View Single Post
Old 09-21-2008, 04:30 PM   #41
gothicusmaximus
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 2,687
Quote:
Originally Posted by JCC
If they change their minds then they change their minds, they can start that studying that subject. I don't like having pointless shit forced upon me.
They'd have absolutely nowhere to begin. Where would they go, back to high school? From where, exactly, would they receive the understanding of a subject necessary to determine whether they don't want to pursue it?

I don't see how the basic, fundamental, fucking microscopic pinpoint-sized tip of the iceberg knowledge of subjects one acquires in high school is 'pointless shit'. If everyone knew only about the one thing in which they're interested, interdisciplinary discourse would be a virtual impossibility-- physicists would be able to talk only to physicists and literary scholars would be able to talk only to literary scholars, because no one would understand even the basic jargon of academic spheres beyond their own. It would stunt the intellectual growth of society.

Quote:
The idea that all subjects should be compulsory or all of the ones you choose nurtures a society of mediocre jack-of-all-trades, rather than a great number of people well-skilled in different areas, and the latter is what's needed.
No, it encourages a society of people who are well-skilled in different areas, but also possess a core understanding of other disciplines.
Of course, in the ideal system, everyone would know more about other shit than they're presently made to, and more about their shit than they're presently made to.
gothicusmaximus is offline   Reply With Quote