Can you get an MIT education for $2,000? | Scott Young | TEDxEastsidePrep

[@saeed288]

I was reading his book titled "Ultralearning" then I decided to stop and search for him on KZbin, the book is mind-blowing and so his Tedx Talk. I am watching this video after 9 years and it's relevant and it will forever be. We can't thank you enough, Scott.

[@SapienciaEstoica]

I did the exact same thing reading ultralearning hahaha

[@bastiangutierrez4115]

*''You spent $ 150,000 on an education that you could have earned for $ 1.50 in late fines at the public library.''*

[@RogueX_Studio]

Good will hunting ...it is

[@Aboody92]

My boy is wicked smart ....

[@noogieboog]

Ok

[@aerozg]

Self education is the next big thing. Most people alreday recognize this. Intellectually curious people are the ones that never stop learning. We are living in intersting times. The future will be awesome!

[@aerozg]

Engineering & Computer Tech Exactly my thoughts. Well, i think the entire education system is ripe for disruption. You spend your time memorizing countless facts, speeding through textbooks and problems, getting good grades, preparing for this big thing called Life. When in fact, you should be allowed to follow your natural curiosity and see where it takes you. And have the entire education system in place to support you. Simple as that.

[@ozymandias8523]

DevFactor so why don’t you found your own start-up?

[@bmc868]

Yes the future will be awesome....self education is now a trend because people are unemployed...no job.

[@moahammad1mohammad]

Aaaaand nothing has changed except colleges are basically making you pay for what is essentially self education... via online learning

[@travissekutt]

it sure damn is

[@madhurpatel]

Self education is the future! Couldn't have agreed more.

[@ahmadbittar4618]

"Self-education is the future". After coronavirus has started, we believe that you are totally right Scott:-)

[@haamithsulthan5858]

Watching this video after 8 years. This one really made sense.

[@jysun4187]

And it still works.

[@sheldon0214]

Still works.

[@HelloWorld-bb1lm]

Still works

[@GROUPMS97]

@@HelloWorld-bb1lm Hello%20World();

[@thereal1337s]

I agree with you my friend.

[@Ali_Tabani]

this is an exact prediction of 2020, thank you too Scott.

[@morandoj]

Not only are you acquiring skills in computer science, Scott, but you are honing your skills as a public speaker and reaching an audience with a very compelling message. Nice job! Having raised three engineers and paid the price for their expensive tuition, I can also see the application of your philosophy at the lower levels of education, even as early as primary school. You give all of us much to think about.

[@DaveCulligan]

Already watching the video at 1.5X speed and hearing him say that he watched them at 1.5x speed... lol

[@juliomiguelrodriguez200]

This saves me so much time! I did not even know you could do this! Thanks

[@qncsc]

always 2x

[@PeterWolfe2012]

"Already watching the video at 1.5X speed and hearing him say that he watched them at 1.5x speed..." $2000? Nah, priceless.

[@dlouise64]

I do too hehehe

[@ctogaurav]

You're crazy.

[@10011011110]

I've always believed in teaching myself. I'm bad at learning at a pace that others want me to learn at. In fact, I've learned more when I've learnt for myself than when I learnt for something in school. I'm happy to see this sort of thing get advertised.

[@mmendi1114]

This is so true, I went to university, would have my smart friends who were older orally summarize the subjects of my test to me exactly the night before my test, would take the test and pass it. Then while working on my thesis I went back home - coincided with the pandemic, so I did not have my friends with extreme benefits and I found the second greatest option...KZbin, listening and taking notes from all the knowledgable people online....Now that was the actual university that I should have gone to in the first place....I would listen to the audios twice the actual speed and yes I did feel lonely because I could not interact with my friends and go places, but a substitute for that was the comments section of the videos, I learnt a lot from that section especially, the people who would take their time to share a thought and real life experiece....Other than the downside of becoming lethargic and getting extremely irritated and uncomfortable when people would ask me what are you doing (well yeh I don't know how to term it exactly) and also making some sort of wealth off of it, the amount of knowledge and intelligence you gain is inspiring and sort of worthwhile.

