Threedee said:
The Seattle area is home to the most famous college dropout in the US (and possibly the world...). Mr. William H. Gates III of Microsoft!
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We should never confuse wisdom and common sense with education.
also practical application. I would rather have a man who built a house then one who just read about it and discussed it in class!
 
Why do I have to keep looking at the face of evil when I reply.

I am about to lose my lunch...I would rather see Sarah then the wicked witch of the Republican Party!
 
froggie said:
We should never confuse wisdom and common sense with education.
also practical application. I would rather have a man who built a house then one who just read about it and discussed it in class!
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Granted, Gates went to an elite prep school called Lakeside (about three minutes from where I went to high school) which brought in the most advanced computer technology of the era, and Gates was allowed to ditch math class and work on them. He even got caught hacking the service provider for free minutes, and then made up for it by working for them at fighting bugs in their systems...

He was basically given a full computer science education in high school...
 
He knew how to connect with people to make some big money for him and them. I admire the man, don't always agree with him, but I admire him.
 
froggie said:
He knew how to connect with people to make some big money for him and them. I admire the man, don't always agree with him, but I admire him.
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I love how he's a Dem and yet they routinely try to stab him in the back and target his company. As a Seattleite, I hate any politician who tries to fuck with Microsoft and Boeing, because of how vital they are to our economy.
 
Threedee said:
I love how he's a Dem and yet they routinely try to stab him in the back and target his company. As a Seattleite, I hate any politician who tries to fuck with Microsoft and Boeing, because of how vital they are to our economy.
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I love Seattle. I will be there in August for a concert as a favor to a friend.
We will then go on to Reno for Hot August Nights as is customary with the "Lemon Drop Sisters", a blonde, a red head and a burnett. We have so much fun! Being an Alaskan Pike's Market just knocks me out!
 
froggie said:
I love Seattle. I will be there in August for a concert as a favor to a friend.
We will then go on to Reno for Hot August Nights as is customary with the "Lemon Drop Sisters", a blonde, a red head and a burnett. We have so much fun! Being an Alaskan Pike's Market just knocks me out!
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Oh yes, good times in Seattle! I was hanging out at Pike Place during my friend's visit from Milwaukee around New years...

In fact, he's the guy who took the New Years Party picture of me that you see in my avitar.

:clink:
 
What were you smoking?



Threedee said:
Oh yes, good times in Seattle! I was hanging out at Pike Place during my friend's visit from Milwaukee around New years...

In fact, he's the guy who took the New Years Party picture of me that you see in my avitar.

:clink:
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Thorn said:
Probably not coincidentally, I was thinking of him too. Also of a friend of mine who soon rejected the bureaucracy of the Ph.D. program he began in order to start his own, ultimately very successful, scientific instrument company. Not on Gates' level, but he's happy.
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An extraordinary case. You shouldn't take the outlier as the rule. People with postdoctorates are far more successful on average than those without, and spreading the message that 'Hey! If you quit school you can have 50 billion too!" isn't exactly the most constructive thing possible.
 
Watermarx said:
An extraordinary case. You shouldn't take the outlier as the rule. People with postdoctorates are far more successful on average than those without, and spreading the message that 'Hey! If you quit school you can have 50 billion too!" isn't exactly the most constructive thing possible.
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Very true. My point was that sometimes a formal education isn't what is best for a given individual, especially one like my friend. It also depends where he went; I forget now what school it was. In my own case, I pretty much had the run of the place because I loved the work and the challenges, and my mentors greatly encouraged independent thinking. Even the coursework was about as far from rigid as you could get. After an initial introduction during the first class by the professor of record, the classes took the form of seminars that we, the grad students, gave on specific topics. I found it totally exhilarating, and learned far more than I would have in a different sort of system. And had fun!

As far as money goes, it depends on what you end up doing. Often people with Master's degrees have more flexibility in job searches, partly because of the way that they're perceived. There seem to be as many reasons for going the doctorate route as there are people, so I'd not presume to speak for anyone else, but the money really doesn't mean much to me. I wanted to do what I want, to be challenged both intellectually and creatively, and to never stop learning. My work provides that.
 
Doctorates often have an ironic inability to get jobs because people perceive them as "overqualified" and are intimidated by it. You're right, masters just doesn't seem nearly as haughty.
 
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