Current Events > Does higher education unnecessarily complicate topics that are easy?

(+) Yeah! (+)

When a dog poops, it'll poop because it has to. Through observation and experimentation, we start building testable hypothesis that eventually becomes a theory. Great. Now we understand the dog poops when it eats food. But, here's the thing; you didn't need some 1000 hour course telling you that the dog needs to eat in order to poop. I could have found that out by simply observing.

This is how I'm starting to feel when I try and learn courses about music theory, political science, economics, and trigonometry. At the core, the concepts are easy to grasp and understand, similar to understanding that a dog poops when it needs to. But, somehow as I try and learn the insignificant nuances of the subject, I come to find out that some courses are figuratively trying to explain the poop trajectory and the propensity to poop relative to the external sources like the weather, etc. Why complicate things? It creates pointless degrees where people delude themselves into thinking they know more because they have 10,000 hours of teachings from someone that wanted to overcomplicate how a dog poops.

Sometimes it is.

Im a teacher and definitely have fallen into overthinking a subject. Sometimes it truly is deep, but isnt worth explaining, because it can mean different things to different people. I think it is better to go into these discussions with the idea that yes it is deep, but lets find out why people might think so.

When you get older, it is just nicer to think i just like it, feels good man

You might be able to tell why a dog poops.

But can you tell how its intake is converted into energy, or stored? Do you understand how the body removes the waste and absorbs nutrients? How about the process by which the poop is moved through the intestine?

What you have through your observation is very superficial knowledge. It's enough not to be surprised when your dog takes a shit, it may even help you care for the animal on a basic level.

But what you have understood is relatively little. Enough to get by, but by no means enough to consider yourself knowledgeable enough to be, say, a pet nutritionist, or a vet. You'll still need to rely on others to do those jobs.

Is this a joke topic? I didn't think there was anyone young enough to be taking undergrad studies here.

I value having a basic understanding of as many topics as possible. I refuse to be the clueless guy in the room, having to ask questions constantly.

For example, I will never know as much as a vet. However, I try to educate myself on the most common health ailments in cats and their most likely symptoms so I can at least spot the warning signs. Id rather not be completely clueless because its not my job.

unless if you belong to a niche of people, why a dog poops is meaningless knowledge.

with stuff like economics and political science, for example, it's important to know their foundations, how they interplay with each other and other disciplines, since they don't exist in a vacuum, their real world applications, etc.

like, to a layperson, all of that stuff isn't necessarily important to know, but for experts/specialists, it could mean recognizing trends, and working to anticipate certain outcomes.

I had a history teacher, and he used to brag about how he made millions from the war in Iraq because he was "paying attention". I didn't like how proud of it he was, but it's an example of how a keen knowledge in political science and world history can benefit you.

MrResetti posted...

Is this a joke topic?

yes

The type of poop also plays a role in the trajectory of the poop. Don't forget that, certain foods eaten gives you different viscosity and composition of the poop, the texture of the poop and how fast the poop goes through the body. Then depending on the breed, this can also affect the various types of poops produced by foods. The size of the poop compared it the size of the dog as well. Poop has a lot going for it.

Sun rises. Sun sets. There ain't no explaining that. Bunch of bored busy bodies with nothing better to do

simple observation doesn't tell why the dog needs to eat or why the dog needs to poop, why can't the dog simply eat and not need to poop, some things are complicate because things are complicated and because there's more questions then answers

_____Cait posted...

Sometimes it is.

When you get older, it is just nicer to think i just like it, feels good man

This is how I'm starting to feel. With all the "world is ending" narrative being tossed around, I feel like specified higher learning is a luxury that only a select group of privileged people can appreciate. Unless it increases my happiness capital or partly contributes to it, I'm starting to realize it's a waste of time trying to over complicate a topic. At the end of the day, my life won't be better because I know the poop trajectory. Instead, my life is better knowing I saved time not studying the poop trajectory.

I think I'm appreciating the meaning of the term ignorance is bliss.