[@kazutama3902]

I'm Chinese in MIT and can't agree more. We need fast forward buttons

[@simontechdev]

Please do not miss the important point here. Keep learning...

[@sunii9929]

I totally appreciate this talk. It's up to students, not schools or gov, to disrupt the educational system. And learning is such a joy. We need to create ways to do it that suit us. Awesome inspiration! Thank you, Scott. Peace & Blessings!

[@Myplaylist892]

In 2023, I just watched this TED and I thought it was something recent, 2022 at most and when I look at the release date... 2012! Wow, really visionary.

[@j.m.silva__]

This is pure gold.

[@mustafaawadelseed1962]

simply amazing , he did it and completed the challenge , respect is what you deserve .

[@giovanni0908]

"I didn't want the five-course meal; I wanted my education à la carte ."

[@EmmitWilson]

"the world is Changing to Fast to believe learning stops once you get your diploma" Awesome.

[@DsVibe]

6:30 - I was sitting here wondering why I'm watching this... only to realize, he's now describing exactly what I've been doing for the past 1.5 months, a time-log for every task I take on each day!

[@HaiTran-ek1ju]

Agree with him, I found that learning by myself is faster than going to lectures everyday

[@unnamedrunner]

It seems everyone is missing the point. OK, not everyone. I think the point is that we have commercialised and therefore weakened education/learning, and Scott is offering an alternative to the commercial education juggernaut. Universities have a monopoly over issuing degrees and companies trust degrees. But is having a degree a guarantee or even a requirement to being a successful employee/business owner/investor/person?

[@cyrusIIIII]

1.the problem is that in your mind you see exceptions. People like Bill gates, etc . You have to look the big picture. Not everybody is 2.Getting a degree like computer science and history and philosophy is easy at home but how about chemical and mechanical engineering with load of labs? 3.Who wants to proctor these people? 4. Even the dude in the TED, I doubt he can solve the very normal physics I question right now. He probably put the exam and solutions together thinking reading the solutionand understanding it is equivalent of passing!!

[@Aaron-no3ne]

@Jon Saw Those are good points. Sometimes the degree is necessary. You can't become a lawyer or doctor without the guidance and approval of an educational institution but that case won't always be true and some people could really benefit from avoiding the financial burden of a degree. People should carefully consider the vision they have of their future and if college would be good fit for them. We really have an unhealthy "college is the only way to be successful, dive in without thinking" mentality as a culture. I don't think he ever sells ted talk as a one size fits all solution. Just as a possible alternative and a lesson in efficiency. I really think he's better off learning IT on his own if it's not going to be the central focus of his work.

[@xiaomingli2886]

@@cyrusIIIII Agreed with the second point. It's hard to replicate the environment at universities at home for learning those lab-based courses

[@marija347]

I totally agree

[@ВикторияБогдан-и4ц]

Ллоггожї

[@slawdel]

I love that you guys are having respectful, intelligent, arguments on here.

[@blam0801]

Really enjoyed it Scott. Cant wait to share it with friends!

[@karemlorraynealves]

'Self-education is the future', I totally agree with that.

[@jackontheroad_en]

Finding someone with you all the way is really helpful for perseverance

[@laksalakasa1320]

I'm really glad Scott brought this up. I've been struggling with my education for the past 21 months going for lessons all day till evening, completing timed assignments in school etc that i didn't have any time or energy left at home to read my notes and to try and understand what I was learning. It's study break now and I've finally understood what the hell I was learning. We all just need some time to self-reflect and to self-learn for a while, which was Scott has brought up.

[@TonyaODellFamishedWriter]

Incredibly insightful and spot on. The benefits of being an entrepreneur of your own education (or the president of your own business of intelligence), should not put you in debt or suck the life out of you (i.e. waste your time, most people learn at different rates & methods) but should ultimately increase your worth.

