Does education make you dumber??

[Nataly 38]

Ok, I confess... This poll is not well designed...

Just that this is a topic I find myself thinking about a lot... Ever met an academic who was a genius at whatever abstract theory they specialised in but a fucking retard in "real life"? I have. I have also met some incredibly wise people who never finished highschool...

I wonder... Does a formal education "force" you to think more critically or does it teach you to memorise the existing knowledge of a handfull of pre-selected intelligent people? How many people leave university with fresh ideas? Do people who never go to university have a better chance at innovation? Apart from a foot in the door, does school really equip you with the skills for a successful life/career?

Discuss...

"There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse."
- Chris Hadfield
« Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. »
- my boss

[Squeak 17]

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Ok, I confess... This poll is not well designed...

Just that this is a topic I find myself thinking about a lot... Ever met an academic who was a genius at whatever abstract theory they specialised in but a fucking retard in "real life"? I have. I have also met some incredibly wise people who never finished highschool...

I wonder... Does a formal education "force" you to think more critically or does it teach you to memorise the existing knowledge of a handfull of pre-selected intelligent people? How many people leave university with fresh ideas? Do people who never go to university have a better chance at innovation? Apart from a foot in the door, does school really equip you with the skills for a successful life/career?

Discuss...

Yes and No to all your questions, as it's situational dependent for every person.

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[Fearjoburg 0]

There is a difference in being well educated and wise.

One comes from books the other life-experiences.

[piisfish 135]

as I didn't understand the question, but refused to refuse to participate, I voted Boobies

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[peregrinerose 0]

There are different kind of intelligence... rote memorization, problem solving, emotional intelligence, creativity, abstract thinking, etc. Is the PhD any smarter than the artist? Just different kinds of smarts.

My husband is a genius. No college degree, barely graduated from HS. He can fix anything you put in front of him from an elecrical/mechanical standpoint, even if he has never seen said gadget before. He has an incredible grasp of how many moving parts make the whole thing work. No clue how he does it.

I'm the book smart one with a couple of grad degrees. My brains are much more abstract than his, can wrap my mind around very complex issues, psychology, physics, math, emotional intelligence.

Neither of us is retarded in 'real life' at all.

Formal education will give to the student as much as the student puts into it. Those that rote memorize will gain no critical thinking, those that actively incorporate internships, research, etc will be the ones that have new ideas (same goes for those that do not persue formal education).

School equipped me with great skills for a successful life/career in the field that I chose (and for public safety is necessary in the medical field) and works phenominally with my personality type. My profession could be learned with no formal schooling by a very motivated person, but then how would public safety be regulated without those internal checks of competancy?

School was not necessary for my husband to gain great skills for a successful life/career in the field that he chose and works well for his personality type. The internal checks are less necessary, as either the fixed gadget works or doesn't, proof in the outcome very quickly without public safety hazards.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[hcsvader 1]

I'm a complete fucktard, yet I do very well in life.
I finished high school a couple years late, then went to trades school.
I'm not that we'll educated and I don't have an opinion on every subject.
I have funa nd live my life with a smile. Ignorance is bliss as some would say.

Have you seen my pants?
it"s a rough life, Livin' the dream
>:)

[Malta_Dog 0]

Education doesn't make you dumber, but it certainly won't make you smarter.

Experience, otoh...

All your dropzone are belong to us!!!!111!

[riddler 0]

I voted Yes, because I want as many people as possible to forego education in the future. My hope is that my own children will be educated, and since everyone else is not, they will live like kings and queens.

So please, don't get an education.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[airdvr 197]

Education won't increase intelligence...it has to be there to begin with. That said, i have met some really well educated individuals that were so socially misaligned you might think that a higher education was the cause.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[Squeak 17]

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Education won't increase intelligence..

NOT true! by a long shot not true

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[wmw999 2,121]

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That said, i have met some really well educated individuals that were so socially misaligned you might think that a higher education was the cause.

And I'd say that those people would have been socially misaligned anyway; education might not have helped that, but at least they gained some other skill to make up for it.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[cocheese 0]

The question for the sake of all humanity is: Can you fix "stupid"?

And if so, how? We are running out of time.

Man might be the dumbest thing on the planet if we take ourselves out.

[kasch 0]

I think I was conventionally smarter and more mature before I went to college. My highschool education was way more in depth, in my opinion anyway.

But then again college may have killed a large number of brain cells when I left my cacoon and became a social butterfly.

Sex with sith is like sex with a stripper. A lot of flashing lights and waving of glowing sabers, but in the end you end up with something dark and wrinkely.

DPH# "-13"
TSK# "-13"

[JohnMitchell 14]

The brain is a muscle, not a bucket. . .

The more you use it, the smarter you get. My education made me smarter, but it was hard work. Like Thomas Edison said, genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.

And we can't forget that each of us is a product of our genes. No amount of schooling could make me an Einstein.

[champu 1]

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I wonder... Does a formal education "force" you to think more critically or does it teach you to memorise the existing knowledge of a handfull of pre-selected intelligent people? How many people leave university with fresh ideas? Do people who never go to university have a better chance at innovation? Apart from a foot in the door, does school really equip you with the skills for a successful life/career?

