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More challenging colleges teach you far more than you can teach yourselves. A top 5 computer science school churns out a much more capable and knowledgeable co

More challenging colleges teach you far more than you can teach yourselves. A top 5 computer science school churns out a much more capable and knowledgeable computer science major who is both well versed in theory and knows how computers actually works down to the bytes. Kudos to the writer, his ability to hustle is strong. There is more than one kind of talent.

sillysaurus 14y ago
I am well versed in theory and know how computers work down to the semiconductor level. (An aside: I am eternally grateful to Feynman for his wonderful book on that subject.) Incidentally, I dropped out of high school my Junior year after I landed a programming internship at a local game studio. I have a GED. I would say I'm capable of being put to work on any software project in any domain and in short order attain a high degree of productivity. I spend my days researching optics and color theory. I'm the process of building a graphics research lab in my basement, and my purpose in life is to one day write a program which generates images that appear so real and so detailed that the observer would be convinced they were captured by a digital camcorder, rather than output from a 3D renderer. Computers have been my life and passion for well over a decade. I'm 24.
- ulyssesgrant 14y ago
  Like many people have said, this is very anecdotal. Not all drop outs are as motivated or as capable as you seem to be. At the same time, neither are all college graduates. However, graduating from a top 5 cs program will at least ensure that you have learned a good deal of information from a wide variety of topics in computer science.
  - sillysaurus 14y ago
    Graduating from a top 5 cs program will at least ensure that you have learned a good deal of information from a wide variety of topics in computer science. As will books: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/315/books/list.html http://dl.dropbox.com/u/315/books/list.html It's been my experience that the most capable members of a team have all shared a passion for learning combined with open mind. The fact that the top schools tend to select for those traits have led people to conflate credentials with excellence.
- dinkumthinkum 14y ago
  That's great, very impressive. No one denies brilliant computer scientists with no formal education exist. But just because Ramanujans exist, doesn't mean the other 99.99% of people don't need an education. :)
BadassFractal 14y ago
Having gone to two of the top five cs schools, I haven't really learned much about computer science from either. The lectures were boring/unintelligible and not motivational (foreign researcher prof., you know what I'm talking about). The MPs were great, but they're not something you really need to pay for. These days you can find technical challenges for yourself anywhere. Read a book. The biggest benefit was forcing me to learn things on my own, otherwise I would have never forgiven myself for flushing hundreds of thousands of dollars down the toilet. All of my best CS experiences were when I individually worked on machine problems meant for two or three people, learning a lot through the struggle. At the end, I learned how to learn a little bit better, but I didn't learn much about CS. I thought I was the hottest thing on the block once I got into the job world, only to find out I knew nothing. That was THE ONE thing that greatly motivated me and pushed me to learn everything I could about the domain. Once again, it wasn't college that did it.
- taskstrike 14y ago
  Name those schools

sillysaurus 14y ago

I am well versed in theory and know how computers work down to the semiconductor level. (An aside: I am eternally grateful to Feynman for his wonderful book on that subject.) Incidentally, I dropped out of high school my Junior year after I landed a programming internship at a local game studio. I have a GED. I would say I'm capable of being put to work on any software project in any domain and in short order attain a high degree of productivity. I spend my days researching optics and color theory. I'm the process of building a graphics research lab in my basement, and my purpose in life is to one day write a program which generates images that appear so real and so detailed that the observer would be convinced they were captured by a digital camcorder, rather than output from a 3D renderer. Computers have been my life and passion for well over a decade. I'm 24.

ulyssesgrant 14y ago
Like many people have said, this is very anecdotal. Not all drop outs are as motivated or as capable as you seem to be. At the same time, neither are all college graduates. However, graduating from a top 5 cs program will at least ensure that you have learned a good deal of information from a wide variety of topics in computer science.
- sillysaurus 14y ago
  Graduating from a top 5 cs program will at least ensure that you have learned a good deal of information from a wide variety of topics in computer science. As will books: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/315/books/list.html http://dl.dropbox.com/u/315/books/list.html It's been my experience that the most capable members of a team have all shared a passion for learning combined with open mind. The fact that the top schools tend to select for those traits have led people to conflate credentials with excellence.
dinkumthinkum 14y ago
That's great, very impressive. No one denies brilliant computer scientists with no formal education exist. But just because Ramanujans exist, doesn't mean the other 99.99% of people don't need an education. :)

BadassFractal 14y ago

Having gone to two of the top five cs schools, I haven't really learned much about computer science from either. The lectures were boring/unintelligible and not motivational (foreign researcher prof., you know what I'm talking about). The MPs were great, but they're not something you really need to pay for. These days you can find technical challenges for yourself anywhere. Read a book. The biggest benefit was forcing me to learn things on my own, otherwise I would have never forgiven myself for flushing hundreds of thousands of dollars down the toilet. All of my best CS experiences were when I individually worked on machine problems meant for two or three people, learning a lot through the struggle. At the end, I learned how to learn a little bit better, but I didn't learn much about CS. I thought I was the hottest thing on the block once I got into the job world, only to find out I knew nothing. That was THE ONE thing that greatly motivated me and pushed me to learn everything I could about the domain. Once again, it wasn't college that did it.

taskstrike 14y ago
Name those schools