[@stefanskrilec1833]

zelo res se treba stalno izobrazevati da si lahko uspesen

[@architvis3243]

This is great. I started about 4 years ago learning everything I can about programming and computer science. Computer science stuff was on an accident, just curious how things work as I was working on different projects(adding circuits, binary, micro-controllers). I have met CS graduates or students about to graduate and they are very limited in what they have learned. That is because you can pass assignments and classes without a full grasp on the topic. Also students need more guidance. Yes you can ask the professors questions, but the issue is, you are unlikely to know the right questions to ask. Your degree matters very little, it just keeps the employer from throwing your resume away and gets you the interview. You need to do research and use those years to make sure you know what you are doing. Classes are more supplementary(they help, but you need to do your research). Also if you can get an internship, that might be the best way to get guidance. Networking is the next thing, college gives you the advantage of collectively working together with like-minded people. There are things I am great with and then horrible at others but I have friends now that help me understand my weakness(discreet math), as I help them with their's(programming). Simply, use your resources and don't get tunnel vision where you only do classes, also expect lectures to not teach much(fell behind in discreet math because I focused to much on the lectures). Plan your own education and figure out were you need to get to and how. To reiterate, networking is the best thing you can do in college. Professors and other students can be more important then anything else to find work or opportunities. Who you know can mean more then what you know.

[@MrsZqiizfiaesy]

He's idea is so amazing. I totally agree with what he said. Study itself is more difficult,and as a student myself, I don't really like to go class a lot, but yet i still need to go because I don't have any choice.

[@JoshsYTube]

Great talk. I think self education is the future!

[@PassportGods]

Most definitely. What do you think will happen to universities?

[@teachthedollarttd]

@@PassportGods begin to shut down

[@PelvicGuru]

Very interesting talk! The rewind and replay features are key. I missed so much in the big college lecture halls!

[@TheDavidKinney]

I hope my school watches this! Not completely sold but he is bring up some good points. Traditional schools need to ask is this the best way and not be complacent.

[@loanneolson]

Getting an education and learning how to learn...how to live, this is what Scott Young talks about. I'm a fan!

[@Zt3v3]

He's an engaging speaker. Kudos.

[@ianliu8837]

What an amazing presentation!! Very impressive, especially the point that self-learning is the future! Thanks for sharing~

[@ahmadsqalli3904]

me and my best friend wanted to become programmers, I dropped out of school from the 10th grade to teach my self programming, and I did it in less than 7 month ! 2 years later he graduate while I m doing business ! :P

[@ibrahimotaku6502]

+Ahmad SQALLI Great ! , you became a web developer or a software engineer ?

[@ahmadsqalli3904]

Web Developer !

[@BiMiHi]

you should check up David Karp, creator of Tumblr. He dropped from school at 15 and started homeschooling. He even never returned to finish high school.

[@jaedenriley1694]

Is that why your English is terrible?

[@milly4543]

programming =/= CS though so. People don't need college if all they want to do is web develop.

[@kamozazimba1228]

Cant believe this is 8 years ago! I just learnt the value of KZbin and online education platforms like Coursera, Ed X, Future learn, etc. I can’t believe all that free information is just out there. I’m learning so much in a much much shorter period for less money and otherwise time that would be wasted doing the mandatory formal education stuff that don’t actually contribute to the end goal.

[@happyelephant5384]

i found myself in a similar situation: got a social science degree but interested in computer science as well and considering online learning. This is hugely inspirational.

[@AmazingStoryDewd]

I'm a huge of advocate of self education. I have nothing against college, I just never thrived in that environment. The thing about college is that they decide what pace you'll at. I often found that most classes moved too slow and a few moved a little too quickly. What's great about self education is that you can choose whatever pace suits you and it costs a fraction if anything that college does.

