Education - Part 2

The Positives of Education - What College Provides

College education, in general, provides three important things that allow a person to learn a new subject quickly and thoroughly:

1. Motivation.  If you're taking a class, you will spend at least 5 - 6 hours a week on that subject.  Often, it is 12 - 15 hours.  This much time dedicated to any one subject, for 12 weeks, will allow you to learn a lot about a subject.  Someone with discipline (not me!) of course doesn't need college to spend 12 - 15 hours a week learning about something that interests them.

2. Immediate feedback.  When I read a book on a difficult subject, I often get stuck at the first complicated equation or concept.  Wikipedia, reference papers, reference books, and my own mind are the tools available to understand the concept.  They often don't lead to a solution for me, so I give up. 

A good professor will either answer your question or give you a hint or context that will help you arrive at the answer yourself.  Being fed an answer or even a hint will indeed only give you a half-understanding, but even this half-understanding is enough to let you move on beyond the immediate topic and learn more about the subsequent, related topics.  Once you learn these and revisit the original topic, you often get a pretty solid understanding of it.  

When you're taking a class, this answer or hint will come immediately, while the question and frustration with it are still fresh in your mind.  So, you are always moving forward and learning more, and don't get stuck for long stretches of time the way you would with independent study. 

3. Peers.  When you read a book on a technical topic that interests you, you will be lucky to find someone who is: in your geographic area, interested in the same topic, reading the same book at the same time as you, and is willing to spend as much time on it as you are.  In a college course, you are guaranteed plenty of students who fit these criteria. 

A professor or TA will give you the answers, while a fellow student will find the answers along with you.  The latter is very important.  Having someone who is learning a topic at the same time and level as you are is valuable, because it will enable you to struggle with questions together and come up with a solid understanding.