The case against education
Despite being immensely popular--and immensely lucrative -- education is grossly overrated. In this explosive book, Bryan Caplan argues that the primary function of education is not to enhance students' skill but to certify their intelligence, work ethic, and conformityin other words, to signal the qualities of a good employee.
Stats for nerds
40recommend
118mentions
72people
2015–2026years
48% recommend50% neutral2% critical
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- I'm surprised no one has mentioned Bryan Caplan's The Case Against Education yet, which basically argues for a revolution in the other direction - get rid of almost all schooling because almost none of it passes a sane cost benefit analysis. It's very well researched, and the author has a long track record of being happy when he moves people even marginally towards his views.
The praise here for Direct Instruction is akin in many ways to a lot of the research Caplan draws on, especially his findings that generally, most work related knowledge is built at work, by actually performing the job.
https://www.amazon.com/Case-against-Education-System-Waste/d...
- Indeed, twin studies form the strongest leg of Bryan Caplan's argument in support of the signalling hypothesis in his book The Case Against Education, which I highly recommend anyone trying to refute it read and try to debunk. If you want an itemized list of citations this is where I'd start.
- > [...] with the idea being that university attendance is correlated with higher income, so more degree holders = better economy.
That sounds a bit like buying a Lamborghini in order to get rich? Lamborghini ownership is highly correlated with net worth.
> I feel that instead we should have promoted self employment / small businesses and created the environment for that.
Or just not done anything. At least that wouldn't actively waste resources.
> The focus on credentialism is backwards in my view. Most employers don't use it other than as, basically, a glorified signifier of IQ.
Alas, employers do use it, to a degree. And for good reason.
See Bryan Caplan's Case Against Education for some background.
- For those interested in this topic, I’d strongly recommend Bryan Caplan’s “The Case Against Education”: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691174655/th.... He does a much more thorough analysis of the value of a college degree than any other I’ve seen, including factoring in dropout rate, majors, meeting potential spouses, opportunity cost, university prestige, etc.
The summary aligns with common sense: college degrees are typically valuable, especially in in-demand fields and from prestigious universities. But the college dropout rate is around 50%, so many people incur the cost of college with little of the benefit.
If you’re a high schooler considering college, it’s worth it if you are “good at school” and so confident you can finish in four years and are going to a high quality state school or better. Otherwise, you’re better off going directly into the workforce.
- Depends on the degree, mostly. Necessary disclaimer that everything I'm about to say is about statistical averages, which of course doesn't apply to you, dear reader - you are hypercompetence incarnate and I know the world heavily undervalues you. :)
The average bachelor's degree holder in the United States has an IQ of about 115, or about an 1100/1600 on the SATs. Some of the majors you probably intuit to be rigorous (mathematics, engineering, CS, and quite often philosophy) really do also tend to have higher average IQs for successful graduates - I usually hear 125 to 130 floated for these ones. There also exist majors with lower average IQs, like [REDACTED] and [REDACTED].
Competition for the top schools tends to push the average IQ there much higher no matter which nation one looks at - my alma mater's average SAT scores would suggest an average IQ of 130 or so across the board. But, for most people going to most schools, that won't make that much of a difference, and unsurprisingly a lot of really smart people decide the extra thousand hours to crank out 200 extra points on the SAT just isn't worth it. That's why surprisingly often you'll meet e.g. an engineering graduate from Podunk Polytechnic who's smarter than half the people you meet at the University of Ivory Towers.
College degrees act as a valuable signaling mechanism of both one's intelligence and ability to work consistently in a modern environment. One relevant term to Google is "sheepskin effect". If your IQ is anywhere in the triple digits, it is almost certainly possible for you to get an associate's degree, and it's probably possible for you to get a bachelor's as well.
If your IQ is in the double digits, it's probably not the best move, just from an effort to reward standpoint. Luckily the trades pay quite well and provide an alternative track that's both in demand and more accommodating of people who have less raw brainpower to throw around, but who are otherwise quite good and decent people.
And of course, I've known e.g. a few electrical engineers who became licensed electricians after their degree just because they liked working with their hands, and they almost always seem to clean up very well.
Practically anyone interested in this topic would do well to read https://www.amazon.com/Case-against-Education-System-Waste/d..., both if they love college and if they hate it.
- That happens too but I think the underlying reasons are simpler.
Everyone involved in hiring should read “The Case Against Education” by Caplan.
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