[@aungthuhein007]

Excellent talk, Scott! I also believe in self-education. College sounds to me like a place where you go because you "have to". And it is this have-to basis that always makes me think, "Why is it that you have to do things the way other people are doing it?" I think it's better to just listen to yourself and do what you think is right than doing something that others are doing.

[@SexualPotatoes]

It sure is. But sometimes, the system has some of us by the neck. I dropped out of college and started my own company when I was 19, which was great until I decided to leave it and move to New York to try out new things. Here I can only get a job (and a valid work visa!) if I have a degree, so I'm being forced to go my way through college in my 24's :\

[@WorthlessWinner]

I always fast forward lectures....and rewind and slow down at the important parts.

[@Kate-ko2fy]

this is honestly great.. i agree with the part where he says that coming to uni can be such a waste of time. i spend like 2~3 hours commuting every single day just to go to 3 lectures.. so much time wasted :( and by the time i get home im tired from all the commuting etc so i dont do much work. but a class in my uni decided to just do audio recording for the lectures (they're trying to force us to go to lectures) thats why im forced to go. sigh.

[@suffragettesoul2687]

Interacting with people is not a waste.

[@Jack-id4qm]

Dang I hope things panned out well

[@Kate-ko2fy]

@@Jack-id4qm i graduate from med school in december, so things panned out super well :)

[@Jack-id4qm]

@@Kate-ko2fy yayyy congraduations!!!

[@apblopes]

Great presentation, Scott. Direct to the point! congrats!

[@TheMITChallenge]

I've switched from that since I do several classes in parallel now. But yes, my time is usually divided between reading/watching, projects/practicing.

[@AnnieSimsie]

YES! That is one benefit that has been helping me to learn faster and more effective!! The fast-forward and rewind button! And also the speed button, some lecturers talk very slow to my ear and it made me feel sleepy and get annoyed by how slow they are talking (sorry!), so I always put my online learning speed to 1.25x to 1.5x and it is soooooo much better!!!

[@lovefrombooks7]

Well, I was watching this video at 1.5 speed so I could get back to my homework faster...

[@rahulcomp24]

lovefrombooks7 :D

[@randomname2486]

+lovefrombooks7 Haha, same.

[@me9180]

How?

[@prabuinet]

+Tom Smith Click on the gear icon on the bottom of the video and choose the speed

[@LifeisajokeER]

i did it at 3.0 speed

[@Lily-wp5do]

Extremely inspiring, actually this is what I’m doing right now

[@a2m4m60]

the problem is when you need that piece of paper that says "degree" ...

[@HimanshuSharma-vt8ke]

Its as if its a complete scam. I mean maybe employers and companies get paid by colleges to only prefer students with degrees. It's like to get this job, u have to get a degree. And to get the degree, go to college. I think employers get a cut from colleges and universities to add degree in the qualification list. Otherwise, just think if you are an employer, would you care if your employee has a degree or not as long as he/she can get the job done

[@jankostadinovrucks1597]

Himanshu Swt Employers favor students with degrees due to the fact that they serve as a standard minimum requirement guideline to ensure the employer that that person is actually competent in that field, whereas otherwise the employer would require to invest money in training, test runs or some alternative benchmark system to find the right employee. No commissions are involved lol

[@2006017637]

The "problem" is dealt with in this ted, have you seen the complete video?

[@patriciagigileva]

@@2006017637 it doesn't. Most of companies still want a formal degree in order to give you a "decent" job. Some you can't even apply. And this is not even considering jobs like doctor, dentist and others that are mandatory.

[@AmazingStoryDewd]

Yeah You can look at it that way I suppose. The thing is that employers need validation of your knowledge and skills. I'm not sure why employers don't just test your on the skills and knowledge required for the job regardless if you have a degree or not. That way they don't have to take your word for it.

[@hugoestr]

Yes, I liked that part of the talk. I am actually doing something similar but more modest than doing an MIT degree; I am learning about classical music through wikipedia articles and spotify. I couldn't do what I am doing even if I went to college to take a course on it. The resources that we have now are just amazing.

