novocaine":2lij6dvc said:
that generation that studies rubbish degrees is still doing alright with moving technology and science forwards, so it isn't all bad I guess.
But that generation also tend not to get a job that has anything to do with what they studied... and in many cases have to waste more time retraining for the job they do have!
novocaine":2lij6dvc said:
it's a tired and over used old trope used by bored and unimaginative comedians in an vain attempt to sound up to date and trendy and it's something that has never changed in all those years.
That doesn't mean it's a good thing... and the more people we have with degrees, the lower the value of those degrees, the lower the wages they'll get, the pickier employers can be and so on...
MusicMan":2lij6dvc said:
The point of university courses is to develop critical thinking, not primarily to develop competence in a particular subject.
And this is why we have all these shiny new kids coming in and throwing all these new, innovative ideas around about how they will revolutionise our ways of working with their critical thinking... because they don't actually understand the subjects they're being critical about and have limited experience of even the paradigms they're trying to apply.
Maybe in the old days critical thinking was all you needed, but in the modern world all that happens is these critical thinkers juggle ledger numbers and move money around between offshore accounts, occasionally make some redundancies and then asset-strip the company just before it all goes pear-shaped.
MusicMan":2lij6dvc said:
We do, however, need large numbers of people (preferably 100%) who can actually think, who can evaluate the mix of truth, persuasion, prejudice and lies with which we are daily bombarded in traditional and social media, come to sensible decisions and elect able and responsible politicians.
A lot of those people will end up in roles that specifically generate those persuasions, prejudices and lies in the first place.
Besides, you don't need university to learn critical thinking. Plenty of us managed just as well without... and sometimes even better, as we're not solely reliant on what was taught at Uni.
MusicMan":2lij6dvc said:
And how many 70+ year-olds have to ask their grandkid how to operate some aspect of their phone ?
How many of these hyper-intelligent university graduates so proficient with modern technology and critical thinking lack the common sense that allows the rest of us to navigate the workplace safely and unsupervised?
How many of them need a company-enforced H&S policy, complete with toolbox talks, because they don't know to look where they're going or tie their shoelaces...?