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Comment by ryandrake | Hacker News Reader

I don't really have a strongly held opinion on college vs. not-college anymore, but...

> At 22 you're still basically a kid.

22 is not a kid. 22 is a grown ass adult, and there are a lot of people who have their shit together long before that. We seem to keep trying to push up the age when a person gains the ability to make their own decisions and be responsible for their own actions. People were leading armies at that age not very long ago.

Back on topic: I'll just add that earnings-wise, due to compound interest, money saved earlier in one's career is worth far more than money saved later. "Sitting out" for your prime four earning years is only worth it if the education would provide a similar or greater boost.

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> We seem to keep trying to push up the age when a person gains the ability to make their own decisions and be responsible for their own actions.

No, we seem to keep trying to push down the age when a person loses the ability to acquire further education.

Thiel himself got not just one but two degrees from Stanford. Are you going to criticize him for not having his shit together? Let's be honest, he's opposing college now purely for ideological reasons.

> People were leading armies at that age not very long ago.

Ok, but have you considered that war is actually bad?

> Thiel himself got not just one but two degrees from Stanford....

> ...

> ... he's opposing college now purely for ideological reasons.

But maybe his ideological criticisms are valid.

And maybe the college environment has changed since he was there.

And maybe the value proposition for a talented person has shifted.

And maybe the mere presence of offers like Thiel's also increases the acceptability and therefore the "signalling" value proposition of a first year drop-out strategy.

> But maybe his ideological criticisms are valid.

No.

> And maybe the value proposition for a talented person has shifted.

That much is true, since college costs have increased dramatically since Thiel attended. If he cared about that, maybe he should offer to pay for people's student loan debt or finance some scholarships. Or promote government-paid higher education for all, like with pre-college education.

Maybe he's doing it for selfish reasons.

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