[@geoffgivry]

Such an inspiring talk. Thank you very much, Scott, for this brilliant lecture. I am a big fan of self-learning. Learning new concepts is my passion. The more you learn, the more your brain is picking things quickly and connects it to your knowledge. Learning is the most amazing things ever!

[@Lootroq]

I'm an autodidact too and it's great to see others who are so inspired as to take their education into their own hands. One sentiment I identify with is the legitimacy of knowledge no matter where you got it from. If you pass the tests, complete certain experiments/projects given by an institution, no matter how plentiful they may be, that merits some type of status of competency. Though it seems many places are mainly interested in money and branding

[@ScottHYoungVid]

I've used speed reading techniques, I just didn't find them particularly useful with this challenge. My blog is an ongoing effort to improve my understanding, so I update it as I learn more.

[@LouiBourgin]

so you think speed reading techniques are useless for ultralearning?

[@miserimuslovestarvus6587]

I like this idea of using online courses instead of actually attending classes. For me it is both the money aspect and the time issue, as I havd to work full time and I have kids. But I discovered these awesome online free courses starting with khan Academy and then FutureLearn and Coursera, and I can say I have learned much more in the past few months than during all my three years of graduate studies.

[@joshuavid]

Hi, I'm from a new university in collaboration with MIT, and I must agree to most of what was said. University is expensive. Not everyone can afford it comfortably. My university curriculum has similar content and rigor of MIT as MIT brought the majority of their courses to my uni. I use MIT open courseware extensively to master my topics. In some way, we are encouraged to use materials from MIT OCW to keep learning. It's part of a habit of life-long learning...

[@flourishesANDtricks]

Great talk Scott!

[@quirkyquester]

Inspiring!! Thank you so much!!!

[@mousanajafi5490]

Scott you are great. I decided to do the same not MIT but other top university. I always fear the universities will hide someday their curriculum from outside world. This is so great way for poor and who have not time to go school. The university of the people established based on this need and is missusing this need to their own benefit. Scott way is so much better

[@RaffySonata]

"Education hacking is the new trend" i like this quote :)

[@liszhou4355]

The 1.5x thing works. I started it as soon as he mentioned it, and actually, it helps me plow through even more TED talks while working on homework. ^-^

[@jonathantrecool11]

I love you don't know why :P

[@liszhou4355]

Jonathan Vivas Um thanks? haha

[@DavidPhillipsAustin]

In addition to the quality of your idea, you enunciate and vocalize with marvelous clarity so that the auto-transcription looked complete and accurate. (Too bad the TEDx talks don't publish a transcription the way the TED talks do.) Thanks so much for your website and terrific methods you share. So happy I discovered it.

[@OlgaPerezWilchacky]

Scott, I'm trying to follow your view by taking courses on Coursera -taking advantage of courses from universities around the world. Your point on doing this as 'Continue Education' is the way to go to stay up-to-date with changes in so many professional fields. Also, congratulation in learning languages while using NO English! I watched your videos on learning Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin and Korean. Again, you prove it can be done!

[@melsy7281]

I always do self education during final exams.

[@hugoestr]

It is very kind that you responded to clarify your position. Thank you. Yes, I do agree on those thoughts.

[@r.m1447]

Reading his book n loving it

[@paurullan]

Great job Scott!

[@mr.camroe]

This isn't only the education system. It's the entire workforce.

[@BluEN1111]

Excellent talk!

[@brosky117]

I love this! I was actually planning on doing this myself before watching this video haha. My main concern is if a company would recognize the value of what you learned. The degree proves (for better or worse) that you did the work. Anyone can SAY that they learned something but I'm not sure it could be believed in an interview situation.

