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Internet will make college irrelevant, says Bill Gates
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The following comments relate to this news article:
article published on 9 August, 2010
Bill Gates, one of the richest men in the world after he co-founded Microsoft in the 70s, has made some interesting comments today in relation to the college experience.
Gates says that soon college educations will be irrelevant, thanks to the Internet.
"The self-motivated learner will be on the web. And there will be far less place-based [college] things...College -- except for the ... [ read the full article ]
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AfterDawn Addict
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9. August 2010 @ 23:29 |
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Soon we will all have 4G hotspots in our heads, and learning will become redundant.
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9. August 2010 @ 23:32 |
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...and the Mind Police will truly takeover.
On another note, self motivation is hard to come by for people who don't already have a habit of good things. Just telling them to go to school on the computer doesn't sound very motivating, but GOING somewhere does. Less distractions too.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 9. August 2010 @ 23:33
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Senior Member
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9. August 2010 @ 23:38 |
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oddly i actually agree with gates. college is overrated, and not everyone can afford college. thus alot of intelligent people don't get shiny plaques and without the shine your just another nobody in the eye's of the employer.
if somebody was just willing to give someone the chance to prove themselves, there would be no need for a degree in whatever field it is.
it was like my father always said, it takes money to make money.
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slickwill
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9. August 2010 @ 23:42 |
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For those of you who already thought that traditional college education has or already become unnecessary (depending on major) thanks to the internet say, "Ai"!
To bad for us/those who realized this way to late, but still need those 4 year degrees b/c companies require them. However the corporate institutions will probably conspire with the Universities to make sure those who want to enter into a specific career go to a 4 year school. Or maybe those online schools such as University of Phoenix will become more socially acceptable in he near future, once the education bubble bursts (google "education bubble).
For those who don't have self motivation should take a self motivation class. ;)
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AllinAK
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10. August 2010 @ 00:06 |
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I totally agree with Gates. Going to college was the only advice our parents had to give us, and they're parents as well. This is outdated advice to give a child these days.
It is a rare occasion to see a college actually grad working in they're field of study. Even worse, the bill for the schooling will be following these poor kids around for the next 10-20 years. Unless your child is going into a field that actually makes any money, (lawyer, doctor, dentist, etc.) it is not likely that they will benefit from they're schooling financially.
These days, any real wealth will indeed be made online.... Happens every day.
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scorpNZ
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10. August 2010 @ 00:45 |
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Originally posted by KillerBug:
Soon we will all have 4G hotspots in our heads, and learning will become redundant.
You've been watching to much of The matrix trilogy :p to be honest i like the idea of download directly to my brain :D
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Senior Member
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10. August 2010 @ 01:22 |
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well people always say schooling is inportant.I've got a brother that dropped out of school when he was 16.a few years later he did a tafe course.a 3month course on electronics.Now hes 29 and owns his own successful electric manufacting business.the problem is everyone learns differently.A certificate might show you can do something but actions speak louder than words or paper in this case.
custom built gaming pc from early 2010,ps2 with 15 games all original,ps3 500gbs with 5 games all original,yamaha amp and 5.1channel surround sound speakers,46inch sony lcd smart tv.
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fragrantvagrant
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10. August 2010 @ 02:55 |
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Gates is correct - all exams are just short term memory tests
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10. August 2010 @ 03:28 |
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I agree. A few years ago when I was still in high school they were offering an early-morning college course on Java programming. I had already taught myself Java using my good friend, Google, so I figured I might as well take the course for some easy resume material. There were actually mistakes in the course material that even a beginner could notice. The internet has its fair share of misinformation too, but ~$20/month sure beats the several thousand dollars a year you'd pay going to college. And the internet lets you do other stuff too!
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AfterDawn Addict
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10. August 2010 @ 04:25 |
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Like billy said, college is all about getting drunk, stoned, layed, and then repeating this every day. Such an environment is terrible for learning.
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10. August 2010 @ 09:33 |
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Great prediction from a college drop out who had daddy's money to fall back on.
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10. August 2010 @ 09:35 |
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Originally posted by nonoitall:
I agree. A few years ago when I was still in high school they were offering an early-morning college course on Java programming. I had already taught myself Java using my good friend, Google, so I figured I might as well take the course for some easy resume material. There were actually mistakes in the course material that even a beginner could notice. The internet has its fair share of misinformation too, but ~$20/month sure beats the several thousand dollars a year you'd pay going to college. And the internet lets you do other stuff too!
