The Internet or a Degree?

[gallo]

Quote by: triad Both. His degrees did nothing for him. Actually, after graduating from SFIT, he quit science for a year due to finding lectures and tests so intolerable in university that it gave him a buzz-kill. Mind you, he was only 16 - but he didn't need those diplomans considering he educated himself from the age of 15.

That's just not true. He did quit school and then was unable to pass the entrance test to get into the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH). Thus, he went back to school and finished his secondary education before being admitted to the ETH. That isn't quite the same as educating himself.

If he educated himself without the internet, people in this day and age should be able to do so with the internet.

Right. He educated himself by attending classes at the ETH and the University of Zurich.

Einstein was an exception because he was a genius, but with the resources we have on the internet - a 12 year old kid should be able to teach themself geometry just like Einstein did at that age without the internet.

That's just wonderful if it were true. Unfortunately, I suspect that learning something like differential calculus or linear algebra might be a bit of a problem.

Besides, Einstein would not have been appointed to positions at the University of Zurich, The University of Prague, the ETH, and the University of Berlin. Of course, while a professor at the ETH Zurich, Einstein was taught Riemannian geometry by another professor. Einstein found it useful in his general theory of relativity.

By the way, one of the 5 papers that Einstein published in the annus mirabilis (1905) was his dissertation for his PhD. Another was the paper for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize, and yet another was the special theory of relativity. The last paper of 1905 was essentially a footnote to special relativity. It was about the equivalence of matter/energy.

Anyway, no matter how much time you spent on the internet or how much you think you know, a major engineering firm won't even look at your application if you don't have a real degree. No matter how much medicine you read about, you can't call yourself doctor and treat patients. You can't even call yourself a nurse and get a job without a diploma. You can probably think of many more examples.

[triad]

Quote by: gallo That's just not true. He did quit school and then was unable to pass the entrance test to get into the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH). Thus, he went back to school and finished his secondary education before being admitted to the ETH. That isn't quite the same as educating himself.

Sorry, let me re-word that. He did not literally educate himself, but restarted education at the age of 15 after quitting school.

Right. He educated himself by attending classes at the ETH and the University of Zurich. That's just wonderful if it were true. Unfortunately, I suspect that learning something like differential calculus or linear algebra might be a bit of a problem.

Online calculus courses: Applications of Integration and Calculus of Transcendental Functions


I am saying now with the internet it is possible to self-teach.

Besides, Einstein would not have been appointed to positions at the University of Zurich, The University of Prague, the ETH, and the University of Berlin. Of course, while a professor at the ETH Zurich, Einstein was taught Riemannian geometry by another professor. Einstein found it useful in his general theory of relativity.

You're really missing the point here.

By the way, one of the 5 papers that Einstein published in the annus mirabilis (1905) was his dissertation for his PhD. Another was the paper for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize, and yet another was the special theory of relativity. The last paper of 1905 was essentially a footnote to special relativity. It was about the equivalence of matter/energy.

Einstein was 26 by that time, I am talking about people self-teach general college/university lessons online. You like to take ideas that people have and stretch them to an extreme to make them look bad.

Anyway, no matter how much time you spent on the internet or how much you think you know, a major engineering firm won't even look at your application if you don't have a real degree. No matter how much medicine you read about, you can't call yourself doctor and treat patients. You can't even call yourself a nurse and get a job without a diploma. You can probably think of many more examples.

YES, I am aware that online information will not give you a PhD in anything. I am saying that the internet has enough information for an average individual to access the same information the people in college and university do from the comfort of their own home!


Nowhere in the OP did I state people will be able to use online training as an asset for their resume; I actually stated there are no diplomas online. You really, really, missed the point I am making here.

[rmnunez]

But there are diplomas online, many from prestigious institutions. Distance Education is what they call it and it is the rage in academia.

[tivodan1116]

Quote by: triad We are not far away from full-free online tutorial videos. There is already an overwhelming amount on the net - I am sure with time the internet will have more visual/auditory resources than a school could ever provide.

And what about people that learn through tactile-based education? What about people that learn best through dialogs with others?

What about trade schools? Are you going to teach someone woodcarving online?

I disagree. How many people like sitting in a classroom?

Many do, and anyway, much of education does not consist of "sitting in a classroom."

I bet you didn't thoroughly enjoy being stuffed in a classroom all day.

In fact I did, and still do.

I agree, a group of people learning can accomplish a great deal of education, but what are they teaching in schools now? Why should everyone be told what to learn?

Who is telling anyone what to learn? College is an open exploration. You can choose your own major and courses.

If there was a general guideline of how the schools curriculum worked, someone could pick the given subject then gather their own information and form their own opinion on it. Schools are too indoctrine-iny for my likeing.

Yeah that whole trying to help you learn something, that's terrible.

[rmnunez]

If there was a general guideline of how the schools curriculum worked, someone could pick the given subject then gather their own information and form their own opinion on it. Schools are too indoctrine-iny for my likeing.

Different schools and different jurisdictions apply different approaches. In Latin American and EU jurisdictions there's a whole lot less electives, the program is rigid, its all just their discipline. Better schools will offer a wider range of alternative courses, but they don't stray far afield.

In my academic studies in the US credit was earned for classes in ballroom dancing, archery and small-boat sailing, plus a slew of others not in my major.