[@AzrheiLP]

I've already done this :) Check out academicearth.org and Coursera (coursera you can actually take the tests and do the homework ad have them corrected, and peer projects and work is available too, for free)

[@brosky117]

Thanks for the replies! I looked for the Coursera stuff that you mentioned but couldn't find anything. Do you have a link? I am planning on graduating with a degree in Information Systems but my passion for the programming side of things is not satisfied with the core curriculum. I don't have any classes this summer and am planning on getting a ton of this done. How long did it take you to finish?

[@sarthakmishra1415]

Did the lack of a formal degree bother you??

[@nikkkkist]

i figured. thankyou! what you're doing requires a lot of persistence. Great job! :)

[@taliskujim4736]

The bachelors in Computer Science from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology has a curriculum that is very heavy of Mathematics. I guess it may be easier to self-teach this curriculum since math seems easier to self-teach when it comes to checking whether you did the exercises correctly? The curriculum is so math-heavy that there's Combinatorics and Graphs I, II and III! Lol. Even Functional Analysis is inside!

[@taliskujim4736]

Nah I didn't study bachelors in CS but felt like sharing this interesting curriculum here. 😂

[@robertweekes5783]

Solid talk, I've been thinking the exact same thing about the future of education... more remote learning, more modular coursework and fewer distractions, logistics and $$$$

[@mjunaid8729]

***** Not necessarily, hopefully there might be companies who invest in producing lectures for that very reason, actually there are people doing that right know, look at Salman Khan and others who are backed up by Microsoft and Google through funding. The only thing is that such type of learning can only be applied to a certain subjects like maths, programming etc. which don't require much other than texts books and lectures but subjects like medicine etc, require, probably, the same traditional method... still there can be other creative ways of teaching even medicine through independent study.

[@scot4204]

Awesome. Well done, Scott. Fortune favors the bold!

[@kulkarnisingh347]

Loved the talk

[@rogerc78]

For the first time speaking about the project that was a good talk.

[@ronahrollan8343]

self-education now is real.

[@mikekaleiwahea7337]

Excellent talk on a thought-provoking and revolutionary topic. Your delivery was superb and I expect we'll be seeing and hearing more from you in the years to come.

[@siddharthb2633]

This guy is a legend.

[@shpazhist]

i wonder what he is up to now lol

[@do_regan]

this what I've been saying since my first semester of college. I wish it didn't take me that long to realize formal education is a joke.

[@PieraB]

Awesome video and great presentation! all the best :)

[@acm90]

Amazing, Scott!

[@pawehyzopski3369]

i find self educating is much quicker, much more effective, and especially when i can apply what i learned instantly to my work, much more profitable/satisfying. didnt go to uni years ago, took me some time to grasp concept of self learning, so some guidance would be welcome for newcomers. now i just feel limitless (well, time limited ;) )

[@VikasGupta1812]

11:09 Most education in the future would be self education.

[@kyleetijamo460]

What Scott is talking about here becomes my reality being in college during pandemic 😂😂

[@NoxuzBlog]

Agreed to 100%,

[@zhangroyaso]

great author! I like him.because he not only share great choughts but also do it !Learning a 4-year computer science cource in 12 months without taking any class! I've known this plan in his blog for some time,and he's still working hard on it !!

[@andresmontejo]

I did exactly that in the last 3 years of my degree in Edinburgh Univeristy (Physics) - and with the time I saved by not going to lectures I got A LOT more time to study music and guitar. Some of my peers said they couldn't live without lectures, but I guess that for some people like it works better!

[@kuyajuswa]

I came here because of the book ultralearning. I was mindblown of the guy who learned and created a language from scratch. And the guy who's a musician that wants to be a public speaker, competed and actually won on a world championship for public speaking for just few months of ultralearning. 😱

[@tomfarrelly4552]

Excellent talk

[@beautyintheskies]

At college there are often too many students and too little time spent in class to address everyone's questions so you do have to do a lot of learning/studying/researching on your own to fill in the gaps. If you run to the professor every time you have a problem, you are demonstrating your lack of initiative (and intelligence and maturity) to solve a problem on your own. This is a major problem as solving problems on your own is a crucial life skill.