Where did you go?
The Podunk Community College?
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Mysttic
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10. August 2010 @ 12:50 |
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I spent $20,000 into college 10 years ago, and safe to say it really hasn't done much for me; people can say that I haven't done much with it, but situations have a tendency to just make itself go from good to bad, to suck-ass. My education I spent $ on felt wasted; I went to lean IT and when I got out I realized I learned nothing. All my learning experience came in the field, and in the end every dime I spent at college was for naught; its actually to the point I don't even both putting it on my resume because it taught us nothing but how to have parties and drink. I did attend my classes, I did graduate with high grades, but what they taught back when I went was crap. Learning "How to move a mouse" in a college course is BULLSHIT, and I sorry if you dunno how to move a mouse by the time you done high school, then maybe you should have stuck in high school.
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SomeBozo
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10. August 2010 @ 14:16 |
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I would disagree with Gates as much as he has been wrong a few times in the past. "Who would ever need more than 640Kb in a computer?" How would a doctor practice medicine? And the "motivated learner" I would consider far and few between. While i'll be the first to agree college and universities are way over priced. While I think there are a good number of people that need regiment and structure in order to learn and motivate them.
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GryphB
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10. August 2010 @ 14:27 |
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School was boring back in the day and still is. If you look at it, kids these days are more concerned about getting laid or having relationships than care about what the heck they are supposed to be learning. School wasn't fun or interesting until I got to college, because 1: I had to pay for it, 2: I choose what I was going to learn and invest into. Other than that, college is overrated.
College tuition seems to always go up every year, you rarely if at all hear about the prices going down, a kid without a HS diploma or college education can make the same amount as you or get a better job than you if they have the on the job experience training since you won't have any while you are busy getting that education. And in todays society, it's not what you know, it's either who you know or who you blow.
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lissenup2
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10. August 2010 @ 14:42 |
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Dumb people for believing Gates or agreeing with him and dumb Bill Gates for saying that.
First, he dropped out of Harvard simply because he was able to steal DOS and sell it off without legal consequence.
Second, life is different now. 6.5 billion people on this planet compared to 3.7 back in 1970 and it's things like GOING TO COLLEGE that distinguishes one sheople from another.
Regardless of what all the morons that agree with Gates say/think, college will be a necessity for a long long long long time and will continuously show employers that you can "follow through" with something. Besides..............anybody that thinks they can learn medical without direct college intervention is destined to be a cadaver themselves.
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Mez
AfterDawn Addict
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10. August 2010 @ 15:01 |
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I think Bill and the rest of you are out of touch. College is a litmus test for employers. Not that it is accurate or fair but that is the way it is. It is an easy way to eliminate 90% of the applicants so you can carefully pick through the last 10%. I can't get a government job because I did not serve in the military, I am not a minority and I got less than a 3.0 for my degree. I have taken many college courses after that and I have close to a 4.0 but until I get a degree those do not count.
For those looking for a job without a career track record you college record is all that you have. Those that got good grades at good schools get the good jobs. Those that got less than stellar grades at OK schools don't get a good job and are lucky to get any job.
I agree with the relevance of a college education but Bill NEVER interviewed for a job in his life.
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Gnawnivek
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10. August 2010 @ 15:09 |
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Originally posted by robertmro:
Great prediction from a college drop out who had daddy's money to fall back on.
Hmmm, no, his parents might have gave him an edge, but the "inclination to learn" is in Bill Gates. There's an interesting background story on Gates in Gladwell's Outlier, it's a quite good read.
On the topic, I tend to agree with Gates too. This trend, self learning, didn't take off because the massive amount of information was not available back then. There are tons of books, but it's very exhausting to hunt the knowledge you inclined to learn. Right now? I just need to search.... Just few minutes ago I was intrigued what "without recourse" means. In my college days (the internet is still fairly young), I couldn't get the answer right away and more importantly, I got discouraged since finding answers were too damn exhausting (hey, I got to work part time, term papers, group projects, the last freaking thing on my mind will be "need to find out what without recourse means.")
Anyway, the internet makes learning so much faster, I'm actually inclined to look up the stuff that bothers me. The other day I looked up what SLI means (people were talking about video cards).
