Re: UKNM: RE: University v. Drop Outs

[Silas Denyer]

A couple of things which need mentioning here, I feal...


1. 10% of the population going to Uni makes the other 90% non-starters, not

drop-outs: part of the point of this drop-out debate is surely that some of

the brightest minds are stifled by the top universities they attend, and

therefore quickly drop out to move on faster. This is not the same as saying

that the x% (where x is large) who aren't bright enough to go to a top

university are going to inherit the world!


2. If you are a billionaire head of the company you founded you may seem

statistically quite likely to be a drop-out. However the converse is not

true: if you are a drop-out you aren't statistically likely to become the

billionaire head of the company you found!


3. If there is any point to Larry's (alleged) rant, it is that those who

aren't bright enough to realise that university is stifling them are

probably not going to be those who make money.


It has to be said, however, as a veteran of Manchester (undergrad) and

Oxford (doctoral) universities I don't entirely agree with him, but then we

Brits have always flowered just that little bit later than the

Americans...:-)


To whoever it was who was looking for comments about dropping out versus not

doing so, all I can say is that in my case not dropping out provided me with

a wonderful security net above which to try out all sorts of ideas and pick

the brains of the great and the good, in each case followed by a huge rush

at the end of the course to catch up and finish! With hindsight, however, I

don't see that staying in higher education conferred any commercial

advantage upon me whatsoever. In fact, most academics in my experience have

very closed minds: they can see the next step along their own research path,

but make very poor visionaries. As an undergraduate engineer I proposed

various business ideas and innovations to my tutors, all of whom brushed

them aside as unlikely to succeed: without blowing my own trumpet too much,

all I will say is that in each case others took these ideas and built

muli-million pound businesses from them... Therefore I think Larry

(allegedly) was right in that a thorough university education/training, if

you become completely subsumed in it as so many people do, equips you well

for a - often very successful - life within the confines of existing

business. Yes, you may make CEO of a multi-national, but you won't

necessarily make many waves along the way!


Silas Denyer

turns.net



----- Original Message -----

From: John Braithwaite <

JohnBGBGdirect [dot] com

>

To: <

uknmchinwag [dot] com

>

Sent: 06 October 2000 09:51

Subject: UKNM: RE: University v. Drop Outs



> Reading the Larry Ellison talk it made me think of one thing. Amongst all

of

> this, is there anyone who completed University that would like to argue

> against doing it? Come up and have your say.

>

> It seems our 'Larry' had a bee in his bonnet - a point to prove - a chip

> that he couldn't fit into a motherboard. He made sure that he went to the

> best place to prove it. Move on, Larry, you've achieved a lot and can be

> proud of it. Let the past be. Don't bother trying to justify your own

> life.... and yet give thanks as feeling a 'drop out' helped spur you on to

> prove yourself, congratulations on being so.... rich!


[Sam says: msg chopped]



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