[@williamwolfe3760]

Interesting ideas -- one being the idea of buying ALL your textbooks at the beginning -- not entirely practical since books change -- publishers exploit this, even provoke it, causing prices to go up even more -- separate issue. Yes, having all your books in front of you, $2000 worth, all at once, is a small but very interesting point made in the video. But, on point: Schools are charging way too much for what they provide, especially since most majors lead to the unemployment line. Times are changing -- the current system of higher ed will collapse once we solve the "accreditation" problem -- schools have a monopoly on giving credit -- this has "deregulation" written all over it (airline industry of the past, telecom industry of the recent past, etc). As many of the comments here suggest: "how can I get credit?" -- it all points to the same thing: current higher ed is unbelievably inefficient in delivering education and the only reason we sign up is because we have no choice. They get away with it because of the monopoly -- there are lobbyist in washington as we speak, trying to get the accreditation rules relaxed or removed -- anyone familiar with the college accreditation process knows there is very little actual "content" in the process, just a question of having "resources" and "honesty in advertising" -- a very brittle system at best -- it's going to collapse very soon. When it does, we will shop for course work and get validated/credentialed in a variety of ways, and it won't have anything to do with football.

[@niceday1507]

I totally agree remote study on line, these days people moving around every where in the world, it is hard for every one to just stuck in some where and go to school for 4 years

[@zenicv]

This video is really good and he was right to spot on the current trend of distance learning..- which is accelerated by COVID. But the goal of learning in a good institution is also to shape your thinking, instil curiosity, give transferable skills for long term etc. Given this guys approach of finishing a class in a week, cramming lectures etc., those goals are not achievable.

[@drjedbest]

Fantastic and very thought provoking. Well done

[@going2sleep]

Yes go to educator dot com. If I had the resources that they have now when I went to school, then I would be a genius. I would say more than half the hard science curriculum is available online so it helps students who are currently enrolled a jump start. The competition is going to be tougher because more people are going to know the stuff before entering the classroom or better yet not even enter a physical classroom.

[@MattMcFarlane77]

Great talk Scott. Can definitely relate to your experience in the physical lecture theatres. Pause, rewind and fast forward would have been invaluable.

[@mamalovesthebeach437]

GREAT talk! Scott says, "if a person like me . . . " HA! He's well-above average intelligence. While I love the topic and the ideas presented, not many of us can get an MIT computer science degree in 1/4 of the time it typically takes. I've done online courses and while I've learned a lot, it takes supreme discipline to stay with a program long enough to earn a degree this way. I look forward to more opportunities to learn maybe in a community environment through online courses.

[@AmazingStoryDewd]

Intelligence only plays a small part. Do you really believe it truly takes 4 years to learn all of that? The only reason it does is because the school sets the pace. I have found that college courses often go too slow of a pace. I've always been faster learning on my own than attending classes. It doesn't take that much discipline if you truly care about learning. Those who need grades and the fear of failure to learn anything don't actually care that much about education to begin with. I think you underestimate too many people.

[@syahrulfachrudin2811]

'I wanted the education not the school' I realize after going to school not retain so much and apply it properly. Also drop off maybe not the good solution, because have a degree still has a value to put in the resume

[@algore8784]

Great job! You are absolutly right. In the modern world you have to learn all the time and most of the people get strange feelings if they think about learning, but every human beeing is driven by curiosity in his or her early years... For some reason this curiosity stops after you got through school. There are no bad subjects. I think that every content which you want to learn can be interesting just by thinking about it and think about the reasoning of the inventor of those concepts.

[@hugoestr]

I guess what I was trying to get at was that self-learning is not a replacement for university education because a university degree gives you access to better jobs. Self-learning won't do that. There are exceptions, but then, that is why they are exceptions. In terms of learning more for one's own sake, we are living in the best era ever, and you are showing the way on how to use them :)