I have decided to write this because I’ve interacted with many people who seem to poo poo on the idea of getting education. I will say this seems to be, at least anecdotally, very present in gen alpha kids. Although it also seems relevant to many boomers and people who identify as right wing, reacting to wokeness in academia.
It’s important to note that by “becoming educated” I don’t necessarily mean getting a formal college degree. By education I refer to all means possible, even ones such as watching college lectures on youtube, or reading articles online. Let’s get started.
The main question here is “What’s the point of pursuing education?”, and the answer is so broad, so long, and contains so much depth I cannot possibly write it in one sentence, or even in a couple of paragraphs.
The most common answer is “getting education is important because you develop niche skills which give you access to a career path in the job market”. This is true, although it’s the most reductive, myopic answer to the question. Education is important even if it doesn’t directly provide you a career.
I will decompose this question in various sub-questions.
The first question is “What’s the point of studying History?”
Why bother learning dates of historical events? Why bother studying WWI and WWII? Why bother studying Ancient Egypt? Why bother studying Ancient Greece? Why bother studying periods, like the Neolithic? Why bother learning about dictators, kings, and presidents? Why bother studying how religions emerged and evolved? Why bother studying geography? Why bother studying Mythology? After all, I don’t plan on becoming a historian, geographer, or theologian.
The second question is “Why bother studying science?”
Why bother studying the scientific method? Why bother studying different research methods? Why bother studying philosophy of science? Why bother studying animals? Why bother studying astronomy? Why bother studying chemistry? Why bother studying the history of science? Why bother studying electromagnetism? Why bother learning about tectonic plates? Why bother learning about genetics? Why bother studying linear algebra? Why bother studying physics? Why bother studying epistemology? Why bother studying statistics? After all, I don’t plan on becoming a scientist, researcher, mathematician, physicist, or any of those “science jobs”.
The third question is “Why bother studying psychology?”
Why bother studying the basics of psychology? Why bother studying stoicism? Why bother studying nihilism? Why bother studying philosophy? Why bother studying anthropology? Why bother learning about different cultures? Why bother reading the DSM? Why bother studying neuroscience? Why bother learning about optical and auditory illusions? Why bother learning about concepts such as masculinity and femininity? Why bother learning about “gender”, “gender expression”, “sexual orientation”? Why bother reading self help books? Why bother learning about different worldviews and ideologies? After all, I don’t plan on becoming a psychologist, or self help guru, or a philosopher, or any of those things.
The fourth question is “Why bother studying art?”
Why bother studying sketching techniques? Why bother studying the history of art? Why bother studying art from around the world? Why bother drawing and painting? Why bother learning about famous painters and writers? Why bother studying literature? Why bother studying how modern 3d animations are produced? Why bother studying music? After all, I don’t plan on becoming an artist, musician, writer, etc.
I intentionally didn’t write a section full of questions like “Why bother studying accounting” and “Why bother studying the Law”, “Why bother learning mechanics” and “Why bother learning how to cook”. The answer to these types of questions is too obvious. Certain fields, certain topics provide obvious practical value.
So the big question remains, “Why bother getting educated?”, outside the niche set of practical fields?
The answer is so large, it contains so much depth and breadth, it’s hard to communicate. It’s fascinating. When something has a simple, direct sort of value that it provides, you can explain it. But when something gives you a tremendous amount of value, that appears to you in different sizes and shapes, it’s like trying to give you water by holding it in my hands. It’s an entire ocean.
I won’t give you the answer. Instead, I will give you something to contemplate.
Imagine two individuals, person A and person B. Person A hasn’t bothered to study all the topics I mentioned above. Person B has bothered. How different do you think persons A and B’s lives are? Do you think they interpret the news in the same manner? Do you think they have similar professions? Do you think they make equally healthy decisions? Do you think their nutrition is similar? Do you think they make similar financial decisions? Do you think their human values, such as honesty, integrity, persistence, compassion are the same? Do you think person B is overall very similar to A, but merely has a lot of useless garbage in their brain? Stuff they only use for trivia night?
Let me tell you, I’m not person B by any means. But it’s extremely rewarding to get educated on various topics. It’s not just mentally stimulating, not just “for fun”. Education is like a superpower. And once you have it, you never lose it. It’s a superpower that attracts interesting people, good jobs, interesting conversations, a lot of richness, a lot of appreciation, money, but not just money, wisdom in your decision-making. Education makes you more complete as a human being.