Trust me, if I had the information gateway back in my High School years, I think I don't need college for the technical classes. All you need is Language Arts (English/Literature) because that's one subject teaches you how to read and communicate. All of the other subjects depend on your personality really. Some people like scientific stuff, so they read those... Some people like computer, so they search computer related materials.
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dEwMe
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10. August 2010 @ 15:43 |
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How long before the internet makes Gates irrelevant?
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xtago
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10. August 2010 @ 16:40 |
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Maybe but it's does matter where you go.
If you had someone come in with a cert from the internet school of dickheads, or another from oxford.
or pretty much going to go for the oxford guy.
Sure, sure.... the net school will be all hip and cheap but something just doesn't sound right about it.
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jpc1284
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10. August 2010 @ 19:45 |
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For all the people who say college is worthless you are an idiot. I have a degree in chemistry and I doubt any old person could walk in off the street and step into my research job and learn on the fly with high school chem. Not to mention that I only just graduated so its an entry level position. Don't say college is a waist because you chose an area of study a trained chimp can do. But I do think the internet is an amazing supplement to the learning process. More so the ability to store data in a network and have it made accessible instantly. To the counter though i know there are people who do not have college education and are successful. Also you may not of gone to a university but those IT certification courses or culinary classes or any of those 2 year "programs"... Guess what, its the SAME THING AS COLLEGE. Just cheaper and shorter lol.
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fordsrule
Junior Member
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10. August 2010 @ 21:25 |
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Im half and half here yes uni/college mainly teaches you to drink etc but it does help employers find realistic people who may know what they are talking about to a degree i personally own a I.T business in town im on the best in town and its hard for me to find anyone to employe that actually knows what they are on about or can keep to my companies high standards ive even tried to train people to keep up to my standards and work pace and failed
they do help but the thing is for people like me with companies that go way beyond what is possible for others its just useless
like none of them knew how to fix a motherboard without replacing it that is really simple and amazed its not taught to them and to answer questions as to how i come across such knowledge i just studied my self over the net learning everything about electronic circuits etc and with some trial and error managed to come up with way to make broken electronics go again and i didnt even finish high school (left school to start my company and at the age of 18 already have a fleet of cars and employes)
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11. August 2010 @ 00:28 |
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There's a couple problems here. First, not everyone has the drive to learn. Some people need a grade to take learning seriously. Second, the 'internet' is far from reliable. An actual accredited school is far more likely to have things right as opposed to an article written by Billy Joe Bob. Third, a degree is a guaranty (assuming there wasn't cheating) that the student is at least at x level of knowledge. Following a degree gives structure for what the student needs to know.
Yes, college is quite overpriced and deans arguably get paid far to much. That raises student fees which are already high because of poor financial management. College does have its problems but saying it's irrelevant doesn't make sense.
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Senior Member
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12. August 2010 @ 02:31 |
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you people do realize that Medical Science and Chemistry where once practiced by Evil doers and sinners of the period, correct? and that the trade of both where done in secret and in inhuman conditions? they where also done by some of the most well respected entrepreneurs and self motivated individuals of there time.
Collage is a source of Controlled Knowledge, The internet Is the source of all information.
and like someone said collage degrees filter out people, which is not right. knowledge is what matters not a bloody piece of paper. i wonder sometimes i do, if this planet got any more ass backwards, if it would spin counter clock wise.
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lissenup2
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12. August 2010 @ 02:47 |
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Originally posted by DXR88:
you people do realize that Medical Science and Chemistry where once practiced by Evil doers and sinners of the period, correct? and that the trade of both where done in secret and in inhuman conditions? they where also done by some of the most well respected entrepreneurs and self motivated individuals of there time.
Collage is a source of Controlled Knowledge, The internet Is the source of all information.
and like someone said collage degrees filter out people, which is not right. knowledge is what matters not a bloody piece of paper. i wonder sometimes i do, if this planet got any more ass backwards, if it would spin counter clock wise.
It must be spinning backwards already when people use "where" when they meant to use "were" and spell college "collage".
Yahoo did a piece a week or so ago on common mis-uses of terms, generally in emails, but in most writing. Afterdawn people really need to read that.
Differences between They're, their and there. Between then and than, etc.
I laugh in sorrow thinking these 'misspellers' out there are beating me out of a good job........clearly this world is spinning backwards.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 12. August 2010 @ 02:48
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