Learning for learning's sake

[PassionFruit]

How do you feel about people who get degrees just for the sake of getting one? Since I've been in school most people around me get degrees in hopes of getting a decent career where they makes lots of money. But I also met people who were getting degrees because of self improvement, or something like that.

So what do you think of people who seek education because they like learning?

Is it a waste of time? Why or why not?

 

[MaxP]

Yes.
You learn by doing, not by sitting in a classroom for an extra eight years of your life(exceptions, of course, when you need those extra eight years in order to do what you do).

 

[a.d.ivNonasNovembres]

I'm getting a degree for no reason but to have access to university library/electronic resources
I mean I really have no idea of a "future" in mind. I'd be reasonably content to just work in a no-skill job for the rest of my life (so long as I worked few enough hours that I was not too tired to read in my spare time).

I find "self improvement" or to get a career annoying as motivations to study because ...I dunno, it just seems to me that a) it overvalues a university education (because it suggests you need one to "improve" yourself and it makes employers expect one even when its not necessary) and b) it paradoxically devalues a university education (because the love of knowledge, the "unproductive" pursuit of ideas and wisdom and understanding etc are replaced with productivity, "learning outcomes", "earning potential" and other ignoble and mercenary goals).

 

[allhart]

I believe learning can be satisfying,but I wonder how people will take it when everyone becomes equal to understanding in the end.

 

[nolongerhome]

How do you feel about people who get degrees just for the sake of getting one? Since I've been in school most people around me get degrees in hopes of getting a decent career where they makes lots of money. But I also met people who were getting degrees because of self improvement, or something like that.

So what do you think of people who seek education because they like learning?

Is it a waste of time? Why or why not?

As someone that has two degrees, neither of which are helping me get a job right now (and were never intended to in the first place), and with plans for more study in the future...

What do you mean by "a waste of time"?

If someone does something because they find enjoyment and satisfaction in doing it, I personally don't see how that is a waste of time. It is certainly a better way of spending their time when compared to, say, working in a job which they hate.

Statements like this:

"Yes. You learn by doing, not by sitting in a classroom for an extra eight years of your life(exceptions, of course, when you need those extra eight years in order to do what you do)."

Say more about the personal values of the person saying them than they do about learning per se.

In my area of study (contemporary political philosophy and social theory) there is much to be learnt by "studying in the classroom", by being in an environment where you are able to read widely and enter critical discussion with peers. There is also much to be learnt by participating in society as well, I certainly don't deny that, but the implication that time in a university that isn't being spent working towards a particular career goal is wasted is far from the mark.

So many of the advances of human knowledge have come about not because people were trying to solve particular practical problems but because they were interested in understanding things and gained satisfaction from working towards that understanding. Other people then take that knowledge and use if for more "practical" purposes, which is great, but they wouldn't have been able to do so if it wasn't for those navel-gazing time wasters.

 

[MaxP]

So many of the advances of human knowledge have come about not because people were trying to solve particular practical problems but because they were interested in understanding things and gained satisfaction from working towards that understanding. Other people then take that knowledge and use if for more "practical" purposes, which is great, but they wouldn't have been able to do so if it wasn't for those navel-gazing time wasters.

I get a degree in molecular physics. I work in a laboratory and make discoveries.
I can't recall the last time anything has been discovered in a classroom.

 

[nolongerhome]

I get a degree in molecular physics. I work in a laboratory and make discoveries.
I can't recall the last time anything has been discovered in a classroom.

If you have a university degree and are working in a laboratory you should then know that there is a lot more happening in a university education than just sitting in a classroom.

 

[Braunwyn]

Yes.
You learn by doing, not by sitting in a classroom for an extra eight years of your life(exceptions, of course, when you need those extra eight years in order to do what you do).

So, you're saying that your research and publications in uni were a waste of time? Really?

I believe learning can be satisfying,but I wonder how people will take it when everyone becomes equal to understanding in the end.

Take what?

I get a degree in molecular physics. I work in a laboratory and make discoveries.
I can't recall the last time anything has been discovered in a classroom.

lol

 

[PassionFruit]

I get a degree in molecular physics. I work in a laboratory and make discoveries.
I can't recall the last time anything has been discovered in a classroom.

Well, I would assume that you would have to spend some time in a classroom in order to learn how to conduct experiments by learning the proper methods. Then you should have the knowledge the apply that in the lab.

 

[Braunwyn]

To answer the OP-

How do you feel about people who get degrees just for the sake of getting one? Since I've been in school most people around me get degrees in hopes of getting a decent career where they makes lots of money. But I also met people who were getting degrees because of self improvement, or something like that.

So what do you think of people who seek education because they like learning?

Is it a waste of time? Why or why not?

No, I do not think it's a waste of time. If possible, a person should get an education...period. At the same time, unless we're independently wealthy, practicality has to be considered.

 

[Braunwyn]

Well, I would assume that you would have to spend some time in a classroom in order to learn how to conduct experiments by learning the proper methods. Then you should have the knowledge the apply that in the lab.

MaxP's post doesn't make sense. I'm not sure what he does in the lab, maybe he's a tech, who knows, but the lot of us in the sciences usually research and write while in school. And then there's the fact that we teach as grad students. That alone made classroom experience extremely valuable for me.

 

[PassionFruit]

MaxP's post doesn't make sense. I'm not sure what he does in the lab, maybe he's a tech, who knows, but the lot of us in the sciences usually research and write while in school. And then there's the fact that we teach as grad students. That alone made classroom experience extremely valuable for me.

Yeah, I'm Sociology major and being a social science the time I spent in the classroom was valuable. I had to learn how to do research methods, so my time since I've been in school has been spent on writing and doing a little bit of research.