So... I was just at another career expo for two days at my alma mater last week talking to students and taking resumes. As usual I encountered all four corners of the "doing well in classes" and "able to explain what they've done and what interests them about their field" gamut. So in terms of verbal communication skills I'd say those have to develop in parallel with putting your nose in a book.

Some areas of study are obviously more focused on problem solving, and just like any exercise, you get better at it the more you do it. You're suggesting that too much focused exercise in one area can leave a person "muscle bound" where they can bench-press a metric ton but can't scratch their lower back. I think that's quite possible, but more of an extreme case than people think. Not everyone going to the gym comes out looking ridiculous and not everyone who gets a bachelors or even a masters or PhD is an academic snob.

Classes that require a lot of memorization and/or exposure to existing ideas may seem like they are narrowing your world view, but if you approach them "correctly" then they give you an important foundation to build on. There's a risk that you'll come away from a class like that thinking, "I have all the ideas in my head now," and that's no good, but if you never study it there's an even greater risk you'll come up with seemingly novel ideas that are actually old news and doomed to failure.

[Nataly 38]

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You're suggesting that too much focused exercise in one area can leave a person "muscle bound" where they can bench-press a metric ton but can't scratch their lower back.

I'm not suggesting anything, I'm just stirring up shit

"There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse."
- Chris Hadfield
« Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. »
- my boss

[kasch 0]

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I'm not suggesting anything, I'm just stirring up shit

Are you suggesting coconuts migrate? Because if you are please see the educational chart linked below.

http://ehrstrategy.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/128.png?w=500&h=403

Sex with sith is like sex with a stripper. A lot of flashing lights and waving of glowing sabers, but in the end you end up with something dark and wrinkely.

DPH# "-13"
TSK# "-13"

[jackwallace 3]

The US military found out a huge amount about smarts in WW II. They got hilly billy's from back in the country that couldn't read or write. But could fix, make anything. Give them an electrical schematic or map and they had no problem. The military changed their entrance tests to find this intelligence and that stuff is still in the tests.
The tests that measure intelligence are biased to right handed, white men. Why? Just like all the religious doctrines, that's who wrote them.
I always figured, artists where the smartest people. They seem to predict the future. Da Vinci the parachute, Vern, the atomic submarine and the Inca's the end of the world. That reminds me I gotta go pack.

U only make 2 jumps: the first one for some weird reason and the last one that you lived through. The rest are just filler.
scr 316

[base283 0]

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Just that this is a topic I find myself thinking about a lot... Ever met an academic who was a genius at whatever abstract theory they specialised in but a fucking retard in "real life"? I have. I have also met some incredibly wise people who never finished highschool...

I think you are describing "Aspergers Syndrome". Loads of info on the intarweb. Check it out.
My son (7yrs), can do intermediate math probs in his head but write simple math probs down on on paper and he his completely lost.
If standard education doesnt address these not so rare anomalies, then it doesnt make them dumber, only less informed of their potentials.
Take care,
space

[rehmwa 2]

I've noticed that people that tend to throw out the worn out "well, they may be book smart, but they don't have common sense"

tend to be stupid people trying to shore up their low self esteem



(does that stir it up for ya?)

(real) education will help anyone improve from where they are - but everyone has a different starting point, so generalizations on the matter are just an exercise in stereotyping

{{insert Speaker's Corner flavored comment here about how true education has pretty much been hijacked by PC indoctrination resulting in people not allowed to think for themselves, and we could really take off......}}

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[JohnMitchell 14]

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I've noticed that people that tend to throw out the worn out "well, they may be book smart, but they don't have common sense"

tend to be stupid people trying to shore up their low self esteem

We've all been around stupid people who think their ignorance is better than your knowledge. I don't get it. They wear their low IQ's like a badge of honor.

[likestojump 3]

How about : "Can dumb people be well educated ? "
I vote YES.

Being educated is not a pre-req to being smart. It may help one be more knowledgeable, but I believe being smart is mostly in one's genes.

I know a dude who has a BS in Chemistry and an MS in BioInformatics.
he is one dumb motherfucker who keeps job hopping.

[Trafficdiver 8]

I've noticed that many MIT grad students can figure out incredibly complex math equations, yet can't figure out that an 11' tall U-haul truck can't fit under a 9' tall bridge.

[billvon 2,396]

> Ever met an academic who was a genius at whatever abstract theory
> they specialised in but a fucking retard in "real life"? I have.

Of course. But an uneducated retard is still dumber than an educated retard. Being smart is defined by the sum total of someone's brain power; it means they can understand calculus AND bus schedules.

> Does a formal education "force" you to think more critically or does it
> teach you to memorise the existing knowledge of a handfull of
> pre-selected intelligent people?

Good education does both. Understanding the logic behind calculus leads you to entirely new ways of thinking about math (for most people at least.) But you still have to memorize integrals.

>Apart from a foot in the door, does school really equip you with the
>skills for a successful life/career?

Depends what you want to do. A degree in math is useless if you want to be a pilot. But if you want to travel and make a lot of money, a degree in petroleum engineering is a very good investment.

[champu 1]

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You're suggesting that...

I'm not suggesting anything...

Little did you know...