No, I do not think it's a waste of time. If possible, a person should get an education...period. At the same time, unless we're independently wealthy, practicality has to be considered.

I don't think so, either. I asked because I was having a conversation about this with some of my family members. Partially, yes I am getting a degree so I have better career opportunities, but at the same time, I do have a desire to learn (specific topics of course).

But it still seems that people have this attitude that you should only pursue a degree just to get a decent job, and learning for the sake of learning is stupid, at least that how it seems to me.

 

[Braunwyn]

Yeah, I'm Sociology major and being a social science the time I spent in the classroom was valuable. I had to learn how to do research methods, so my time since I've been in school has been spent on writing and doing a little bit of research.

I took a class that was basically a reviewing of the literature. For one, the 'creative statistics' we were exposed to has proven to be useful in my work. I also learned how to blow through 3 papers a week in depth. Obviously, scientists have to read a lot (studies) and depending on your area of expertise, that can be a daunting task. Instead of reinventing the wheel on our own time, it's broken down in the class room. I fail to see how anyone would find that to be a waste of time.

I don't think so, either. I asked because I was having a conversation about this with some of my family members. Partially, yes I am getting a degree so I have better career opportunities, but at the same time, I do have a desire to learn (specific topics of course).

But it still seems that people have this attitude that you should only pursue a degree just to get a decent job, and learning for the sake of learning is stupid, at least that how it seems to me.

Learning for the sake of learning is at the heart of innovation, which is the driving force of the sciences imo and ime.

 

[Wyzaard]

I get a degree in molecular physics. I work in a laboratory and make discoveries.
I can't recall the last time anything has been discovered in a classroom.

Not too familiar with the humanities, huh? Discussion, debate, discourse, dialogics... the interplay of ideas is enriching.

 

[wanderingone]

How do you feel about people who get degrees just for the sake of getting one? Since I've been in school most people around me get degrees in hopes of getting a decent career where they makes lots of money. But I also met people who were getting degrees because of self improvement, or something like that.

So what do you think of people who seek education because they like learning?

Is it a waste of time? Why or why not?

I enjoyed class mates in grad school who were there primarily to further their education, not as a means to make more money. (of course most of us past our early 20's were well aware that a degree doesn't = money, especially if you take loans to get it)

I think people who think going to college will mean they will make a lot of many are probably wasting more time than those who are there for the love learning. Certainly a degree is essential in a tremendous number of fields, but earning "lots of money" as a primary goal is bubble waiting to be burst.

 

[wanderingone]

But it still seems that people have this attitude that you should only pursue a degree just to get a decent job, and learning for the sake of learning is stupid, at least that how it seems to me.

We've convinced a lot of people of that in America. It seems to be quite popular to sneer at intellectuals. The love affair with material gain has caused far too many to view any endeavor that requires brain power but doesn't bring in cash as a waste of time.

 

[WatersMoon110]

Inside or outside of a classroom - I love learning and most things I have only learned for the joy of it. I know tons of "useless" information - only good for trivia games. Like I know all of the species of birds that come to feeders in my part of Ohio.

When I learn something, it makes my brain feel good. I read books basically constantly, and I loving finding out new information online.

That's why I like E&M so much - I often read things that make me think about the world in different ways.

I cannot imagine anything more enjoyable than the feeling I get from learning something or figuring something out. The only thing that comes close to it is the feeling I get when I make someone else happy.

 

[gwenmead]

So what do you think of people who seek education because they like learning?

I think it's great. I have no objection to it at all and I don't consider it a waste of time in the least.

The love affair with material gain has caused far too many to view any endeavor that requires brain power but doesn't bring in cash as a waste of time.

QFT.

Heaven forbid anyone should earn a degree simply because they like the subject in question, and want to exercise their brain.

 

[lawtonfogle]

How do you feel about people who get degrees just for the sake of getting one? Since I've been in school most people around me get degrees in hopes of getting a decent career where they makes lots of money. But I also met people who were getting degrees because of self improvement, or something like that.

So what do you think of people who seek education because they like learning?

Is it a waste of time? Why or why not?

While I do look at the need of a good job, I see it as a goal only because it will help me learn. As such, I am one who learns for the sake of learning. Really, while some may say it is a waste of time or money, it is only because they don't realize that getting a CEO position for others is a waste of time and money. I learn because learning is one of the things which completes me. I could never be satisfied with a dead end job, even if that was the CEO of some fortune 500. Oh, I would be rich, but I would not be happy. Money for me is nothing more than a means to other ends, while education to me is an end. Pure understanding. I crave it, others don't get why.

As to why, I am not sure. My parents don't like to think, and for the longest while, I was an extreme conservative, to the extent I was a prime case fundie. But then, I did something. I set out to justify my position, doing such things as disproving evolution. And that is why I first began to realize how much had been with held from me.

In the end, if my goal must be summarized in a single sentence, it is that I wish to understand God. For those who don't believe in God, you can take it to mean I wish to understand existance. Really though, I don't think I understand enough to even begin to understand what understanding what I wish to understand will even be like.



I just used understand four times in rapid succession in a single sentence.

Do I win for that...

Or maybe I lose because of that

 

[lawtonfogle]

Yes.
You learn by doing, not by sitting in a classroom for an extra eight years of your life(exceptions, of course, when you need those extra eight years in order to do what you do).

There are different forms of knowledge. While it may be possible to lecture of tying shoes, it is far better to do that hands on. But with other forms of knowledge, this is not the same. Reason being, at least in part, is that our memories work differently. Some are physical, such as tying a shoe, others are not.

Also, some things are too expensive to do until you can almost do it without flaw.

But really, I would like to see someone learn how to program without having a single form of lecture on it. I would also like to see someone learn how to research when they haven't been lectured on the very basics of how to research.